The War Room (DB) – Finals Recap

 

First off, before I commence the final article of the Spring season, I must apologize to my loyal readers for such a long layoff between postings. I pride myself on the timeliness of my articles and I have somewhat let you all down. That being said, where should I begin? The Spring finals were everything we (and I) hoped for as we had drama in both lower division games and a somewhat uninteresting Division A finale (to everyone except a Shocker of course). The Chaos vs Triple Sixers matchup was an illustrious example of how lower divisions are not void of excitement. The quality of play for both teams was extremely enjoyable to watch and I found the game to be very awe inspiring. The athleticism of the many Triple Sixers should raise a few eyebrows to the division three winter teams, as the 666 look to compete in a promoted state. The Chaos demonstrated heart and a plethora of talent as they fell behind early and grinded themselves back into the game. It was fitting to see Karim Choual hoist that Trophy, as I had a feeling upon first watching them in Winter 09 that their teams would not be in division 4 Or C for long. I must congratulate both teams for an excellent season and look forward to covering both squads in division three next year.

 

Onto my designated division, the Kings vs Mercenaries matchup wasn’t out of the question by the end of the regular season. Both teams had demonstrated their knack for scoring and an ability to fight to the last second. The Mercenaries had a very different roster than that of the Kings, they were composed of much heralded star recruits. The Kings on the other hand consisted of lower profile players (minus one or two) who play constructively as a cohesive unit. This is not to say that the Merc’s don’t play as a team, however I think Kings define a team in a much more applicable way. Rehan Sarwar has managed to formulate teams within his network of Flag friends and kept the Kings moniker alive. Although this may infuriate a few who believe that a King team has nothing to do with the next one, one common factor is the much heralded, self golorified, often teased but very successful manager Rehan “The Bearded One” Starwar.

 

The Kings approached this game with a huge chip on their shoulder. All the experts (loosely given name I might add) selected the Mercenaries to pull this game off. To be honest, I would still somehow bet on them being victorious 8 times out of ten. However in Football (as the cliché states), on any given Sunday, anything can happen. And you know what? IT DID. The Kings were methodical in their attack; Francois Lebeau having over 75% passing efficiency is UNHEARD of in a championship game. They spread the ball out to 5 different receivers (with Baillargeon and Lever racking in 2 Td’s each). They had the most heart (as Marc-Andre Lebeau played with a injured foot and racked up 54 yards). Simply put the Kings wanted this title more, they played like it and in the clutch they held on for the win. Rochdi Benabdelkader, relegated to the bench with a hamstring injury, was a defensive mastermind for them down the stretch. All these aspects were reasons for their astonishing victory.

 

 

The Mercenaries did not go away easy. This game did come down to the wire, as they only lost by two points. This is much to the chagrin to Emperor DiFazio who went (0-2) in championships on Sunday night (Div A and B) and (0-3) in 2009 (Div 3). The Merc’s seemed to be very “arrogant” coming into this game, and ultimately underestimated the fight of the Kings. The multitude of talent on defence was not apparent as they allowed the Kings to dominate their short zones. The ineffective rush, coupled with the soft coverage, allowed the Kings to exploit the scheme of the Mercenaries defence. A defence which prided itself on big names and intimidation was humbled by the machine of Lebeau and co. The only interception of the game came at the hands of Alex Lever as the tide began to turn into the Kings favour, and for once the opposition’s defence outshined their opponents. This must have been a disappointing game for the Merc’s as I’m sure they already had their ticker tape parade planned out. They must now try to regroup and work on their team “issues” if they plan on competing in the winter divisions.

 

Notable Performance:

 

F. Lebeau: 5 Td’s 0 Int

G. Difazio: 5 Tds, 1 Int

V. Gualano: 87 yards 1 Td

T. Testa: 56 yards 2 Td

A. Lever: 56 yards 2 Td

 

My Game MVP C. Baillargeon: 10 catches, 60 yards, 2 Tds and 1 sack.

 

 

What this all means?

 

For the Kings, only Rehan knows which players he will be able to corral up into his division 2 squad. With the roster currently in place, it will be an upward battle to compete at the upper echelons of division 2, but nonetheless they should not be taken lightly. As I’m sure most of their players firmly believe they can continue their success in division 2 (which I might contest), I am very interested to know how the very talented Francois Lebeau will fair with quicker and more aggressive defences. They do have some division 2 talent on their team already and I expect Rehan to bring in a couple “friends” to help out. I wish them the best of luck in their d2 endeavours next season.

 

For the Mercenaries, well it’s all up to Mr. Di Fazio. If they field the same team from winter 2009, I expect another dismal effort in division 2. However with this current roster (minus star receiver S. Haney), I think they should probably compete in Division 2 and attempt to grow as a team (instead of a bunch of talented individuals). Whatever the case may be, their limiting factors may be displayed in the fabric of the team…

 

Castleton’s Random Thoughts of the Week:

 

1. Patrick Jerome: What a great athlete! He is gifted with an ability to read the QB and make incredible breaks on the ball. His interception early on in the finals was a testament to his awareness and speed. He is a great asset for Karim Chaoual and I’m sure interest from higher divisions will follow.
2. Chaos: They played a good game, minus the first half perhaps. They demonstrated creative offensive skill and the heart to hang in there when it seemed like everything was falling apart. Eugene Mclaren is an exceptional player and I expect much success in his FPF future.
3. Wyeth: You can quote me on this, THERE IS NOT ONE BETTER QB in FPF than KEVIN WYETH. He has won both top level championships (Div 1 and Div A) this season. He makes all his surrounding players better (see Pacmen of 2009), he is a coach, leader and quarterback all rolled into one. It was a true pleasure (even if he did break my thumb with his rocket passes) to play for him this season.
4. Paul Lapierre: With all the names flying around in this league, the most versatile player in FPF history must be Paul Lapierre. Sure he won’t beat anyone down the sideline, but his size more than makes up for his lack of speed. He plays QB, WR and center at such an elite level that he might be the true gem in the Empires crown.
5. Division A finale: While most were upset with the final result not being closer, I think that this was a prime example of how defence can win championships. Without sounding too biased, the Shockers defensive game plan was extraordinary and worked to near perfection. Congrats to all my boys on defence!
6. Empire: Another season, another win for the Rebel Alliance (namely any non Empire (Demons, Messengers, Ruff Ryders, Mercenaries, SWAT, Terminators) squad. Not that I am rooting against them, as I do have a boatload of respect for most of their players, I just think this football factory is taking its share of lumps the past two seasons.
7. The Road Show: A huge thank you to Eddy Tarabay and Mike Paolozza for their excellent film work, as well as JP Mancini for his help and of course my WEPL co hosts. It is an incredible production from top to bottom. Thank you!

Castleton Connection:

1. How does it feel to be champion of your division?
2. What was the gameplan against your opponent?
3. What was the turning point in your game?
4. What are your plans as a team?

 

Karim Binette, Shockers:

 

1. It feels great since that was the goal that we had fixed at the beginning, with the team that we had assembled anything but a championship would of been a huge disappointment.

2. We knew our offense was going to score no matter who we faced, didnt matter as long as we have kevin. We mainly focused on defence by matching players as we knew they had playmakers, we decided that Andre was going to cover marc champagne, Kishon was going to cover Paul Lapierre and that I was going to cover Ricky Martin, and if Rochdi would of played, Gary was going to cover him. I guess that work out great as they only scored 12 points.

3. The turning point of the game was made by Jason Prince when he deflagged Champagne on a reverse in the backfield. You could just feel it, that really took the air out of them.

4. I dont exactly know what our plans our as of right now, if the shockers do move up to D1 then I wont be part of that team as my loyalty lies with the Mtl finest, but if we do stay in D2, I will be representing the shocker nation…of course if i dont get released due to cap casualties (note by author: Karim is signed for Winter 2010).

 

Alex Lever, Kings:

 

1. Rehan said it best: “It feels f***ing great!” It took me a couple of days to realize we had won it all. The championship is even sweeter because we were seen as the underdogs for the final two games. Somewhere around week 4, sitting at 2-2, Thibault told me he felt like we had a chance to repeat our 2006 accomplishment, and we were looking forward to this since then. There’s no greater feeling than building up your confidence as a team week after week, win after win, and slowly realizing you have a chance.

2. On defense, it was pretty simple: Do what Rochdi says. We would have loved for him to be on the field with us, but he was still able to have a tremendous effect on the outcome of our last two games. He prepared us well against Gino, giving him many different looks and allowing us to surprise him a couple of times. On offense, it was simpler. Our offense is nicknamed the Easy Offense, where we don’t force anything and go for the simple, high percentage plays. Complete a lot of passes and move those bean bags up the field. That inevitably sets up the opportunity to strike deep and confuse your opponent at key moments of the game.

3. Hopefully I don’t come off as arrogant, cocky, or self-centered, but I’ll have to say my second half pick did it. They were able to stop our offense once in the first half, and they had a one score lead going into the second. We exchanged scores in the second half until we were able to stop them on their second offensive drive. I still see that play in my head, but I can’t wait to see it on film. Also, as the score obviously shows, we won the game on converts. The play that sealed the game was when F. Lebeau batted the ball out of Vinny’s hands on their 2-point attempt to tie the game up at 32.

4. We want to play D2, but as many know, the Lebeau’s are ususally not available to play in the Winter season. M-A might make a surprise appearance though, which is great. We might also be losing Charles Baillargeon, another key player on this roster. Then there’s the whole deal where Air John might play D4 with his Snookers, making him uneligible for D2. (Editor’s note: D4 rules will change with addition of fifth division) We’ll have to wait and see what the roster will look like, but if we can fill the holes with good players, we will definitely challenge ourselves at a higher level. I’m not too worried, since Rehan is ususally a pretty resourceful GM. Hopefully we will get the whole team back together next Spring and give DA a shot.

Karim Choual, Triple Sixers:

 

1- The satisfaction of winning it all! It took 25 matches and 2 seasons to get a record of 21 wins and 4 losses. (we never lost by more than 9 points in 25 matches) to finally win a championship. Each loss was a growing pain, but it did not deter us from our will to win the championship. I am proud of my teammates for the heart and character we displayed as a team in both winter and spring seasons. I am content in the knowledge that we believed in ourselves and we achieved it together. I will always carry great memories of the last two seasons…

2- In the finals, our defensive strategy was to make sure our most talented players were covering their most talented wr’s (treldon james, vongsouthi etc) but also to manage our responsibilities in coverage and stifle the ground game. All went as planned (minus a couple runs) in the first half, however in the second half the chaos machine was kick started. We made some mental errors and tried to get ahead of ourselves knowing we were winning at half. The offense held their ground as we controlled the clock and tried to limit the mistakes made on defence…It was a tight, but great all around victory for our team! And demonstrated our heart and character!

3- There was two defining moments in the match, Patrick Jerome’s interception at the beginning of the match and the final TD by Alexis Charpentier (which gave us a second wind in the most important moment in the match.

4- It all depends on Winter 2010 edition of our team roster. We are losing 4 players, 3 on defence. So I have my work cut out for me in recruiting adequate replacements. If we can fill those spots we will move up to div 3, if not we will restart at 0 with the newly formulated squad. Ultimately it will come down to a team vote in December on what our future plans are… We need to ensure we can be competitive in whichever division we are placed.

Quote of the Week:

So basically, what I’m saying is, Shockers, play in D1, or I will label you cowards 😉

 

– Daron Basmadjian, making his opinion felt on which division the Shockers should enter in Winter 2010.

 

 

Thanks again to all readers for their continued support, their weekly attention and their many comments during the season. It has been a true pleasure to be a apart of the league and I’m already excited for Winter 2010 to arrive (not the weather though). Please continue to keep us updated on the Flag walls on FB!!! Thanks Again!