Championship Saturday: Division 4A Finals Preview

Welcome to the FlagPlus Football Finals edition of the Division 4A article.

After eleven regular season games, and three more in the post-season, we are finally here, The Alpha-T’s versus Keyport Lock, for the Division 4A championship.

 

Before we get into a breakdown and prediction for the Finals, let’s take a quick look at how each team got here.

After knocking off the 69ers, in the Divisional Round, The Alpha-T’s, were able to eliminate a short-handed The Commission squad, in the Quarter-Finals (33-13), on the arm of Quarterback Jesse Dupuis, who threw five touchdown passes, against a tired defense that couldn’t get off the field.

The Alpha-T’s, were able to riide the offensive momentum, into their Semi-Final game against TOPSZN, where they outlasted their opponents (45-42), in a shootout Tuesday night at Stade Hébert.

This game featured a lot of big plays, and performances by both sides. Khalil Kerr, of TOPSZN, led his team in receiving, with 7 catches for 89 yards, and 4 touchdowns.

The play of Kerr, was nearly matched by The Alpha-T’s top receiver Alexis Gaumont, who led his team with 6 receptions, for 94 yards, and 3 touchdowns.

Dupuis, would have the biggest game out of anybody on either side, as he threw for 5 touchdowns, ran for another, along with a game high 80 yards on the ground, while also recording two interceptions on defense.

Another key for The Alpha-T’s getting the win, was the performance of Marc-Antoine Vallée. The 1-time All-Star, forced TOPSZN Quarterback Jarryd Taylor, to get rid of the ball quickly, with a solid combination of speed and length. More importantly, Vallée held Taylor, to without a rushing yard all game, which had not happened since Week 1 versus Mutation.

At the end of the day, TOPSZN’s inability to convert on several conversion attempts, came back to bite them, as they missed on two in the first half.

Who knows what would have happened if the two attempts were good, and the game had gone to overtime.

Keyport Lock, makes their appearance in the Finals, after beating the Mountain Lions (34-33), in an overtime thriller, last Saturday in the Quarter-Finals.

The victory was highlighted by the performance of Keyport Lock’s Daniel Farag, who had 4 receptions, for 62 yards, and 3 touchdowns.

The Mountain Lions Kevin Smuda, was even better in a losing effort, as he had 5 catches, for 59 yards, and a game-high 4 trips to the endzone.

Keyport Lock, proved that they are the cardiac kids once again in the Semi-Finals, as they knocked off Jagerbomb (32-29), Tuesday night at Stade Hébert.

Leading the way for the Conference B champs, was FPF veteran Jad Aridi, who had a game-high 9 catches, for 74 yards, and 2 touchdowns.

Ryan Tereskewitz, also played a huge role in the victory, as he recorded 5 receptions, for 60 yards, and 2 TDs.

Keyport Lock Quarterback Jeff Rosenblatt, shone in the battle with opposing QB Simon Duchesne, as Rosenblatt, went 24 of 32 for 213 yards, and 5 touchdown passes.

 

(4) Keyport Lock versus (6) The Alpha-T’s

 

Previous Meeting: N/A

 

Despite their underdog status, both teams have reached this point by not only beating more than few teams who had better regular season records than they did, but they have been dominant offensively along the way.

Coming into tonight’s championship game, Keyport Lock, and The Alpha-T’s, have averaged 34 and 37 points per game respectively in the playoffs.

To walk out of the Bell Sports Complex as champs, defensively, Keyport Lock, will have to find a way to stop Wide Receiver Alexis Gaumont, and dual-threat Quarterback Jesse Dupuis.

To do the former, Keyport Lock, will need to mix-up their coverages with Kevin Boustany, Kevin Gauthier, Jad Aridi, and Daniel Farag.

Shutting down Dupuis, will be even harder, as the talented QB, has arguably been the best at the position in Div. 4A, the entire post-season.
The dubious task, will fall on the shoulders of 8-season veteran David Miron, who coming into tomorrow’s matchup, has put up MVP-like numbers this post-season, with 9 sacks, one better than his regular season total.

Continuing his production will be huge, as the key to beating Dupuis, is forcing him to get the ball out of his hands quickly. Despite his solid post-season play over the years, when he is rushed, the 4-time All-Star, has been prone to throwing interceptions.

Quarterback Jeff Rosenblatt, also must capitalize on his diverse attack, that features multiple playmakers at receiver, including Aridi, Farag, Boustany, and Ryan Tereskewitz.

For The Alpha-T’s to hoist the championship, they will need to do two things as well.

The first is to continue the offensive onslaught. With Mathieu Houle, Bryan Mongeau, Elliot Lambert, and the aforementioned dynamic duo of Gaumont, and Dupuis, this squad has lit the scoreboard on fire this post-season. To guarantee the win, The Alpha-T’s must make sure to keep up the pace.

Secondly, and more importantly, they must find a way to stop Jeff Rosenblatt, and the Keyport Lock offense, which is more than capable of beating teams with the short passing game, and the long ball.

As impressive as The Alpha-T’s have been this post-season in knocking off three favorites, I think their run stops here.
Prediction: Keyport Lock 30-28.

 

That’s it for the Division 4A Finals preview article. Good luck to both teams tonight!

 

This also wraps up the articles for the season. Thanks to you guys for reading them, and for all the positive feedback. I had a lot of fun writing the articles. I look forward to seeing you guys in the spring/summer season.

 

If you loved the article, hated it, or simply felt that I left something out, feel free to contact me on Twitter @ BADNEWSB51 or at [email protected]