Tier 2: Saturday Showdowns

Wednesday night in Laval kicked off the opening night of the postseason. We saw two entertaining games, one of which ended in an upset. 

After a evenly matched first 21 minutes, Les Monsieurs Chats used an interception return for a touchdown by former McGill Redbird Charles Cossette on the final play of the opening half, to take a (20-13) lead at the break, and help spark a dominant defensive performance in the second stanza to roll to a (32-19) victory. 

In addition to Cossette, the team’s defense was flying around all over the field. The unit came up with a number of timely pass deflections, as Xavier Brault and Jean-Francois Marquis combined to knock down four of Arouch Quarterback Eric Lalonde’s passes. Cossette might have had the biggest one of the night, as he leapt up into the air and batted down a deep shot intended for a wide open Thomas Legault who was running a go-route.

Another key to the win for Les Monsieurs Chats, was that they were able to keep Legault out of the endzone. Coming into the contest, the talented Receiver had scored a TD in three straight games, and seven overall during that span. LMC also held Arouch’s second best Receiver in check, as Simon Losier was limited to two receptions for a season-low 12 yards.   

Never Overtime took advantage of a slow start by Backfield Penetration to jump out to (19-7) halftime lead, and a monster offensive performance by the duo of Nirosh Suresh and Olivier Sabourin, as the former had a game-high 11 catches for 125 yards to go along with one touchdown, while the latter led all players with three trips to the endzone.

Backfield Penetration finally woke up in the second half, as they got touchdowns from Anthony Siggia, and two from Jeanslaa Alexis, including a 40-yard catch and run, but it wasn’t enough, as they fell (31-27).

Playing only half a game can work in the regular season, but in the playoffs it will come back to bite you. It was a hard lesson for Backfield Penetration.

 With that being said, welcome to the Tier 2 FPF playoff Quarter-Finals 

(7) Shake & Bake vs (10) Beer Belly Brigade

Previous Meeting: Beer Belly Brigade (46-25) Week 4

The first meeting, it was a 1-point game at the half, as Shake & Bake had a (20-19) lead. 

The complete opposite happened in the second stanza, as they outscored their opponents (26-6), and used a suffocating defense to smother their Beer Belly Brigade.

That game was two months ago, and Beer Belly Brigade was led by Quarterback Alex Fafard, who was lost for the year due to injury one week later. His replacement, Gab Wiseman, has tossed 13 touchdowns and five interceptions while completing 56.2% of his passes. More importantly, the team is (2-2) with him as the pivot. 

Beer Belly Brigade will need their new QB to control the pace of the game and employ long time-consuming drives in hopes of keeping the explosive Shake & Bake offense on the sideline as often as he can. He will also need to establish more of a passing game, as Fafard struggled in the game completing only 11 of 23 passes for 90 yards. 

Defensively, Beer Belly Brigade will need to take away the deep ball from Quarterback Marc-Andre Reeves, and disrupt his rhythm as the dual-threat QB had seven touchdowns and only nine incompletions in the last meeting.They will also need to stop Receiver Rémi Légo, who had a game-high three touchdowns in the first game. 

For Shake & Bake to complete the sweep, they must employ the same game plan offensively, as Reeves spread the ball around to six different pass-catchers, and made Beer Belly Brigade pick their poison. The team also must use the speed advantage they have over BBB.

On defense, Shake & Baker will need to force their opponents to once again settle for short passes, as none of the BBB Receivers had more than 39 yards. 

The arrival of Wiseman allowed the Beer Belly Brigade to pick up two big wins to ensure that they made the playoffs. It was a positive result for a team that appeared lost without Fafard. As good as that is, I think their season ends today.

Prediction: Shake & Bake (35-18)

(8) Kiss My Outlaws vs (9) Jagerbomb 

Previous Meeting: Kiss My Outlaws (30-24) Week 1

The first encounter went down to the wire, with Kiss My Outlaws getting the game-winning touchdown from Nicholas Fon with less than a minute left in the game. Jagerbobm made the final score a little closer as Laurent Foucault found the endzone with two plays remaining, but an onside attempt to extend the game fell short, ending the contest.

I mentioned it before when talking about the Backfield Penetration versus Never Overtime matchup, about only showing up for half a game, but both teams were guilty of doing that, as Kiss My Outlaws led (24-6) at halftime, while Jagerbomb exploded for a (18-6) second half run. 

To get the win Jagerbomb will need to attack the Kiss My Outlaws defense, and take advantage of one-on-one matchups. They will also need to move around both Felix Fontaine-Larouche (who missed the first matchup) and Jean-Felix Daloze, and get them both in favorable situations. 

On defense, the team will need to take away the intermediate passing game from Quarterback  Stephen Harripersaud, and stay disciplined as he will look to attack weaknesses and use any aggressive play against Jagerbomb.

For Kiss My Outlaws to advance, they will need to try and force Jagerbomb QB Simon Duchense into turnovers, and take away the short and intermediate passing game, thus forcing him to become one-dimensional. 

Kiss My Outlaws must also keep their foot on the gas.This team has been the epitome of inconsistent this season. One week they look like a true contender, while the next, they look like they could be bounced in the first round of the playoffs. What team will we get this afternoon? I think the latter.

Prediction:  Jagerbomb (32-30 – Upset Special)

Picks 

Shake & Bake vs Beer Belly Brigade – Shake & Bake 

Jagerbomb vs Kiss My Outlaws – Jagerbomb (Upset Special, and my Pick for Game of the Week)

Playoffs: (1-1)

Regular Season: (36-16-1)

Upset Special: (4-6-1)

That is it for today. I will be back tomorrow with the Sunday Quarter-Final games.

If you liked the article, hated it, or simply felt like I left something out, please feel free to contact me at [email protected], or on the FPF Facebook page.