And then there were two…

The most exciting time of the year is finally upon us. Everything you’ve done, every play you’ve made, has been to get to this game. Flag football is no different than any other sport; it takes a special mix of guys to be successful. Sacrifice, great play and a bit of luck are just a few of many things you need to find success on a consistent basis. They say all good things take time…I prefer believing that hard work always pays off. It’s not always the sexiest teams who make it this far. If that were the case, we’d be left with no Cinderella stories; those teams who keep us on the edge of our seats. The element of surprise is what keeps the crowd interested. Watching a game you already know the outcome to is as stimulating as playing chess with a three year old. I’m lucky enough to be taking part in one of these games. A game that will be finals-worthy I can guarantee, and I must be very honest: I’m really excited.

 

SEMI RECAP:

Demons vs Flag Moi L’Sac

All year long I gave Demons a hard time. You’d be a fool to think they didn’t give me a million reasons not believe in the product they were selling. Personally, I think what frustrated me the most was the early let down. When the hype started about a team who would dethrone Montreal’s Finest I sort of got excited. Not at the idea of seeing Finest lose, but thinking it may be a possibility. I can’t say even after their late success that I’m a believer, but they certainly did what they needed to do to be in this game. It doesn’t matter how you get here, as long as you get here. Demons dominated Flag Moi L’sac in such a way I never thought possible. Three red zone interceptions by Demons’ defense, combined with Carmine Pollice’s perfection at quarterback was more than enough to take down FML. Alex Nadeau-Piuze was lucky to have receivers to throw to. Couple minutes before the start of the game, it looked like FML was going to be unable to field a roster. An unfortunate way to end a great season for FML, but we can’t all be winners.

 

Montreal’s Finest vs D-Boys

 

I said this to Marco Masciotra after his game [Sunday] and I’m going repeat it here: I think D-Boys blew a tire last night and lost a game they had in the bag. Now I realize how unintelligent it sounds to say any team playing against Montreal Finest can have a game in the bag. It really felt like they did with two plays to go before the half. The reason why it’s unintelligent to think such a thing was defined on the very next play. Even when everyone knows you’re going to throw the ball deep, even if you are in cover 3 with three studs deep, Kevin Wyeth and Kishon Thompson can beat you deep. The precision with which Kevin throws every one of his balls is insane. Worst thing about the play isn’t the points it put up it’s the effect this play had on D-Boys’ morale. The play looked to have taken Jamal Gittens right out of the game from that point forward. As a whole, D-Boys played an excellent game, notably Marco Masciotra and Theo Ojeaha, who have grown together and now form an elite duo in division one. But the show only goes on for Montreal’s Finest, they have now won 40 straight games.

 

Legends vs Gladiateurs

 

A game which I watched in agony due to my inability to part take in was between Legends and Gladiateurs. With a couple important missing pieces, the Legends went into the game with an aggressive game plan. Jeremy Cola– you know the name? I’m certain over 50 percent of you don’t, but you should– Jeremy is the rusher for Legends, and that’s why he does not get mentions, along with everyone else who plays with me. In a drive where the Glads could have gone up two scores and really shake up the Legends, Jeremy came up huge! Couple sacks is one thing, a pick six from your rusher is colossal. The high level and consistency at which Jeremy rushes, puts him among the best in this league. Can’t say enough about how clutch certain guys were even out of their natural elements due to the inconvenient circumstances of me being out and Ryan Lelinowski being on vacation. Through it all, I think the Glads lost their way. They were way more emotional than usual and it cost them big. Alex Lever got himself ejected and that’s not something you see often nor something you’re likely to see again. Again, if we could all be winners, competition would be a state of numbness.

 

Les Messieurs Chats vs ONS

 

The last game on the docket was between Les Monsieur Chat and ONS. It was an intense and emotional game to say the least. Both teams wanted the victory bad and it was noticeable. Tony Lalla did everything to give ONS hope. He looked like a possessed man catching balls over a seasoned DB like Samuel Bibeault. Nic Centomo had other plans for ONS and he led his team to a 33-27 win. ONS had a rusher interference call extend LMS’ last drive and a few plays later the huge touchdown. As a spectator, it’s a tough way to see a game end but this is where my previously noted “luck” comes into account. Sometimes the cookie crumbles in a way that is somewhat unfavorable, or advantages.

 

Clutch Freaks:

Kishon Thompson- 3 Receptions for 67 yards and 3 TDs

Jeremy Cola- 1 Tackle 2 SK and a pick six.

Nicola Centomo- 18/31 for 242 yards and 6 TDs

 

The Kish Award:

Theo Ojeaha: 9 Receptions for 123 yards and 3TDs/ 3 TKLs 1 INT 1 PD

 

Championship Games:

 

Montreals Finest VS Demons

 

Eligible players and championships associated to the individual:

 

Montreals Finest	Demons
Kevin Wyeth (8)	Adam Ciampini (1)
Akked Moore (7)	Carmine Pollice (7)
Brian Larriviere (2)	Jean-Pierre Moreau (1)
Garrett Taylor (6)	Jonathan Grizzley (0)
Guillaume Ward (2)	Paul Lapierre (5)
Karim Binette (8)	Rob Robinson (3)
Kishon Thompson (8)	Ryan Hector (0)
Mike Harrington (1)	Sean Kennedy (1)
Nathan Taylor (8)	Stephane Chartrand (2)
Olivier Bourdages (4)	Vinny Gualano (1)
	Yve Thomas (3)
Total: 54	Total: 24

 

You will not find another team in this league with this much championship experience. Worst thing is, Demons have a lot themselves even they trail the Finest by a large number. As a team with one less player legible for playoffs, Finest have 30 more championships than Demons. Montreal’s Finest averages 5.4 championships per player eligible for playoffs. Insane number that weigh a heavy advantage in terms of experience and their ability to adapt to the situation because they’ve been in it time and time again.

Last time they played:

54-24 for Montreal’s Finest

 

Regular season Comparison:

 

+/-

Finest: +151

Demons: – 48

 

PA-

Finest: 257

Demons: 388

 

PF-

Finest: 408

Demons: 340

 

Record-

Finest: 10-0

Demons: 3-7

 

Longest streak:

Finest: 10 wins… or 40 wins

Demons: 3 losses

 

Match ups all across the board and whom I give the advantage to:

 

Finest O VS Demons D

Kishon Thompson vs Adam Ciampini: ADV to Kish

Mike Harrington vs Ryan Hector: ADV to Mike

Brian Larriviere vs Roby Robinson: ADV Brian

Kevin Wyeth vs Yves Thomas: ADV Kev

Akked Moore vs JP Moreau: ADV Akked

Guillaume Ward vs Jonathan Grizzley: ADV Ward

 

Demons O vs Finest D

Stephane Chartrand vs Nathan Taylor: ADV Taylor

Vinny Gualano vs Garrette Taylor: ADV Taylor

Paul Lapierre vs Kishon Thompson: ADV Kish

Carmine Police vs Mike Harrington: ADV Carm

Sean Kennedy vs Olivier Bourdages: ADV Sean

Robby Robinson vs Karim Binette: ADV Robby

 

Overall offense: ADV Finest

Overall Defense: ADV Finest

QB vs QB: ADV Finest

Rusher vs Rusher: ADV Finest

It seems fairly obvious how heavily favored Montreal’s Finest is. On top of it all, after their game, Demons decided to talk some trash to Finest. Now lets be clear, I’m no fire fighter, but I’m pretty sure you don’t put out a fire with gasoline. If we forecast this game based only on the previous match up these two teams had, this game will not be close. Montreal’s Finest will go down as the best team to ever play in this league, I guarantee it. Is there a team out there who can beat them? I’m sure there is. Are the Demons that team? I don’t think so. I just hope Demons can keep up and make it an entertaining game.

 

Key Players:

Montreals Finest: Kevin Wyeth, Mike Harrington, Kishon Thompson

Demons: Carmine Pollice, Sean Kennedy, Robby Robinson

 

My Prediction: 46-32 Finest

 

Legends vs Les Messieurs Chats

 

Eligible players and number of championships associated with each individual.

Legends	Les Messieurs Chats
Bryan Fuchs (1)	Alexandre Branco (0)
Cory Pecker (1)	Alexandre Lemire (0)
Dave Chitayat (1)	David Centomo (1)
Jeff Rosenblatt (1)	Jacques Void (1)
Jeremy Cola (1)	Jean Christophe Mercille (0)
Robbie Pecker (1)	Nicolas Centomo (1)
Ryan Lelinowski (1)	Patrick Jerome (4)
Vince Nardone (3)	Samuel Bibeault (0)
	Sebastien Deschamps (1)
Total: 10	Total: 8

 

While Legends don’t have a single player who hasn’t won a championship, we can’t say the same about LMC. This is only to look at the level of experience each team has won a game of this magnitude. Although the guys who play for LMC might not have a championship, they can definitely make up for it with the experience they’ve had through football outside of flag. Also worth mentioning, everyone who has one championship for Legends, won it together last winter in division 3.

 

Regular season Comparison:

 

+/-

Legends: +85

LMC: +18

 

PA-

Legends: 270

LMC: 279

 

PF-

Legends: 355

LMC: 297

 

Record-

Legends: 8-2

LMC: 4-6

 

Longest streak:

Legends: 5 wins

LMC: 2 wins

 

Advantage to?

Overall offense: Advantage Legends

Overall Defense: Advantage LMC

QB vs QB: Advantage: Advantage Legends

 

              While I’d love to go in depth about each individual match up in this game, I won’t. My opinion is biased and I do not want to give away a mismatch LMC might not know about. Or what I’ll do is prepare each one on one based on me knowing who lines up where for both teams, and I will fire them at GM Thursday night. So tune in live around 21h00 for GM’s thoughts on this game. One thing is for sure, this is going to be an amazing game. I believe it has the potential to be more entertaining then the division 1 game. LET’S PLAY BALL!!