Division 6 Championship Game Review

The Bell Sports Complex, last Sunday in Brossard, was home for the FlagPlus Football Division 6 Finals, that featured a matchup between the Conference A champion (9-1) Goofy Goobers, taking on the Conference B champs, in the (8-2) Greendale Human Beings.

 

To get to championship Sunday, both teams had to battle through three playoff games to get here.

 

For the Greendale Human Beings, they had to beat three tough veteran teams, in the N.W.O, Smokin Axolotls, and Pardon My Swag.

 

In the other Conference, the Goofy Goobers had the unenviable task of having to knock off the Rolling Rock, Broke Boys, and in what was arguably the longest playoff game in FPF history, the Sticknmovers in overtime.

 

Talking to members of both teams before the game, each side was feeling that not only would they win, but their side would be victorious by a big margin, because they had the much better team. Needless to say, both teams were amped up and ready to play.

 

As expected, with two teams who finished in the top three in scoring during the regular season, both offenses came out firing to start the game.

 

The Goofy Goobers, started off the scoring with a 5-play drive, that was capped off by a 4-yard touchdown reception from Snapper Wes Tayeh who found an opening in the Greendale Human Beings‘ lanes defense.

 

GHB, would answer right back on their opening drive, as finding his brother Brandon Aylward, for a 20-yard gain on a wheel route down the left sideline, Danny Aylward, would find his own Snapper, in Alex Joltopuf, for a 6-yard TD. The one point conversion would be good, as it gave the team and 7-6 lead.

 

Attempting to re-take their lead on the very next play, Goofy Goobers Quarterback Jarryd Taylor, would take his first deep shot of the game, as he threw a bomb to Wide Receiver Max Burah, who got separation from his defender on a beautiful post route. Burah, would make the catch, but the overthrow caused him to be about 3 steps out of bounds.

 

Although the blown opportunity was huge, the bigger concern, was the fact that Burah was limping as he made his way back to his huddle, as he appeared to have rolled his right ankle while making the catch.

 

On the next double G drive, after getting a little help from an Unnecessary Roughness penalty called against GHB’s Satchel Carriero, that placed the ball inside the red zone, Taylor would hit Tayeh for a gain of 5 yards, then he made up up for his earlier gaffe, by finding Wide Receiver Mikey Schwartz for a TD on a drag route in front of the endzone. With that, the Goofy Goobers were up 12-7.

 

After a Valentin Skrypnik TD helped GHB regain the lead, the Goofy Goobers struck right back, as Max Burah scored on a 4-yard hook route at the front of endzone. The reception would be his only one of the game, as the ankle injury definitely limited his effectiveness.

 

On their last possession of the first half, Danny Aylward, hit both Brandon Aylward, and Alex Joltopuf, for 13 and 15-yard catch and run plays respectively. On the very next play, the pivot hit WR Zachary Pitts, for a 6-yard TD With 5 plays remaining.

 

The Goofy Goobers got the ball back with 4 plays remaining in the first stanza. After a drop by Craig Browning, the rookie WR made amends one play later, as he hauled in a 17-yard pass to down the right sideline, that put his team in great position to score before the whistle.

 

The Goofy Goobers weren’t able to capitalize on the field position, as one play later, Taylor was sacked for a 1-yard loss, as he tripped over himself trying to make a cut, while running from the pass rush of Skrypnik.

 

On the final play of the half, Taylor took the snap rolled out from left to right, and eventually dropped back nearly 10 yards, before deciding to tuck the ball and run. While he has the elusiveness of Colin Kaepernick in the open field, Taylor could not make it into the end one on his scramble, as he was taken down at the 3-yard line, on a solid touchdown-saving tackle by Pitts.

 

Despite the fact that the Goofy Goobers lead their opponents in yards, first downs, and time of possession, they found themselves down 19-18 at the break.

 

GHB, kicked off the second half with the ball, and they picked up where they left off in the first stanza, as they used a 7-play drive, to march down the field, that culminated in a 10-yard TD, by Joltopuf, knowing a blown coverage by the Goofy Goobers. What made the play even more impressive, was the fact that it came on a 4th and goal from the 10 yard line, after the team was pushed back 5 yards due to a procedure penalty. The lead was now 25-18 Greendale Human Beings.

 

The Goofy Goobers would answer right back once again, as Taylor, took advantage of openings in the middle of the field, and hit Daniel Pisaturo for 10 yards on a quick slant.

 

Two plays later, on a play that would usually only work in Madden (trust me, I should know lol) Taylor rolled out all, the way the left sideline, and threw the ball all the way across his body to the opposite sideline to Craig Browning, who was parked at the 1-yard line. Browning caught the ball, broke a Brandon Aylward tackle, and walked in for the TD. The 1-point conversion was no good (maybe they should have tried the read option), so the Greendale Human Beings, we’re still up by one, 25-24.

 

On the ensuing drive, GHB, made a number of mistakes. The first one occurred, when the day red-handed Alex Joltopuf, dropped a perfectly placed TD pass, on a corner route, when he tried to cradle catch the ball instead of using his hands.

 

The second mistake took place when Valentin Skrypnik, who was wide open in the endzone, after the Goofy Goobers bizarrely decided to play man defense in the red zone, despite not having the speed to matchup with their opponents, made the catch, while his back foot was touching the out of bounds line.

 

Luckily for GHB, they were bailed out by an Unnecessary Contact call going against the Goofy Goobers’ Ryan Shapiro, who tackled Zachary Pitts, after the latter made a 5-yard catch, and was trying to fight for extra yardage. The play resulted in a first and goal from the 1-yard line, and one play later, GHB, would find the end zone once again, as Joltopuf, would score his third TD of the game, resulting in a 31-24 lead.

 

On their final drive, after he hit Ryan Shapiro for an 11-yard gain, and then picked up a first down of his own with his feet, inside of 2 minutes remaining, Taylor, went back to his natural position at WR, and the team inserted backup Quarterback Ryan Shapiro at QB.

 

Shapiro who was the team’s starting QB the first 8 weeks of the season, wasted no time going to Taylor, as he threw a bullet in the back of the endzone to his WR on a post route, but unfortunately, the was just a little overthrown, due to the tight coverage by Defensive Back Brandon Aylward.

 

After Taylor was called for procedure, on the very next play, a Shapiro pass intended for Schwartz in the endzone was batted down by Pitts, who seemed to be everywhere on defense all afternoon.

 

This set up the biggest play of the game, as it was now 4th down for the Goofy Goobers. Looking to create space for Taylor, Double G came out the huddle in a trips formation, that left the Concordia Stingers’ WR matchup one-on-one with Brandon Alyward.

Realizing immediately what was happening, as soon as the ball was snapped, Free Safety, Danny Alyward smartly shot over to give help on Taylor for the upcoming jump ball, which came as a surprise to nobody in attendance. Despite the double team, Taylor jumped over both players, and made a nice catch. Unfortunately for the WR and his team, he was called for offensive pass interference, as the replay showed he pushed off Brandon Alyward, while trying to establish positioning for the pass.

 

Taylor, did come down with the ball, so the Greendale Huuman Beings had to accept the penalty. The QBWR also received an Objectionable Conduct (OC) penalty for spiking the ball after the ill-fated TD, and was sent off for 5 plays. So with the pass interference, and OC penalty, the Goofy Goobers, now faced 4th and goal from their side of the field. The whole sequence, was similar to the Semi-Final game against the Sticknmovers, in which Taylor in particular, took a bad penalty that really hurt his team.

 

On their final play, Shapiro was inexplicably picked off at the 1-yard line, by Brandon Aylward (He really should have batted the ball down).

 

Facing a huge first down, with the game on the line, and the ball inside of your own 1-yard line, Danny Aylward showed off his legs, as he called a QB-keeper, and scrambled 11 yard for a first down, and with that, head referee Leo Gervais waved the flag to end the game.

 

Greendale Human Beings 31-24 final.

 

At the end of the day, the inability of the Goofy Goobers to keep their composure, along with the ability of the Greendale Human Beings, to come up with big plays in do-or-die situations, is what separated them from the Goofy Goobers. Whether it was Alex Joltopuf coming up with clutch catches on 3rd and 4th down, or Zachary Pitts’ brilliant defensive performance, the team simply made more plays than their opponents.

 

I sincerely hope both teams come back to play in Div E this spring. They provided us with a amazing Finals, and it would be great to see them go at it again.

 

Well guys, the 2017 Winter Season is officially in the books. I had a blast writing for you guys this year. Thanks to everybody for the positive feedback and, and information throughout the campaign, it was truly appreciated!

 

A big thank-you also goes out to all 30 teams who played this season. You guys make writing the articles, and doing the podcast a lot of fun. Congrats once again, to the Greendale Human Beings, for winning the D6 title.

 

The Spring Season is just around the corner, and I will be writing for Division E, so take care, enjoy the break, and I’ll see you guys soon.

 

If you loved the article, hated it, or simply felt like I left something out, please feel free to contact me at [email protected] 

 

Cheers, and Happy Easter!