FOR ALL THE MARBLES.

Here. We. GO! The finals have arrived! After a long 2 year drought, the winter finals will finally be played. Two teams that have no doubt championship aspirations, yet galloped their way to the finals through completely different paths to end up with a shot at hosting the Winter Championship.. For Blessed, Stephen Harripersaud pulled an Aaron Rodgers, saying R-E-L-A-X, as he ran the table all season long! Going nearly perfect, with only one game lost (by one point to Killa Bees, when they had most of their regular roster unavailable for the contest) speaks volumes to the season QB1 of Blessed had! One the flip side, you got the Junkyard Dogs, who remind me alot of the 89’ Bad Boy Pistons. Reason being? They have literal BULLIES on this team. Of course, of the field this team has a bunch of absolutely respectful dudes. On the field? man, they are PHYSICAL! Going 8-2 on the season, JYD is the definition of playing down to their opponent’s level. Their two losses came to teams that didn’t even make playoffs!! Let that sink in. However, when they faced off against the juggernauts in division 3 such as Thor’s Hammer, EZW, and most notably their semi finals matchup vs the power house in Silent Ticklers, they got the job done, handidly. In my eyes, its really clear, Jason Rossie, with all the cristitcm he receives, is a bleeping baller! When the lights shine the brightest, this man has brings his A game. Who has the edge in this matchup you ask? Well, thats what I’m here to discuss! Nevertheless, before breaking down this finals matchup, lets recap what occurred in the semi finals of Division 3. 

Division Recap 

Blessed vs Sheeesh 

This game had all the potential to be seen as the “real finals” of this division. Two titans clashing off on a windy Tuesday Night at Loyola. Coming into the game, Langburt made me aware of the lower body injuries he was fighting, which would obviously play a huge factor in this game as his running ability is what usually sets him apart from the competition. Without being able to extend plays, it was Rusher Terry Babalis who made his presence felt, en route to tallying another 2 sack performance to his superb season. Ariel Liberati was a dominant force in this game, as he kept coming up with big plays on both sides of the ball, including an absolute MOSS for one of his 2 Tds on the night. As halftime approached, Blessed saw their 22-6 lead shrink to just 8 points. An interesting storyline began developing as we entered the second half. Both teams were only able to score with the wind going AGAINST them rather than with them. Usually, it is much more difficult to be successful on offence when the wind it against you. However, both Langburt & Harripersaud seemed to be comfortable driving towards sherbrooke street with the winding essentially handicapping alot of plays to be made downfield. Will Power was the one that stood out the most in this battle. He had himself a day by finding the endzone 2 times on offence, all while sealing the deal on the last play of the game with an INT added to the stat sheet. Will’s a baller that seems to be getting better each and every season he plays. I’m proud of the dominant 2 way player he has become. Worked his tail off since coming into the league, and now we are finally able to see him blossom on the biggest stage. As the game progressed, Sheeesh didn’t let the score faze them, as they rallied their way back into this game to make it a manageable comeback. In the dying minutes of the second half, Blessed saw their lead collapse to only a 2 point lead! There’s no doubt that most of the Blessed squad couldn’t believe what was happening. Luckily for them, they have a qb that is no stranger to the big pressure moment. Harripersaud got the ball back, and made sure that if Langburt was seeing the field again, it was going to be with a 9 point deficit smacking him right in the mouth. With only 3 plays left to go, Harripersaud called James Langshaw’s number on a double move which essentially sealed the deal on a TD that put Blessed up by 2 scores, securing the victory. Kudos to Sheeesh, as they had one hell of a season. I know this group of talent won’t go away that easy. The core of Langburt, Liberati, Groper, Benjamin, Rockman & Lepage is one of the better rosters i’ve seen fielded in division 3 this season. Keep your heads up, it is only uphill from here gentleman. As for Blessed, they’ve got themselves a ticket to THE show, with a chance to take all the glory home. Let’s see if they have one more extraordinary performance in them this sunday. 

Junkyard Dogs vs Silent Ticklers 

Coming into this game, I won’t lie I expected both offences to come out gunz blazing in this one. Instead, it was the defences of both teams that came out to play. Out the gate both defences made a stop holding the opposing offences to 4 & outs on each of their first drives of the game. It was only after both teams got a crack at touching the ball at least once that I started to see both Rossie & Panetta begin to slide into their comfort zone. Panetta took advantage of a short field to work with during his second stint, by using his wheels to get in for a score. Shortly after, Rossie connected with the 6’5 unsung hero for this Junkyard Dogs squad; Brandon Robinson for a 1 yard score. His big frame makes this team a matchup NIGHTMARE when u put into account all the other beasts on this squad already. One thing I realized as the match progressed, was that it was evident, the presence of Adam Rosen was surely missed in this matchup. Of course, Mancini is a great player (made a crazy one handed catch in the back pile on THAT GOT CALLED OUT OF BOUNDS!) however, there’s a reason they were called a deadly DUO all season long. Having a guy with 18 touchdowns miss a semi finals matchup will ultimately have repercussions on your team, that’s a no brainer. Silent Ticklers seem to have just not been able to get into a groove all night long, as they went 4 & out following Robinson’s TD, yet again. At this point in the game going into the second half, it was either Silent Ticklers told themselves that this hill was manageable to climb, or they wrap it up and call it a season. I’m pretty sure this theory leaned more towards the latter of the two, as the second half began with JYD marching down the field at will, that resulted in a 12 yard score to the head honcho himself, Mr Paul Lapierre. Shortly after, Panetta felt the rush coming in hot and threw an errant pass right into the arms of the Junkyard Dogs DB Yyan Desjardins. At this point, you could have began to feel the momentum shift in favour of JYD, as Rossie started licking his lips when he saw yet again another short field to work with. You know what they say, if it ain’t broke, then don’t fix it! This is exactly what Rossie had in his mind as he took the following drive as one of those statement drives. Realizing the mismatch he had, Rossie went right back to Lapierre for another TD in the redzone. Paul is clearly a dominant force and if he keeps his cool, while getting his team ready for the task at hand, look out. He is one of the smarter players FPF has to offer, definitely no stranger to understanding the concepts you want to throw at him, resulting in the perfect play calls to shut down your system on defence, and exploit the open zones on offence with his size. Just when this game seemed all but wrapped up, Jordan pannetta said it was time to feed his boy, finally finding Mancini for the 13 strike, cutting the lead to 8 points. All Rossie had to do was kill the time, and this game was in the bag. Instead, Rossie did his only mistake of the night, as Daniel Mancini stepped infront of his throw to get the momentum shifting INT! All of sudden, the Silent Ticklers had life! Panetta took his squad down the field as the field general that he is, which ended with an Andrew Blevings TD to make this a 2 point game. With the season on the line, all the pressure in the world melting on the shoulders Jordan Panetta, the Silent Ticklers unfortunatley came up short as they weren’t able to tie up this game. This proved to be the deciding factor as there was only 5 plays left in this game. JYD could have ended the game by picking up a first down but didn’t. Following the punt, ST had ONE LAST SHOT at a hail mary attempt to send them to finals. As the ball went up for the hail mary, I wont lie, my heart stopped beating for that 3-4 seconds. As the ball started falling down, I knew it was over for the Silent Ticklers, as the pass went evidently into the vicinity of Paul Lapierre, who did the right thing and simply batted the ball down. Game over.  Was a fun game nonetheless. Silent Ticklers had themselves quite the improbable season, starting off the season 0-2, then followed that up by going on an 8 game winning streak to end the season. Definitely something to tip your hat on. As for Junkyard Dogs, a trip to the finals is the reward you get from playing tough, hard nosed football. Lets dive into this finals matchup to see which team has the edge in this one. 

FINALS PREVIEW

The moment has finally arrived! Both #1 seeds from their respective conference face off against one another at 8 pm Sunday night on the beautiful turf field of Brossard. These two big cheeses havent faced off against one another yet this season, so i’m almost certain both Quarterbacks in this matchup are happy about knowing that the opposing defence hasnt seen the system they are going to run. It always makes it easier on the QB as you have a higher chance of catching the defence off guard with plays they’ve never seen before. Both QBs had quite marvelous seasons. Harripersaud finished the season with 52 touchdowns to 2 interceptions, while Rossie finished with 48 touchdowns,  but 10 more interceptions than Harripersaud had with 12 on the season. Those extra turnovers, are what kind of scares me in this matchup. What happens if the Blessed defence confuses the coverage look for Rossie, forcing an early mistake. With only 8 interceptions on the season as a whole, can Junkyard Dogs overcome an early mistake by stepping infront of one of the lasers Harripersaud will launch over the middle? What about the presence of Phil Pharand, on both sides of the ball. Will he be the one to have the gamebreaking performance for Blessed, or will we see the fins fan himself Will Power make his presence felt in this finals. With all the attention on the stars that Blessed have, its important to not sleep on the HIGHKEY ballers Junkyard Dogs have. The size difference in this matchup should prove beneficial for JYD as they have 4 players who stand taller than 6 feet on the team (Lapierre, Rory/Sean Semerjian, and Brandon Robinson). With this size advantage, I can very well see Rossie having confidence in his men by giving them a shot at winning some jump balls. Should be an exciting game to witness live. Although both teams have their pros and cons coming into this game, I can very well see this game being a barn burner, filled with many jaw dropping plays. Before I hand out a winner, let’s take a closer look at what each team needs from their squad in order to host the Division 3 Winter Championship once the final whistle blows. 

Keys to victory for Junkyard Dogs: 

1. Be efficient on Offence. 

• As much as he loves taking his deep shots, Rossie needs to take care of the football during this game, constantly take what the defence gives you. More importantly, be aware of the whereabouts of the defensive player of the year Phil Pharand. He’s sneaky with his coverages, a player who isn’t afraid to jump a route, is always a deadly player to play against. Drive the field, make the right reads, execute at a high level. 

2. Play Aggressive on Defence.

• if you are expecting to win a finals vs Stephen Harripersaud playing laid back zone coverage, good luck my friends! He will slice and dice you all the way to the endzone with his short/intermediate passing game. The defence needs to play tight to shut down the triple slants, but more importantly be aware of the double moves to come. With a rusher like Hindlsey Adams, I don’t think Stephen will have much time to go through all his progressions to find the open man. If they go with the man to man approach, I can see Adams adding to his 16 sack season with another 2/3+ sack performance in this game. 

3. The stars need to shine brightest.

• The trio of Lapierre, Rory, and Sean Semerjian need to be fed early and often. These 3 are workhorses, meaning they play better the more they get involved in the game. Each of these 3 stars can go up to win a jumpball at any moment, so it’s important that Rossie takes his shots when they are there for the taking. If all 3 of these ballers get going early, the game will get roudy, which could fall in favour of JYD as they love that type of dog fight game.  

Keys to victory for Blessed 

1. Be yourselves 

• Whatever they’ve been doing all year, clearly works for them! On both sides of the ball, don’t go away from what you do best. Utilize your speed to your advantage. Stephen needs to Identify what defence JYD is throwing at him, all while staying aware of the confusing looks they might send him as the game progresses. Take advantage of what the defence gives you on offence, take your shots when the defence is playing too aggressive. More importantly, keep the communication live & well on the defensive side of the ball. They do a great job of handing off routes to one another within their zone schemes. As long as they stay true to their gameplan, they can find ways to get under the skin of Rossie to force some errant throws. 

2. Execute in the redzone

• The JYD defence might not have the most interceptions in the league, however, they are as pliable as it gets when it comes to redzone defence. Their height really makes it tough to find the passing lanes needed to get the scores. It’s going to be interesting to see the play calls coming from Harripersaud once they reach the redzone. Nonetheless, it’s going to be extremely important to not let any size faze the Blessed offence. Make sure you make all your redzone trips count, Stephen! 

3. Take Advantage of your opponents mistakes

• Whether it’s a bad throw by Rossie, or someone on the JYD defence blows their coverage assignment, Blessed NEEDS to take advantage of those mistakes. I’ve seen it all season long, whenever Jason Rossie happens to make a bad read that the defence doesn’t capitalize on, the very next play Rossie makes you pay with a big play, usually resulting in 6.  I’m telling you, I’ve seen it all season long, and I’m sure we will see it again sunday should the Blessed defence not take advantage of JYD’s mistakes, should there be any. With the combination of Rossie loving to hold onto the ball to let the play develop, mixed in with a rusher as good as Terry Babalis (15 sacks), it’s almost guaranteed that he will finish with a pair of sacks. Should he not produce any sacks (highly doubt it)  Babalis will certainly cause Rossie to throw off his back foot a couple of times. It’ll be interesting to see how Rossie handles the rush. Can the pressure cause poor decisions, or will Rossie be able to have the right play calls dialed in to get the ball out quick & exploit zone coverages. 

Both teams have a high upside, making this extremely tough to chose a winner here. Both teams have a fair amount of superstars, which makes this without a doubt a game for the ages! Look to see if Phil Pharand can get going early in this game, as he leads his team in touchdowns, with 13. Not so far behind him, is snapper Jafar Hassan, who I can see having a big game, as he had 10 tds himself on the season. Of course, Blessed is well equipped to handle any coverage thrown at them, due to the wide variety of high talented receivers on this squad. Ill be interested to see how Will Power/ James Langshaw get treated in coverage during this game. If JYD falls asleep on these 2 studs, look out. Harripersaud won’t hesistate to pull the trigger, as both these wrs have the chance to take any play for 6. On the flip side, JYD needs to make sure they keep their emotions in check throughout the contest. They have the men needed to compete with this Blessed roster. If JYD can find a way to confuse Harripersaud with different coverages, Adams will be sure to reak havoc on the qb, forcing Blessed to step away from their gameplan. If Rossie plays a clean game, utilizing his team’s strengths to his advantage, not make the big mistake, I can see Junkyard Dogs possibly pulling off an upset! Especially with how efficient they have been converting their 2 point converts all season long, if this game is going be decided by extra points, I might have to give the advantage to Junkyard Dogs due to the high level of two point converts attempted & completed. 

Prediction: 

Back against the wall, give me the team that showed little to no flaws all season long, Blessed. Although I came up with various scenarios of ways that this game can remain competitive, as well as JYD having an upper hand in some aspects, I can’t see Harripersaud turning off the switch and playing poorly in this matchup. He’s been way too good, way too consistent, way too smart all season long, to come up short in the biggest moment of the season. Although I believe Jason Rossie will produce some big plays down the field in this matchup, I do believe the Blessed Defence will force him into 1 or 2 mistakes down the stretch, which would essentially create the separation needed to win the Div 3 championship. I could be wrong, as a matter of fact, I hope I am wrong! I hope we get an absolute back & fourth showdown between both these teams, goes to overtime, and the game gets settled in extra time. However, I also hope I win the lottery next week. Morale of the story, just because you hope for it, doesn’t mean it will actually happen. 

Final Score: 

Blessed: 38 

Junkyard Dogs: 26

Well, thats a wrap on the extraordinary year we’ve had this winter season! Lots of breathe taking plays, surprising upsets, & spectacular finishes. I’m so happy to have been a part of the ride. The interactions i’ve had with many of yous this season were absolutely unforgettable. This season made me genuinely realize how important the media is to this league, as many of yous have clearly keep taps on everything said/written! I loved it, it definitely makes FPF feel as close to a professional league as it possibly can. The FPF community will always be the best within every sports recreational league, I don’t care what anybody tells me. We’ve got one more game left to go before we close this final chapter of the season. I would just like to mention that the love some of you ballers have shown me this season as a writer was truly special. I appreciate it more than any of yous can ever imagine. 

For one last time, that’s it for me folks! Hopefully I will see you all there to witness this epic showdown Sunday night 8pm @ Brossard. Stay safe and remember, if you run into Moe Khan within the next couple of weeks, please don’t be shy bringing up the 1-0 loss Liverpool took in the Champions League Finals to Real Madrid. 

See ya!