FPF Junior Championship Weekend

This weekend was bittersweet. It was fantastic because I saw seven hours of packed playoff action but on the down side, the Spring Season of FPF Junior has drawn to a close. It was the first time we tried this condensed playoff format and I think it is fair to say it was a resounding success. Teams still got the full playoff experience while also freeing up their summer earlier. For four of those teams, the day finished especially well; they went undefeated on the day and ultimately finished victorious, with a trophy hoisted above their heads.

My first congratulations go out to the four winners: the AP Hurricanes from Freshmen, the Musketeers from Sophomore B, the Dusters from Sophomore A and the Mustangs from Varsity. However, I would also like to extend a job well done to each and every team and player that participated this season. If we look at where the teams started and where they progressed to by the end of the season, the improvement is remarkable. They have learnt how to play together and how to adapt to the particularities of flag football. Flag football is not an easy game to learn but all Juniors, whether it be their first or fifth season, continued to learn and improve.

Road to the Title

AP Hurricanes

You cannot say that the Hurricanes were the title favorites in this division. They finished the regular season with five wins and three losses for 10 points. Above them in the standings were the title favorites X-Men. The X-Men cruised through the regular season with a perfect record of 8-0 for 16 points.

The Hurricanes started their playoff run in the semi-finals with a match versus the fourth seeded IB Vikings. Despite a valiant effort from Kevyn De Serres-Payne and elite receiver Jailen Chopra, the Hurricanes were too much for the IB Vikings to handle. As they have all season long, Markus D’Alessandro and Nicolas Vanden-Abeele stole the show. The two connected on 7 (yes, 7!) different occasions for an impressive total of 82 yards and two scores. Another player that grabbed the highlights was Gavin Doan. After quite an ordinary season, the young man exploded in the playoffs. He set a career high in receiving yards with 72 and also scored a touchdown. The playoffs are when players need to step up in a big way and that is exactly what Gavin Doan did on Sunday.

After their convincing victory in the semi-finals, the AP Hurricanes marched into the finals with a head of steam. That momentum helped them upset the undefeated X-Men in a dramatic championship game. It was ultimately the AP Hurricanes defence that made the biggest impact in this championship game. They did not concede any passing touchdowns and only one rushing score. As always, the outstanding play of that defence started with the rushing of Cedrick Leroux who shut down the opposition with four sacks and eight tackles. However, defence alone does not win championships, they need help from the offence. Well, Gavin Doan stepped up once again in the finals to finish the game with 80 receiving yards and a touchdown for a second career high in the same day. The Hurricanes effort led them to an 18-13 win as well as the Freshmen championship.

Musketeers

While the Hurricanes winning the Freshmen title may have been an upset, the Musketeers finished the regular season as the Sophomore B leaders. However, the Musketeers were clearly not unbeatable. They had already lost to two of the three other teams in the division. What all that means is that the Musketeers did not have an easy playoff run in store for them. They would need to be on their A game if they wanted to win this weekend. Luckily for the Musketeers, they played some of their best football of the season and that saw them transform from regular season champs into playoff champions.

The Musketeers’ run to the championship started in the semi-finals where they faced off against the Warhawks. Considering the fact that the Warhawks did not have the best of regular seasons, many were expecting this game to be a bit of a blowout. However, the feisty Warhawks found a way to keep this match close. The coaches’ son, J.J. Fixman, did his very best to keep his team in the playoffs with a six-catch night for 62 yards and a touchdown. Despite that great performance, the Musketeers firepower was simply too much to handle. Despite only completing eight passes, Kaydon Shaw somehow managed to pass for nearly 200 yards. Even more impressively, of those eight completed passes, five of them were touchdowns. On the receiving end of two of those five touchdown passes was the elusive Massimo Moufrage who also put up 80 receiving yards. What made this performance so impressive was the fact that despite their #1 receiver, Lucas Piscopos, being covered out of the game, they still managed to find a way to win. It’s that perseverance and depth of roster that guided them to a 5-3 season and ultimately the championship.

In the regular season, the Thundering Herd were able to beat the Musketeers. Understandably, the Musketeers were worried about this game. After their semi-final game finished, they rushed over to see who they were playing next. They did not seem pleased by the prospect of facing the Herd. I definitely understood their concern. No one ever wants to face off against the likes of Jaeden Edghill.  Last time these teams faced each other, the Musketeers did not have a solution to counter Jaeden Edghill and that ultimately cost them the game. However, on this occasion, the Musketeers found a way to do what no other team in the division has been able to do: cover Jaeden Edghill. They had their top corner Massimo Moufrage lock him up in man coverage and also had their safety, Lucas Piscopos lending a hand if Jaeden Edghill went deep. That combination did the trick and limited the division’s most dangerous player to 18 yards. With the Herds #1 weapon out of the game, the task was not very difficult for the Musketeers. QB Kaydon Shaw completed 14 passes and consistently marched his team down the field to score. If you couple that with a key interception by Devon Wallis, you have all the elements needed for a championship win.

Sophomore A

If you talked to people around FPF Junior, they would agree that the Dusters are a great team but many doubted whether or not they were good enough to beat Sophomore A heavyweights, the Sun Devils. The two teams had split their regular season matchup with one win apiece but in their most recent match, the Sun Devils cruised to an easy victory. The Dusters looked to be faltering down the stretch while the Sun Devils continued to gain steam. Both teams posted very solid regular seasons and many predicted they would meet in the final. However, before making it to the final verus the Sun Devils, the Dusters had to take on the talented NS Hurricanes.

The Dusters may have a good passer in Adam Malinoff but they were facing off against an even better QB in the Hurricanes Nicholas Masella who led all juniors in passing yards. On the night, however, it was Adam Malinoff who won the quarterbacking duel. He was efficient and completed 16 of 27 attempted passes for a total of 136 yards and four scores. More importantly, he did not turn over the ball. In a game of this magnitude, each possession is vital and every time you throw a pick, you put your team at a disadvantage. The fact that Adam Malinoff protected the ball went a long way to leading his team to victory. What also helped the Dusters make it to the finals was the fact that they adapted to what the Hurricanes defence threw at them. Most of the time, the Dusters #1 target is Matthew Leutner but with Ashtin Philistin taking away that option, the Dusters turned their attention to Russel Bienstock who stepped up big. He caught 7 balls for an impressive 64 yards as well as half of his team’s touchdowns. On defence, Lewis Epstein stepped up in a big way with a key interception.

After blowing past the Hurricanes in the semi-finals, the stage was set for the final we had all been waiting for: Dusters vs Sun Devils. Personally, I thought the Sun Devils were going to beat the Dusters in this game but the resilient men in purple proved me wrong. While their offence did the job, it was their defence that really won them this game. Yes, that defence did give up over 150 passing yards, but they also intercepted the opposition on four occasions. No matter what kind of yardage you give up, four interceptions should be enough to win you the game. Leading that ball hawking Duster secondary was none other than Andrew Backler. He picked off the Sun Devils twice. On one occasion, he even went the distance and ran back the interception for a score. The Dusters’ offence also had a good showing on the night. They did their job and put points up on the board, but what really made the difference was their defence. Before this game, I had never thought of the Dusters as a defensive team. I always thought of them as offensive. Well, I also didn’t think they were going to win the title. But they proved me wrong on both counts and went on to win the Sophomore A crown.

Varsity

I had a hard time predicting games in the Varsity division this season. This division regroups so many talented teams and individuals, that picking a title favorite is very difficult. Well, the title favorites were under my nose all season long but I refused to give them the credit they deserved. Week after week, I doubted the Mustangs. I said they would not go undefeated and I said other teams were more talented. The Mustangs proved me wrong on all counts. They went undefeated and they beat all the teams I said were better than them. By cruising to an 8-0 regular season, they booked themselves a quarter-final match with the Wolverines.

Coby White was as close to perfect as it gets in this game. By perfect, I mean he completed 87% of his passes for a total of 160 yards and six scores. That is just about as close as it gets to perfect in FPF. Leading all Mustangs receivers was Josh Jacobson with 75 receiving yards and two scores. The Mustangs didn’t only throw to Josh Jacobson, they kept the opposing defence on their toes by passing to 5 different receivers. Most notable of those five was Oren Arbel-Wood who caught three passes for 31 yards and a score. It was not only the Mustangs’ offence that was firing on all cylinders but also their defence. To go along with his pair of touchdowns, Josh Jacobson also finished the match with a pair of picks. The Mustangs cruised through this round and it served as the perfect warm-up for later rounds.

When the Mustangs kicked off their semi-final game versus the Spartans, it looked like they were going to be in for a really tough fight. The Spartans jumped out to an early lead thanks to a 40 yard TD on 4th down on the part of Olivier Gauthier. However, the Mustangs marched right back down the field and answered. The first half kept on going in this manner, with both teams trading scores until the final play of the first half when Josh Jacobson once again picked off the opposing quarterback and ran the pick back for a score. From there on, it was easy sailing for the Mustangs. They continued to score on just about every possession while the Spartans could not keep up the pace. Eventually, the Mustangs cruised to a 41-18 win and booked themselves a ticket to the finals.

The Varsity final featured the two top teams from the regular season: the Thunder and the Mustangs. The Mustangs’ success came from the fact that they ran more plays than their opponents and thereby had more chances at scoring. The Mustangs ran 34 passing plays, 26 of which finished in completions. Coby White passed for an outstanding total of nearly 200 yards and four scores. However, Coby White and his Mustangs were nearly outdone by the stellar play of Simon Boudreault and Max Sabourin. The Thunder’s dynamic duo combined for 146 yards and two scores. To put what Max Sabourin did in perspective, I never accumulated that many receiving yards in an entire season. However, the Mustangs proved that a team effort is superior to an individual. Their entire receiving corps was able to overcome the effort of Max Sabourin. Leading all Mustangs in terms of receiving yards was Max Kadanoff who caught 10 balls for 82 yards and two scores. On defence, it was the tall and athletic Jared Boidman who had the biggest impact. He managed a critical interception and batted down even more passes. This was by far the Mustangs’ hardest game of the season but they did what all great teams do when the going gets tough: they rose to the challenge. They have risen to the challenge all season long and fittingly, they finished the season by raising a trophy.

There you have it, the last of my articles for the FPF Junior season. The games have been played and the champions decided. The victors get to go home and rest on their laurels but be warned, the pack is coming for you! You are now marked as the teams to beat and when the next season rolls around, all those other teams will be gunning to take that trophy from you.

It was a pleasure scorekeeping for you and I met some great people this season. Chatting with coaches, players, parents and refs is what made those long shifts out in Kirkland enjoyable. With that, have a great summer and I hope to see you next year when the winter season kicks off!