Road to the Finals: Division 5

It’s been a pleasure this season. Hopefully you have enjoyed reading along the way.

Looking forward to one of the best weekends of the year – see you at Brossard!

5A

Spartans vs. Tents & Hammocks

Let me paint you two pictures.

The first picture shows us a quarterback who has never had a better QB rating than 105.5 over a full season with the weight of the world on his shoulders. Behind him, members of the league, media, maybe even myself included, all pointing at him and looking on judgmentally. No spotlight, trophy or anything of the sort, you would think that the picture included him holding up his defense as a way to say thank you.

The second picture shows us 3 guys with faceless shadows in the background. The smallest and most timid looking one standing front and center with a look on his face that he is ready to take on the world as long as he has his two pillars next to him. They don’t look concerned that they are only three when most are 6, and that the army of shadows is rarely ever recognized. They look on confidently.

It may be a bit over dramatic, but these are the storylines heading into your Division 5A final. Two teams who have yet to meet and teams that nobody expected to get to this point. Each has their strengths but they have been overlooked with the reason of being incomplete for different reasons. Each proving to us that they do in fact belong at the top of the pyramid in Division 5 and both looking to prove one last time that their formula works. Here we go. The toughest defense squares off against the league’s most frustrating offense. The question remains, which is better tailored to bring home a Championship in FPF?

The key to the game, as it has been all playoffs for Tents & Hammocks, will be whether the Spartans defense can stand tall against this style of play. The Spartans have excelled when teams get impatient and try them out deep. They often turn those kind of plays into turnover and give D’Andrea extra life to breath into the game. Tents & Hammocks prove to have a lot of patience and will literally throw the ball to the flats 20 times in a row if you let them. I don’t know if you guys are bored of me writing about it, because it feels like we all talk about the system a lot. The Aylward’s are often at the center of it all, and Joltopuf is the engine that makes this team go. That’s why I think it’s important to recognize the support cast because at the end of the day, they couldn’t possibly be in this position with only 3 players. Satchel Carriero has been excellent all season long, especially on defense. He’s tasked with taking away the other teams second and third option and has done a fantastic job. Massimo Cannucci has also been their rock, mostly in the middle of the field. Finally, they are rounded out by Adam Gould-Daves who may never lead the league in sacks, he pressures the quarterback well and doesn’t let the mobile ones run around too long to let the guys behind him make plays. It’s unlikely that any of those three guys will be in the running for player of the game on Saturday, but FPF is a league where you are only as good as your weakest link. Tents & Hammocks are proving that while only half the group often sees the spotlight, they do not have any weak links.

The Spartans couldn’t be more of a contrasting team both on paper and on the field. They rely on their athleticism, love to take shots down field and believe they can match up one on one against anybody. They definitely have the talent and the depth to back that up and guys like Alexandre Noel, Andrew Grant and Charles-David Martel have backed that up all season. Matthew Campbell has also probably been one of the best two-way players in the playoffs. I don’t think that the Spartans will worry too much about matchups, either, and continue to line up just as they have all playoffs. Offensively, James D’Andrea shocked the world last week by throwing for more than 200 yards and 5 touchdowns against the Divisions top team in the regular season. If he’s able to continue that momentum and have another strong game, there’s nothing stopping this Spartans team. Not even Tents & Hammocks.

While my predictions in the first round went well, I was wrong on both my picks in the Semi’s. Hopefully I’m not jinxing anybody, but call me a believer and I think that the Spartans will win this game.

5B

The Process vs. The U

If you’ve been reading along the way, you know that there is probably nobody better suited to give you insight and info on the Process. Seriously, I bet I could out analyze some of their own team members. Coming into the season, they were a Division favorite and they have weathered every storm since, from Langburt’s swollen hand, close games against the Black Knights and a loss to Takeover. They’re probably pretty excited that The U was able to knock off the only team to have beaten them this year but if I know anything about Andrew Langburt, it’s that he welcomes a challenge.

For The U, I couldn’t be happier for Evan Frank, Joe Kano and the rest of the guys. We also finally saw Nikki Papich absolutely dominate a game and it feels like that was a long time coming, especially if you’ve ever seen this guy’s potential. The craziest part about Papich having a huge game is that his supporting cast is also so dangerous that he doesn’t need to do everything. The problem for The Process will be containing him, all the while still focusing on Pedvis, Schwartz and Kano. Gotta give a fellow big man some respect – he’s often overlooked but he’s sure handed and the perfect complement to the other players on this offense. You also can’t undermine his ability to calm Evan Frank in the huddle and share his experience from some of the higher divisions. I’ll be the first to admit that getting past Takeover last week was a huge hurdle, but it proves to The Process and everybody else that there isn’t anything they can’t accomplish. They’re a scary team to play on any given week and the playoffs really having them coming together at the right time.

The thing on everybody’s minds is just how these two teams will match up. The U has the size advantage but I give the speed advantage to The Process. It wouldn’t shock me to see Andrew Langburt move around the field defensively to try and throw Evan Frank off his game and force him into making mistakes. Just as we saw last week, Frank is prone to a few but is often bailed out by his defense. From week to week, he can either win games on his own or simply not contribute to the reason why they might lose. When you play a team like The Process, though, one mistake might be one too many. Will The U decide to try and use their size and attack some of the smaller defenders on the field? Will they have a few tricks up their sleeves to bait Langburt into over committing? Either way, it looks to be a tall task.

The secret to winning the game for The Process is quite similar. Langburt can’t turn the ball over, they will need to convert their two point conversions, and they will have to contain Pedvis and Papich most of all. Groper and Librati continue to be their secret weapons on offense and while DonnDre Borden can come up with a huge play anytime you need him to, he’s often used as a decoy to open up the rest of the field. Rosenberger for The U can have a huge impact on this game also if he’s able to contain Langburt in the pocket, because if you give him extra time, he’ll burn you down the field. On the other side, I expect Justin Frankel to continue his strong play and contribute at least 2 sacks.

As much as I’ve been impressed with The U, and I would even argue that they may be the better team on paper, I just have to go with my guys. This game should come down to the final 5 plays but I think The Process will prevail.