A 35+ Football Story – Week 11
01-04-2023 07:38 PM
35+ FPF/KTFL Week 11 Article
And then there were 2.
After a season of epic battles and cold beverages, the semi-finals for the Legends division is here and we find out who has earned the right to compete for the 2023 35+ Legends Division Championship. Before we check into the results, let’s see what else is going on in the world of sports.
NCAA Women’s tourney is delivering better games in the later rounds (there was some rough games to watch early) and definitely has the better storylines this year. 2 number 1’s fall in Semi-Finals with a very interesting finals coming up this Sunday. Caitlin Clark is a beast and the most dominant player in both tournaments this season. While I see LSU’s #10 leading a strong Geaux Tigers team, Iowa’s won’t be denied this year. Plus if you’ve never seen the videos about the Iowa Hawkeye’s football Children’s Hospital Wave tradition, you are in for a good cutting onions moment. NCAA Sports are outstanding in their traditions and it has nothing to do with the game on the field. #GoHawks
Did you know the D.C. Defenders are 6-0 in XFL play this year? No, you didn’t. Cause nobody is watching this car wreck. XFL 3.0 probably won’t last past this season. Good thing the Rock has enough pocket change to write off this purchase.
Your Habs have played the season most nights with 5 rookie-ish defencemen and 2 backup goalies. That is usually a recipe for a failed season, yet they aren’t the worst team in the NHL. There are 4 teams below them in the standings, those 4 teams must be absolute poop. Bedard welcome to the NHL, have fun playing in Columbus or another lost NHL outpost. I refuse to accept he will end up in Chicago and their incompetent ownership consisting of spoiled brat rich children. Habs hopefully end up moving up or at least stay in the top 5 and get a better pick than their last 2 top 5 picks.
10 games in a 4 team division is a lot of repeat match ups, so as we head into the playoffs, teams have seen a lot of each other during the season and should have a good handle on what their opponents can do. Who’s learned the most and game planned the best? Let’s not waste any more time and see what happened this week in the 35+ Legends Playoffs.
Legends Division Semi-Finals
(1) Monster 39 – (4) Rainmakers 25
Rainmakers lineup here ready for the upset, but it wasn’t to be this week as the first place Monster punches their way into the 35+ 2023 championship final. Holding a close 21-18 lead right before half and picking a key 3 pts on converts, Monster was threatening to score before the half which probably would have put the game away, but the always dangerous Andrew Carruthers comes up with a key INT to keep Rainmakers only down 3 at half. Rainmakers take the lead on the first drive on the 2nd half with a TD to Lee Kiley with eyes on the upset, but on the next drive Monster retaliates with a big score to wide open Andrew Blevings. Unfortunately for Rainmakers they couldn’t find the end zone again on this day and congrats to Monster as they survive the semi’s and head to the finals. Full credit to Ryan Kastner on keeping the Rainmakers together throughout the season after losing so many to injury and having to rebuild his roster and syncing with so many different players.
Key Stats – Mr. Peterkin’s 143.7 QB Rating 14/21 and 6 TD’s and Blevings with 3 TD’s on 4 catches.
(2) Gladiateurs 27 – (3) Pacemakers 18
These squads head into their playoff match-up with an even 1-1-1 record between each other during the season. Therefore, it only makes sense that it was a close one here. Pacemakers take the lead on the first drive with a quick TD to awide open Chris Bockwell, but the first half belong to Gladiateurs, Nicolas Guimer who in the first half cashes in a Pick 6 and an offensive TD to give them the halftime lead 20-12. Pacemakers again shine on the first play of the 2nd half, as James Acker picks off Francois Lebeau for a pick 6, a missed 2 point convert brings the score to 20-18, 1 series into the 2nd half. Converts matter in any game in FPF, gotta take advantage of those extra points whenever you can. Unfortunately for Pacemakers, that’s as close at it gets, as Alex Moreau scores for Gladiateurs and a 1 pt convert which gives them the desired 9 pt lead and making it a 2 score game. Nothing else hits the scoresheet and it’s Gladiateurs who take the W and meeting with Monster in the 2023 Finals. These teams battled hard all season long, I’m sure they are looking forward to next season against each other already.
Key Stats – Nicolas Guimer’s 2 INT’s on defence with a pick 6 and 5 catches on Offence with a TD
Legends 2023 FPF 35+ Championship Final – Look Ahead
(2) Gladiateurs @ (1) Monster
A battle of the best here, 1 vs 2.
Regular season record has Monster with a 3 -1 edge over Les Gladiateurs, but the games have all been close with 11/5/8/10 point differentials. The key thing here is these teams can score on each other. Monster have put up 152 pts, while Gladiateurs aren’t far behind with 134 pts scored. Defence has definitely been optional between these 2 squads. Both rosters are stacked with no weak links on either side of the ball, the only weakness being most players hairlines. 2 QB’s with Elite FPF experience, 2 teams with 2 Elite Halfbacks, Owy, Lever, Lapierre, Tossi……Monster has about 34 experienced QB’s on their Roster. These teams are going to score early and often, like it’s prom night. So like any matchup, Converts and Turnovers are going to be the difference maker in this Championship final. Good luck to both squads, play hard and respectful, both are deserving champions.
Who will Finish The Story in the Legends Division this season? Swing by Baie D’Urfe this Wednesday April 5th at 9pm for the championship finals action!
Will there be an article next week? Maybe. How much can I write about 1 game? Probably just enough to make it interesting. I know you’ve waited eagerly every week for this collection of letters and words to fulfill a hole in your sporting soul.
See you on the field
Thanks
Dave