Division 4 – Playoff Preview Part 1 – FlagPlus Football League

Division 4 – Week 10

Hey Guys,

Tons of content to get into, so let’s not waste much time. Hopefully you enjoy the format. Next week, once things get a little more clear, we’ll take a look at the playoff matchups and preview the matchups within the matchup.

See you at the field!

Recaps

Outlaws 25 vs. Half-A-Stars 44

This is the kind of game that showcases all of the great things about Division 4A. Tons of talent and experience on both sides, two teams that could handle themselves in a higher division and a rivalry brewing based on recent history.

Stephen Harripersaud came into the game as one of the best quarterbacks in the Division 4A and he showed why, especially against the tough Half-A-Stars defense. He started the game moving the ball extremely well and was able to sustain a few long drives, but then seemed to stall when it mattered most. Watching the game itself and then sticking around to chat with Stephen, Kevin and Terry, it’s clear that they need to have their defense tweaked. On paper, they should be shutting teams down but the chemistry just doesn’t seem to be there. The thing is, it’s a scary thought to think that they’re so close to figuring things out and once they do, they’re easily one of the best teams in the Division. They still have a few weeks before it counts and my money is on them figuring it out.

Outlaws started the game off strong, needing only 3 completions to score the first points of the game. Craig Browning started things off and ended the drive by scoring a 1 yard touchdown. The whole game may have played out differently if they forced Half-A-Stars to slowly drive the field on their first drive but unfortunately, Langburt connected with Noah Groper on a 40 yard bomb in the middle of the field. Without saying too much, that seems to be a pattern for Half-A-Stars…

On the Outlaws next drive, after moving the ball into Half-A-Stars territory, the game started to get away from them. Stephen couldn’t poke a hole in the Half-A-Stars defense with a short field and they turned the ball over on downs. 5 plays later, Langburt found DonnDre Borden on a quick slant for 2 yards and took the lead. From bad to worse, 3 straight incompletions meant a punt for the Outlaws and now they found themselves down by 6 and without the ball. Every game I watch Half-A-Stars, there always seems to be one amazing run by Langburt where he makes at least 3 people miss. He’s much shiftier than he looks and it was not time for him to show that off, completing a run for a touchdown from midfield. When you can make guys like Terry Babalis, Justin Lerner and Isaiah Allard miss a tackle, you’re doing something right. All on the same run, now that’s next level.

While Outlaws looked a little defeated, they needed a spark and seemed to find one. You’ve heard of the gun show, how about the G.M. show? He’s been the best addition to Outlaws all season and he showed up Monday night on both sides of the ball. He found plenty of holes in the Half-A-Stars defense, mostly on the left sideline and often made guys miss, once for a score. In fact, he was solely responsible for the Outlaws second score of the game.

Overall, though, Outlaws dug themselves too big of a hole to crawl out of. It was probably the best game I’ve seen Langburt play at the quarterback position and combined with the poor defense of the Outlaws, it just became a recipe for the .500 season they now find themselves at. As I started this by saying, I’m not concerned in the least and if there is a team in the Division that can figure things out quickly, it’s the Outlaws.

Villeray Goons 38 vs. AA 19

Villeray Goons find themselves in an interesting position. It’s a team that I’ve been watching a lot of from the beginning of the season because they often play in St-Laurent and I’d argue they are easily the most improved team in 4B. The problem? One of the big reasons for their latest success is the addition of Darren Wiltshire who has been single handedly dominating teams. Doesn’t sound like much of a problem, except he won’t qualify for playoffs and they’ll have to learn to win without him. Having Dan Lazzara and John Madimenos who will both qualify will help them out a lot and Dimitri Sinodinos is coming into his own as a QB in FPF – his resume outside of FPF speaks for itself.

With everybody I mentioned available and playing in this game against AA, it was truly a David vs. Goliath type game. Sinodinos only had 1 incompletion in the entire game and threw for 6 touchdowns and over 200 yards with only 14 completions. Fair to say he was doing whatever he wanted. Early in the season, his receivers weren’t really helping him out and he relied heavily on Nick Madimenos but now, given options, he’s showing off his talent.

The game started close and AA scored on their first drive, but it only took two plays, both to Nick Madimenos for the Goons to tie up the game. AA was able to score again on a nice out route by Chris Casseus but then the Goons from Villeray stepped up their game and played to their potential, not down to their opponent. They simply scored too easily and too quickly. AA would have had to be perfect and they fell short.

Villeray scored their second touchdown in only another two plays, first to Darren Wiltshire and then to Nick again for his second touchdown of the game. It was great to see him finally have the kind of game I’ve been waiting to see from him. AA drove the field once again and would score their final points of the night to actually take the lead going into the half. AA’s offense was effective in the first half but they got comfortable running short passes. Once Villeray Goons adjusted for the second half, they couldn’t find the answer and J-P Pare was forced into mistakes.

The second half of this game was the Darren Wiltshire show, who like I said, will not be around come playoff time. He scored 3 touchdowns in the second half and added an interception. Is it wise to maybe play their last game without him to get one final walk through in with their playoff squad? It’s always tempting to play with a guy like Darren, but it might not be the best move for them long term. But when they do have him, why not have some fun, right? The game ended pretty much on a 45 yard bomb to Wiltshire down the sidelines to seal the deal for Villeray.

Playoff Picture Analysis

Conference A

Who’s in?

Bandit Bruthers, The Infantry, Les Verges Folles, Half-A-Stars, Eskimo Brothers, Sphinx

Who’s out?

Nobody! Technically..

Bubble Teams – Not to be confused with Bubble Tea

Les Blues Branleurs, A-Squad, Touched by An Angeletti, KGP RA

Huge game this week between KGP RA and Les Blues Branleurs. A win by KGP and they jump Les Blues for a playoff spot, which I think is very possible. A-Squad and Touched by An Angeletti have extremely tough matchups to close out the season, so I think if KGP RA wins, both they and Blues get in.

Conference B

Who’s in?

Chocolate Thunder, The Tide, C2E Inc., Don’t Mess With Texas

Who’s out?

Mad Bears

Bubble Teams

Dream Breakers, Les Princes de la Rive Sud, Outlaws, Super Saiyans, Les Centaures

In the tightest Conference in possibly all of FPF, it’s anybody’s guess who will be on the outside looking in. With a game against Mad Bears, Super Saiyans probably have the easiest remaining schedule and I would say that Dream Breakers have the toughest.

Conference A

Who’s In

BBallers, EZW, Class on Grass, Team Ethnik, Mean Machine, Ballers

Who’s out?

Nobody! It’s been like the Wild Wild West in Conference A and because Show Me Your TDs have just lost their most recent game, the last 2 spots for the playoffs are completely up for grabs. Who’s going to take them?

Bubble Teams

Show Me Your TDs, ZT’s, Dream Chasers, Warhawks, Finessers.

It comes down to the last two weeks for these teams, and most have winnable games. This week, Finessers will try to upset Team Ethnik, Dream Chasers have a winnable game against Show Me Your TDs. Warhawks have a tough hill to climb and it starts with EZW this week and ZT’s have an equally tough game against Ballers. Give me Dream Chasers and Finessers to get those final two playoff spots.

Conference B

Who’s in?

Mangoose, Takeover, Les Gros Coqs, Backwood Boyz, The Sheriff, Villeray Goons, FILP

Who’s out?

War Pigs, AA

While War Pigs can technically finish 2-8, Freshmen play OK Boomers this week which means the worse either can finish is 2-7-1, thus eliminating War Pigs.

Bubble Teams

Ok Boomers, Freshmen

They actually go head to head this week in a game I will preview below.

Power Rankings – because who says it has to be a top 10? Playoff time around the corner, let’s look at the top half of those teams. It’s my article and I am the captain now.

Bandit Bruthers (8-0) – Not Cocky, Confident.
Les Verges Folles (7-1) – I wish these guys were in the other Conference, honestly. Zach can sling it.
The Infantry (8-1) – Excited to see the result of their game against Les Verges Folles tonight. Both teams are scary to play against and I would put them both in number 2 if I could.
Half-A-Stars (5-3) – I warned everybody not to take them lightly and they’re hitting their stride at the perfect time.
Chocolate Thunder (6-2) – I could make a case for The Tide to be here also, I just think they have that quick strike ability that every team wants. Plus their defense has been dominant.
The Tide (6-2) – Separating themselves from the pack a little bit, McKernan’s dual threat ability and the overall grittiness of the team make for a great combination.
Outlaws (4-4) – Once they get the defense figured out, they can beat any other team in the Division. Call this a crazy move but I’m confident in this group.
C2E Inc. (5-3) – They need to fix all of the reasons why they’ve been sliding a little bit lately but they have the tools to get it done.

BBallers (8-0) – 364 points in 8 games kind of says it all. Who’s going to slow them down for 44 minutes?
EZW (6-1-1) – Super dynamic and their chemistry as a team is second to none, if they can get over the BBallers hurdle then it may just be their year.
Takeover (7-2) – Ian’s experience and his play so far have them towards the top of my list and if the combo of Power, Benjamin and Dobbs can get on the same page, they may just take over..
Mangoose (7-1) – They’ve looked great all season and have the best defense in the Division.
Les Gros Coqs (6-1-1) – They got surprised by Takeover and just tied EZW, I’d say they are really starting to show they belong. Nobody wants to play these guys come playoff time.
Backwood Boyz (6-2) – Studs from top of the roster to the bottom, they’re a passionate group and that can either make for lightning in a bottle or shoot themselves in the foot.
The Sheriff (6-3) – You never quite know what you’re gonna get with these guys, but when they’re on, they’re on.
Class on Grass (6-2) – A little bit of roster inconsistency but they just had a big win against Dream Chasers and have been strong all season. Wild card maybe?

Previews

Les Verges Folles vs. The Infantry

If I wasn’t playing in my own game, this is the kind of game I’d leave my house on a Saturday night for. Two of the best teams in all of 4A going head to head, each with only one loss and a lot of pride on the line as they can easily find themselves with a rematch in the second round if they both take care of business.

Key Matchups:

LVF Defense vs. Sean Semerjian

I don’t know that LVF have faced anybody like Sean all season and they’ll need to contain him and force him to make mistakes if they want to have success. I think either way, it will be a high scoring game where the extra points and turnovers will make all the difference.

Rory Semerjian vs. Zach Quiviger – Both Sides of the ball

If Zach is going to have any success, he’ll do right by keeping the ball away from Rory. Also, it will help to have a gamplan to stop him from tearing up their defense as well. He’s the Infantry’s best player and a huge key to their success.

Prediction: 33-32 Infantry

Freshmen vs. OK Boomers

Both teams are tied in the standings and the winner moves onto the playoffs, does it get any better than that? It will come down to the rookies to FPF against the aging vets with a secret weapon in Justin Blanchard. Will Freshmen pick up on that quickly enough to slow him down and give themselves a chance or will they let Peeze move the ball willingly? We’ll find out on Wednesday in Hebert.

Key Matchups:

Justin Blanchard vs. Vincent Lemieux

If there is someone on Freshmen that can stay with Justin one on one, it’s Vincent. Peeze will be forcing the ball into justin on slants, drags and posts as much as possible and the Freshmen need to win this matchup to win the game.

Jeremi Thompson-O’Reilly vs. Lucas Blanchard

We all know that Jeremi prefers to run the ball and he looks great doing it. He’ll need to use his legs as usual in this game for them to win but he’ll also need to complete a few passes too. The question remains, will Lucas be able to contain him enough to force mistakes, or come up with a big sack or two to get them in unfavorable down and distance?

Prediction: Freshmen win 25 – 20

Picks

Eskimo Brothers vs. A-Squad – Eskimo Brothers

The Infantry vs. Les Verges Folles – The Infantry

Touched by An Angeletti vs. Bandit Bruthers – N/A

Don’t Mess with Texas vs. Outlaws – Outlaws

Super Saiyans vs. Les princes de la Rive-Sud – Super Saiyans

C2E Inc. Vs. Dream Breakers – C2E Inc.

KGP RA vs. Les Blues Branleurs – KGP RA

Sphinx vs. Half-A-Stars – Half-A-Stars

Mad Bears vs. Chocolate Thunder – Chocolate Thunder

Les Centaures vs. The Tide – The Tide

Team Ethnik vs. Finessers – Team Ethnik

Warhawks vs. EZW – EZW

Show Me Your TDs vs. Dream Chasers – Dream Chasers

Ballers vs. ZT’s – ZT’s

The Sheriff vs. FILP – The Sheriff

BBallers vs. Backwood Boyz – Bballers

Mangoose vs. Villeray Goons – Mangoose

Les Gros Coqs vs. AA – Les Gros Coqs

Takeover vs. War Pigs – Takeover

Class On Grass vs. Mean Machine – Class On Grass

Freshmen vs. OK Boomers – Freshmen