Division A/B: Quarter-Finals and Semi-Finals Review
Brent Bodkin
19-09-2021 01:23 AM
Welcome to the playoff edition of the FlagPlus Football Summer Season.
We have two rounds in the books. The final four teams are set. Before we start talking about the Finals, let’s take a quick look at how each team got here.
In Division B, the Junkyard Dogs, beat Here For The Beers (36-24) last Friday in Laval. In the game, JYD Quarterback Jason Rossie, silenced the doubters, as he outdueled his counterpart Sean Avraam, and sliced and diced the HFTB defense for five touchdowns on 15 of 20 passing for 232 yards.
What really stood out about his performance besides the numbers, was that the veteran passer was able to make huge plays to extend drives and get his team out of trouble when it appeared they were about to lose momentum. Just as important, he never seemed to lose his cool, or get rattled even when he did make a mistake. A perfect example of that was on the team’s second offensive play of the game, where Rossie was intercepted by Jordan Allard. In past seasons, a turnover like that might very well have set the tone for the entire game for the QB. Credit to him for shaking it off and not looking back.
Rossie wasn’t alone in his standout performance, as the Semerjian brothers Rory and Sean, played a huge role in their team’s victory as well. The latter might have only recorded two catches for 21 yards as a Receiver, but he certainly made an impact on defense, with not only a big interception near the right sideline on a severely underthrown ball to Dom Benevento, but he provided tight coverage all evening long.
The former Semerjain brother also registered an interception as he picked off the ball on a post route intended for Jordan Allard. For Sean, his biggest impact was made on offense, as the 6-time All-Star who only had two receptions like his brother, managed to make it to the endzone on both. His second TD was the more memorable one, as he burned Chris Milard to the right back pylon for the catch. He would also serve as a decoy on a touchdown by teammate Charles-Olivier Lavigne, on a beautiful pump fake by Rossie to Semerjian on the left side of the field drew in and froze more than one Here For The Beers defender, leaving Lavigne, virtually wide open for a score. Fantastic play design.
Speaking of Lavinge, he had a statement game as well. Not only was the previous TD a thing of beauty, but he capped off a big JYD touchdown drive with a 23-yard score right in front of a diving Marco Bertoldi. He would also help his squad hammer in the proverbial nail in the coffin, as exactly one play after HFTB shrunk their opponent’s lead to 10 points (28-18) on a TD by Benevento, Lavinge, would have a 38-yard catch and run to set up his offense at the two-yard line. On the next play Receiver Paul Lapierre would find paydirt extending the lead to 18 points as they were able to also score the two-point conversion successfully.
After giving up a TD to Vinny Gualano, Lavigne and his team were able to put the game on ice, as he ran a QB option for 20 yards and picked up a first down ending the contest with less than five plays remaining.
It was disappointing end to the campaign for a Here For The Beers team that was arguably the most talented on paper in Division B. The team lack of a Rusher, broken collarbone suffered by Defensive Back Eddy Lee right before the playoffs, and lack of ability to consistently hit the deep ball, all came back to bite them.
Last Friday in Laval was cold. If you don’t believe me, I got an in-game quote between plays from Dom Benevento “It’s a little nippy, not good for a Caribbean like me.” Yes, he was talking about himself, and yeah I laughed too.
If the loss wasn’t bad enough for Here For The Beers, Sean Avraam also lost his ball, as Paul Lapierre deflected a convo attempt over the fence, into the bushes, and down the hill, most likely never to be seen or heard from again.
As I watched the ball go over the fence and into the woods, I said to Lance Daniel, who was on the sideline with me that if that was my ball, it would be lost to me as well, as there would be zero chance of me walking into the woods at night to go look for it. He doubled over in laughter. Call it the lack of success rate of Black people in horror movies, or not wanting to get sprayed by a skunk, or whatever else you like, there was simply no way I would do it, especially if I can’t see where the ball was as I walked in to get it.
All the credit in the world to Corey Walwaski for going into the woods and attempting to find it. Unfortunately for him, Avraam, and his team he was unsuccessful, and came out covered in burrs and dirt for his troubles. Fortunately for him, he noticed in time that there was a cliff behind the trees. Who builds a football field next to a cliff?
I told Lance that Corey was brave for going in, because you have no idea what animals were lurking around in there. Keep in mind, this took place around 9:40 PM. After the game around 10:30, I was talking in the parking lot to some of the guys from Here For The Beers. Out of nowhere, a fox decided to stroll on by. You can only guess which direction it was headed in. I stand by my statement.
The Junkyard Dogs rode the momentum from their win over Here For The Beers, into their contest Thursday night against the top seeded Urgence Médic.
Urgence Médic took the regular season matchup by a score of (27-6) back in Week 2. In that contest, UM got out to a fast start with a (21-0) lead at the half, while they cooled off considerably in the second stanza. Except for a second half touchdown by Sean Semerjian, JYD looked lifeless on offense.
The rematch on Thursday night looked a lot like the first meeting, as JYD stole a page out of the Urgence Médic playbook, as they scored all their points in the first half and relied on stout defense in the second stanza.
Just like in the Quarterfinals Sean Semerjian and Charles-Olivier Lavigne came up with several big plays the game, as the former had two touchdowns, and the latter recorded a pair of interceptions. The first INT came late in the first half, and his team would make it pay dividends, as JYD would score four plays later on a TD grab by Paul Lapierre. While the play was huge, the takeaway that set it up was just as big, as it occurred exactly one play after JYD QB Jason Rossie was picked off by Alexis Gaumont. That was a quick swing of momentum.
Holding a team to only 24 points and keeping them off the scoreboard in the second half is impressive, as was the two-interception performance from Alexis Gaumont. Offensively however, for an Urgence Médic crew that has been defined over the years by chemistry, execution, and timing, they looked like a team who was lacking in all three categories Thursday night. Outside of their two trips to the endzone, the offense looked flat and out of synch.
Most alarming was that they went 0 for 2 on fourth down, missed both of their conversion attempts, and they only reached the redzone three times scoring on just two of those occasions. Maybe it was the rust of having not played since August 29th, due to the bye week. Whatever it was, Urgence Médic did not being their A game Thursday night, and it cost them.
Just like he did versus Here For The Beers, Lavigne, would put the icing on another victory for his team, as he intercepted Jesse Dupuis to end the game.
Final score (24-12) Junkyard Dogs.
The other matchup in Division B saw the battle of the second and third seeds, between KGP and Get Our D respectively.
In the regular season, both teams split both meetings, with Get Off Our D winning (25-12) In Week 2, and KGP earning a (24-18) win in Week 6. Thursday night represented the ultimate rubber match.
Naturally, after both regular season showdowns were defensive slugfests, this game ended up being a shootout, as both teams exchanged big plays and touchdowns all night long.
Both passers in Jeff Rosenblatt for Get Off Our D, and Phil Cutler for KGP, were outstanding. They both made smart decisions with the ball, delivered big time throws, kept their respective teams in rhythm throughout the game, and made sure to keep all their Receivers were involved.
The Receivers in this game were just as impressive as the QBs who were throwing them the ball.
For KGP, they were led by Gabe D’Amico-Mazza and Quaysie Gordon-Maule. The latter made an impact early, as he scored the game’s first touchdown on a 26-yard pass from Cutler.
For D’Amico-Mazza, he would make his presence felt late in the first half, as he would score his first touchdown of the night on a 20-yard TD with two plays to go before the break.
Cutler, would continue spreading the wealth in the second half, as he would end his first drive with a 35-yard TD pass to Jonathan Garfinkle. That play would be big as it would come just two plays after a scoring drive by Get Off Our D.
For Jeff Rosenblatt’s team, Raoul Baroudi and Anthony Brisebois led the way for their squad as the duo combined for 178 yards and four touchdowns on 11 catches. Brisebois would get his side on he board first, as he would score a 40-yard TD one play after Gordon-Maule opened the scoring.
The duo was supported by Jad Aridi and Jonathan Lyristis, who also recorded six and three receptions respectively, while also making a trip to the endzone.
If you had to give the slight edge to either Quarterback, it would go to Cutler, as even though he threw for less yards (240 to 239) and completions (15 to 22), the 6-time All-Star also only had one incompletion the entire game. He also tossed a touchdown pass to all five of his Receivers. As a pass-catcher, you honestly can’t ask for anything more than that.
Despite the offensive outburst by both teams, this contest came down defense, and the always important conversion attempts.
After giving up a 38-yard TD score to Gabe D’Amico-Mazza as well as a 2-point conversion to the KGP offense, Get Off Our D, needed to score and get a 2-point convo of their own to tie the game at 42 all.
Realizing his team needed to score and not give their opponents the ball back with too much time remaining, Rosenblatt smartly elected to chew the clock, and direct a time-consuming nine play drive that resulted in a 1-yard TD catch by Anthony Brisebois on 4th down. Talk about high drama. Unfortunately, Get Off Our D was not able to successfully convert the 2-point try.
With KGP getting the ball back with five plays remaining, Get Off Our D, had to force a turnover. On first down, Cutler would be sacked by Rusher Jonathan Lyristis for a loss of two yards. Now facing 2nd and 12, KGP could end the game with a first down. Cutler, the dual-threat QB did exactly that, as he scrambled 15 yards for a first down and an end to the game.
Final score KGP (42-40).
That was a heartbreaking end to the season for Get Off Our D. They have a good team, and literally came a play away from potentially getting another result. On the biggest deciding factors of the game was that while they went 4 for 5 on 1-point convo attempts, the team was 0 for 1 going for two points. On the other side, KGP, went for two after every score, and were successful 3 out of 6 times.
In Division A Quarterfinals, we saw the All-Stars beat (39-24) on the shoulders of their Quarterback Kevin Wyeth’s five touchdown passes, and a defense that was able to produce three interceptions in the contest off Quarterback Patrick Chénard, including one that was picked off by Wyeth, and another that was run back for a touchdown by Kishon Thompson.
For the All-Stars helping Wyeth lead the way offensively was Patrick Jérome, who had six catches, and led his squad with 90 yards and two touchdowns. The team was also able to get TDs from Quaid Johnson, Matt Kirouac, and Paul Lapierre.
Although he didn’t reach the endzone like his teammates, former All-Star, and 5-time FPF champion Tony Lalla, was able to work his magic in the short game, as two of his catches would go for first downs. He would finish the night with 4 receptions for 44 yards.
For Chernobyl – 21, the final score does them no justice, as they were only down by eight at halftime (20-12) and were outscored three touchdowns to two in the second half. They did get a strong outing from the always reliable Mathieu Thuot, who put up 6 catches for 66 yards and a team-leading two touchdowns.
The team would also get solid contributions from Jean-François Marquis who had 3 grabs for 69 yards to go along with a score, and Trystan Firgues, who had a trip to the endzone as well.
The surprise of the contest was 3-time All-Star Matt Bond being held without a catch, and only receiving two targets all game.
It is a disappointing end to the season for Chernobyl – 21. As I have said all season, this team possessed a lot of talent, but an inconsistent roster throughout the season, meant not being able to develop a lot of the timing and chemistry that all the other three teams in Division A seemingly have.
The Quarterfinals also gave us Braves versus Khantraband, in a winner advances to the Finals, and loser has to play in the Semifinals against the All-Stars.
To the surprise of no one, this game was a shootout, as both Quarterbacks combined to score 13 touchdowns, with QB of the Year Dan Lazzara throwing six, and Jonathan Maheu tossing five to go along with two more on the ground.
For Khantraband, AJ Gomes, led the way for his team in receiving with 7 catches for 134 yards and two touchdowns. The team would also get scores from Tam Vilaydeth, David Centomo, Domenico Manno, and Serge Pilon Jr.
On the other side, the Braves got touchdowns from Jean-Daniel Chevalier, Alex Pilon, Georges Gariépy, and two from Jason Courchesne.
If I had to choose a player of game, it would be Jean-Daniel Chevalier. Yes, his QB Jonathan Maheu accounted for eight touchdowns, but as I have been saying since the start of the season, the Braves always make you pay for your mistakes. Chevalier ands his team, did exactly that, as he intercepted Dan Lazzara, on a deep shot intended for Domenico Manno. Four plays later, the Braves would make Khantraband regret turnover even more, as Georges Gariépy would score a 30-yard TD.
With the score (48-38) with five plays remaining, the Braves would take three straight knees then punt the ball back to their opponents. With one play left, Serge Pilon Jr., ran into the endzone untouched as the defense purposely stood by and watched.
Final score (48-44), as the Braves punched their ticket to the Finals.
Khantraband had a chance for redemption, as they took on the All-Stars Thursday night in Laval. Winner goes to the Finals, while the loser goes home.
This was also another shootout. Did anyone really expect anything else?
One big advantage for Khantraband was having Tyris Lebeau. His presence in the lineup meant that Nicholas Gomes-Risso would be used more so on offense. Nothing against the younger Gomes brother, as he brings it every play just like his brother AJ, has speed to burn, and isn’t afraid to sellout to make a play, he also gives up a considerable amount of size when having to go up against Receivers like Paul Lapierre, Kendal Myers and Patrick Jérome. While I was sitting with the All-Stars while we watched the Braves versus Khantraband game Sunday night, Kevin Wyeth even said that they would try to take advantage of the height mismatch. Luckily for Khantraband, they were able to go with the much taller Lebeau.
Another thing that the All-Stars said they would take advantage of is the affinity for the deep ball by Dan Lazzara. Anyone that has seen him play this year, or any season for that matter knows that Lazzara LOVES to air the ball out. I know I am not alone in saying that the reigning QB of the Year has the strongest arm in Division A.
Credit goes to the QB however, as he flipped the script on the All-Stars, by taking advantage of the short and intermediate passing game to get into the endzone, with scoring tosses of 7, 2, 4, 10, 2, and 18 yards, to Manno, Pilon Jr., Lebeau, and both Gomes and Manno twice. His longest pass of the night was a 29-yard first half throw to Serge Pilon Jr.
For the second game in a row as a defender, Kevin Wyeth was able to intercept a pass. There is no questioning the intelligence of Wyeth as a player. He is a HOF Quarterback, has been playing football for more than 30 years, knows all about positioning and reading quarterbacks, and has been coaching for a number of years as well, but if you were to tell me going into the game that the only player to record an interception on defense, in a game with the likes of AJ Gomes, Patrick Jérome, Kishon Thompson, Tam Vilaydeth, Paul Lapierre, Serge Pilon Jr., Kendal Myers, and Quaid Johnson, would be Wyeth, I would have put good money on some one else coming up with the INT.
The interception by Wyeth came with seven plays remaining. The All-Stars would take a one-point lead (31-30) as Kishon Thompson would connect with Wyeth on a 25-yard score.
There now remained two plays left in the game. On first down, Lazzara would find Manno for a 22-yard gain on a deep hook in the middle of the field.
Now on the final play, Khantraband was faced with a score or go home scenario. On the snap of the ball with the Rusher Matt Kirouac coming from his left, Lazzara ran to his right. The pivot would launch a rainbow pass and, in the process, committed the sin of throwing off his back foot and across his body. The ball sailed to the left front pylon, and into the hands of AJ Gomes who was sprinting towards it, seemingly wide open. The the corner of the endzone burst into a celebration of red. Dan Lazzara was wearing a Patrick Mahomes shirt as his jersey, and it was only fitting as that was a Mahomes type throw. Like I said earlier, I think he has the strongest arm in Division A. Amazing pass and a beautiful catch to end a fantastic game.
Final score (36-31) Khantraband.
As I said at the top, the Final matchups are now set. In Division A we have Khantraband taking on the Braves, and in Division B, we have the Junkyard Dogs versus KGP. Congrats to the final four teams.
That is it for this week. My apologies for not having the article out before the games on Thursday night. In all honesty, this is the busiest time of year for me schedule-wise, as I do commentary for both college and university games, in addition to working another job and taking classes three out of five nights. The delay of the Spring/Summer Season is coming back to bite me here in the stretch run. I am not trying to make excuses, but simply trying to explain what is going on.
Thankfully, since the Finals won’t be taking place until next Sunday and Monday, I will have more than enough time to get the Finals Preview article out in time for you guys. Again, I apologize.
Enjoy the rest of the weekend, and I will see you guys next week.
If you loved the article, hated it, or simply felt like there is something I left out, please feel free to contact me at [email protected]