Division C: Divisional Round Playoff Preview

This past Monday the field at Marie-Victorin was home to the Division C playoff Wildcard Round. It featured four games with eight teams looking to advance to the Divisional Round set to take place tomorrow in both Brossard and Laval.

As is the case every season, players miss games due to work, injury, family obligations, and other reasons. Once the summer hits, vacation time is one of the main factors that impacts a team’s ability to field their regular roster. This is often the difference between wins and losses.

Two teams that took advantage of short-handed opponents were The Commission and Bleue Dry.

Bleue Dry took on Air Laval. In the regular season matchup between both teams, Air Laval won by a score of (50-34) back in Week 7, on the shoulders of six touchdown passes by Quarterback Emile Taillefer, and two pick 6’s by their defense.

Air Laval was without the services of their QB of the Year finalist. They instead had to rely on Receiver Philip Charpentier, who took over the starting job the week before in the team’s (32-12) loss to The Penetrators. Charpentier who completed only five passes that traveled more than 10 yards and finished the game with 87 passing yards and a pair of touchdowns, was much better Monday night, as he finished with three TDs and 131 yards.

Unfortunately for Air Laval, it took their passer and his offense a little while to warm up, as they were kept off the scoreboard in the first half. Bleue Dry wasn’t much better as they only managed to reach the endzone once, on a touchdown by Xavier Gendron-Larocque.

Both units woke up after the break, as they combined to score 38 points. Bleue Dry got the action started as they got a 40-yard TD from Guillaume Dufresne on the second after halftime. Air Laval would respond four plays later as they recorded their first score on a 20-yard reception by Gabriel Chartier.

Each team would find the endzone twice more, with Air Laval managing to cross the goaline on the second to last play of the game on a touchdown by Zac Martel. Trailing by four points, they would need to go for on Onside pass to extend the contest, but the Bleue Dry defense stood tall, and forced an incompletion to end the contest with a (24-20) win.

The Commission took advantage of a short-handed Les Renard Vifs squad that was without their starting Quarterback as well in Jacob Salvail. Starting in his place was Receiver /Defensive Back Will Castonguay. Things didn’t start well for the replacement QB as he threw a pick six to Defensive Back Corey Williams on his first pass of the game. The Concordia Outside Linebacker would settle down on his next time out as he would lead a five-play drive that resulted in a 13-yard TD by Arthur Salvail.

After both teams exchanged interceptions, The Commission would retake the lead in a 32-yard TD by Williams for his second trip to the endzone of the evening.

The dynamic two-way player would continue his dominant half as he added another INT to this total, and his third TD on a 35-yard rainbow shot from Quarterback Stephen Casey.

Les Renard Vifs would get the last laugh however, as after changing QBs to Joel Therrien, he was able to hit Philippe St-Laurent for a 5-yard TD just before halftime.

On the game’s final drive, trailing by a touchdown, Les Renard Vifs got a big first down on a five-yard run by Therrien on fourth and four to extend the game. After two straight incompletions, they recorded a 23-yard gain on a catch and run by Castonguay that would setup the offense in the redzone on the final play of the contest.

Looking for his top Receiver, Therrien, would scramble to his left, and throw across his body to an open St. Laurent, but the low pass bounced off the chest of the intended target and fell incomplete to end the game.   

Trinity and the Killer Rays took part in a back-and-forth game that went down to the wire as well, with Trinity hanging on to a (24-6) halftime lead on the way to a (30-24) victory, as after giving up a touchdown to Aidan Lariviere, with two plays remaining making it a six-point game, the only thing left to decide whether or not the contest would continue would be an onside pass.

The Killer Rays’ attempt would be made easier, as they were given an extra 10 yards due to a contacting the passer penalty called on Rusher Alex Samson, on the TD pass to Lariviere.

Having the ball at the 15-yard line and looking to get past midfield to keep their shot at a win alive, QB Tylar Bianchi failed to complete his pass attempt, giving Trinity the win.

Credit to the victory goes to veteran QB Jean-Félix Marquis. After missing his team’s previous two games, the three-time All-Star made a triumphant return as he tossed a game-high five touchdown passes in the win.

Two of those TD passes went to Hugo Quintin who also played a big role in the victory, as he recorded a team-leading three pass deflections to go along with four tackles on defense.

Never Overtime took advantage of a late touchdown by Snapper Karim Madji and some mistakes made by their opponents to knock off the Pacemakers (34-25) in the final game of the evening.

Often the team’s unsung hero, Madji, had a stellar outing, as he caught all three passes sent in his direction for 20 yards and two touchdowns. His performance added on with that of Wide Receiver Rhami Aboud, who led all players with seven catches for 199 yards and two TDs, helped carry the offense.

Defensively, the team was led by the trio of Mack Dessources, Laurent Charles, and Sacha Saint-Amand, as they combined for 15 tackles and three pass deflections. They also provided glue-like coverage on several plays throughout the game.

For the Pacemakers, it was a disappointing loss, as they had opportunities to take the lead late, but a turnover on downs on their second to last possession, and a sack mixed in with some overthrows on their last drive were too much to overcome.

Divisional Round Preview

(20) The Commission verses (1) Les Petites Carottes

Previous Meeting: N/A

The top seed taking on the lowest. This is how the playoffs should be.

After finishing with a Division C best (9-1) record, Les Petites Carrottes have shown that they can win close games as well as blowouts. Their only loss of the season came back in Week 6 where they fell (42-8) to Backfield Penetration.

With a trio of Receivers in Michael Fafard, Zachary Cloutier, and Xavier Brault that combined for 23 touchdowns, the offense led by Quarterback Jason Rayes, has shown that they can put up points on anyone as they have averaged 31 points a game.

On defense, despite not having a reliable pass-rusher, the team still managed 15 interceptions. The unit is led by Brault and Cloutier, who combined for 11 INTs, and two touchdowns.

After emerging victorious in a win and you’re in scenario during their regular season finale against Mengoose, The Commission, who for the second week in a row had their full roster at their disposal, needed everyone to knock off Les Renard Vifs (33-26) in the Wild Card Round.

The two-game winning streak is the largest of the season for TC who spent much of the regular season shuffling through players and lineups.

This game will come down to two things. Turnovers and big plays. Both offenses are explosive are they have big-time weapons who can stretch the field. Which defense will be able to make enough plays to keep their opponent out of the endzone will be key.

Looking at the battle of Quarterbacks between Stephen Casey and Jason Rayes, it offers a unique matchup of teacher versus pupil, as the former coaches the latter. For as good as Casey has been in the classroom so to speak, and on the field, he averages more than an INT a game as he has tossed seven over his last four starts. Will he end that trend tomorrow night?

Prediction: N/A

(2) Big Fat Bats versus (18) Never Overtime

Previous Meeting: Never Overtime (43-32) Week 7

In the first meeting, Never Overtime used a seven-touchdown performance from Quarterback Ryan Kharouf to knock off the Big Fat Bats in Brossard.

Fast forward four and a half weeks later, and here we go again with a highly anticipated rematch.

To complete the sweep, Never Overtime will need to have Kharouf deliver another outstanding performance, as he is going to head-to-head with one of the best QBs in all of FPF, in Michael Caparelli. I had a chance to score-keep Caparelli’s Division B game Tuesday night at Marie-Victorin, and I can verify that he was slinging it with huge throws mixed in with high-level accuracy and timing.

Kharouf has a cannon of his own, and he will need to deliver bullets to Rhami Aboud and Mack Dessources, who combined for six touchdowns in their first meeting. Never Overtime will need a repeat outing from them as well.

To avenge the loss, the Big Fat Bats will need their top weapon in Receiver AJ Zeppetelli, to produce, as he was held in check last time with five catches for 27 yards.

Defensively, the Big Fat Bats are led by Rusher Luca Leccese who has 13 sacks, and Manu Allard-Roy, Joe Morgese, Caparelli, and Zeppetelli. They will need to force Kharouf into turnovers, and the offense to become one-dimensional where they will have to rely on the deep ball to make plays.

Both teams have firepower, speed, and explosive playmakers. The team that is deeper and makes fewer mistakes will win. I think that will be the Big Fat Bats.

Prediction: Big Fat Bats (40-28)

(3) Idaho Udapimps versus (17) Bleue Dry

Previous Meeting: N/A

Positioned in first place for most of the season, Idaho Udapimps fell to third due to a Week 9 blowout loss to the Big Fat Bats. Since then, the team ran off a two-game winning streak with dominant victories over Air Laval and Fins Up.

This game comes down to one question. How can the division’s worst defense among the remaining teams left in the post-season, slow down Div. C’s top offense headlined by Quarterback Brady Ohanessian, and his top trio of pass-catchers in Marvin Steinberg, Jerome Hovinton, and Danick Coulombe?

That task will fall on defenders Samuel Sicard, Xavier Gendron-Larocque, Cedric Dufresne, Felix Cossette, Yvan Desjardins, and Rusher Eric Namts. They will have to be aggressive, jump routes, and throw off the timing of Ohanessian. They also must take away the middle of the field and short-passing timing game from the QB and force their offense to become over-reliant on the deep ball to make plays.

On the other side of the ball, Bleue Dry must employ slow time-consuming drives that result in touchdowns while at the same time keeping the Idaho Udapimps offense on the sideline to slow down the pace of the game.

Quarterback Frederic Juneau must protect the ball and make high percentage throws that move the chains methodically.

Idaho Udapimps are without a doubt the better team in this matchup. I think they take care of business in this one.

Prediction: Idaho Udapimps (50-18)

(4) Win Diesel versus (14) Trinity

Previous Meeting: Win Diesel (35-34) Week 2

The first showdown between both teams saw two top performances by Receivers, as Alex Samson put up a game-high four touchdowns for Trinity, while Marcus Lynch led all players with five catches for 121 yards to go along with three TDs.

The game went down to the final play, as after Samson scored his fourth TD of the match, Trinity went for the two-point conversion and the win, but they were denied.

To get revenge and eliminate Win Diesel, Trinity, must keep up with their opponent’s’ offense and score on every possession. In the first meeting they went 1 for 2 on fourth down, falling short in the redzone in the second half.

The Trinity offense must also avoid turnovers, as Quarterback Jean-Félix Marquis was picked off twice in the loss.

For Win Diesel to complete the sweep, they will need to produce more turnovers. They also must turn them into points as they did in the last meeting.

Another key to victory will be the ability of the Win Diesel Receivers in Lynch, Jake Holman, Felix Sebag, and Stephen Roumeliotis to win one-on-one against the man-to-man defense that Trinity loves to play.

I think this will be an exciting game just like the first meeting. I think Trinity gets revenge this time around.

Prediction: Trinity: (32-30)

(5) Jagerbomb versus (11) The Penetrators

Previous Meeting: N/A

One of my championship contenders from the beginning of the year, Jagerbomb marches into the post-season losers of two out of their last three games, as they have fallen to both the Rico Ryders and Les Petites Carottes. Their sole win during that slide is against Trapstars who failed to make the playoffs. Not exactly inspiring.

The Penetrators come into the playoffs on a two-game winning streak, as they scored wins over Air Laval and Never Overtime to wrap up the regular season. Before those wins, the team was in a funk of their own as they had lost three in a row, all to teams who secured tickets to the dance as well, in the Big Fat Bats, Les Renard Vifs, and Pacemakers.

The question that needs to be answered, is which The Penetrators squad will show up? The one that averaged 25 points a game during the win streak, or the one that failed to score more than 20 in any of their three losses?

Another question that the Penetrators must answer is, can their Quarterback in Justin Goodman and top Receiver in Nicholas Fon, outplay the dynamic duo QB Simon Duchesne and Rec Jean-Felix Daloze? I don’t think they can.

Before their mini slump, Jagerbomb had won seven straight games. That can’t be ignored just like the fact that they are clearly the better team here.

Prediction: Jagerbomb (35-21)

(6) Friends with Danny versus (10) West Island Boys

Previous Meeting: N/A

This has the look of an exciting matchup. When operating at their best, both teams are explosive and flash their big-play ability at various points throughout a game.

Going from potential to reality, the West Island Boys are a hard team to figure out. They have fielded predominately the same roster for the last few seasons. Due to that, things like chemistry, timing, awareness of where your teammates will be and what they will do in certain moments isn’t a problem.

On the field however, they don’t always play seamlessly. Since their (34-34) tie with Idaho Udapimps in Week 7, they scored only two touchdowns in a (29-22) loss to Win Diesel, needed a game-winning touchdown with less than a minute to five plays to knock off Les Renard Vifs, and then followed that up with a (39-20) blowout defeat to Bleue Dry to end the regular season.  

The question that everyone wants to know is which West Island Boys team will show up tomorrow night?

Friends with Danny is a gritty squad who can light up the scoreboard. Unlike teams with Danny D’Amour in the past that were mainly reliant on him for offense, the unit led by Quarterback Jared Buck, has legit playmakers in Jeremy Plante, Edouard Guimas, and Ryan Vanslet as well.

The team comes into the post-season winners of five of their last six games. During this stretch, they have averaged 41 points, while it has allowed just nearly half that, with 22.

I think this will be a tight game. If Jared Buck and opposing QB Nicholas Di Maulo can avoid turnovers, this has the potential to be a true shootout.

Form top to bottom the West Island Boys are the better team. In football however, things like grit and toughness matter, and I give Friends with Danny the edge in that department. I am going with FWD.

Prediction: Friends with Danny (36-30)

(7) Fins Up versus (9) Backfield Penetration

Previous Meeting: Fins Up (41-40) Week 5

In the first meeting, Fins Up eked out the one-point win on the back of a three-touchdown outing by Avery Klimas. Don’t let the combined 81 points fool you, both defenses came to play. Backfield Penetration intercepted Will Power three times, while Fins Up Rusher Kareem Anthony Chilcott, recorded an impressive four sacks.

Backfield Penetration enters the post-season winners of three straight, and four of five overall. Two of those wins include one-sided victories over both Les Petites Carrottes, and Friends with Danny.

Fins Up enters the playoffs coming off a 14-point loss to Idaho Udapimps. Prior to that loss, the team had won four in a row, including their Week 5 victory over tomorrow’s opponent.

Spoiler alert, this is my choice for Game of the Week. From players like Will Power, James Langshaw, Santino Sparagna, El Andre Abbey, Avery Klimas, Anthony Siggia, Joey Notaro, Anthony Lazzara, and Raffaele Morelli there is simply too much speed and firepower on the field.

This game will come down to who can make a play last, and which team can avoid making more mistakes until we get to that point. I think that will be Fins Up. Not only did they win despite three INTs from Power, but I also can’t see the QB of the Year candidate making those same mistakes again.

Prediction: Fins Up (47-32)

(8) Rico Ryders versus (12) Mengoose

Previous Meeting: Rico Ryders (24-6) Week 1

The first meeting feels like a lifetime ago, as it happened all the way back in early May. The Rico Ryders strolled to an easy win as their defense smothered the Mengoose offense, picking off opposing Quarterback Felix-Antoine Lavigne three times. They also held them to two for four on fourth down and allowed only one score on five Mengoose trips to the redzone.

Since the midway point of the season, the Rico Ryders have been playing some of their best ball of the season. In addition to beating Team Ruthless, and the Nighthawks, they also have a win over Jagerbomb to close the regular season, and they lost to Win Diesel by one point (33-32) in Week 6, when their 2-point convo to win the game fell short on the final play.

Mengoose come into the post-season winners of four out of their last five games. They had a chance to make it five straight, but they fell to The Commission by two points, in a slugfest to end the regular season for both teams two weeks ago.

During their win streak, Mengoose, relied on their offense to get the job done as they scored 31 points or more in all four contests, including hitting the 40-point plateau in two of those games.

To keep that pace going, Lavinge will have to air out the ball more. Perfectly comfortable hitting out routes, slants, hooks, and crossers, the QB takes very few deep shots per game. That will have to change, as during the last meeting the team averaged barely more than five yards per play (5.2) even though they had the ball for nine more plays than their opponents. Simply put, the Mengoose offense has some fantastic Receivers in Thomas Coutu, Charles-Olivier Lavigne, Christophe Lapointe, and Charles Fontaine. Their QB needs to let them fly.

To complete the two-game sweep the Rico Ryders defense will need to keep the shackles on the Mengoose offense. To do so they must take away the short and intermediate passes, and force Lavinge to have to throw deep which he has shown he can’t do consistently with accuracy.  They must also try to bait him into turnovers like last time.

On offense, the Rico Ryders must capitalize on turnovers like they did last time and control the clock with long drives that result in touchdowns, forcing Mengoose to have to catch up.

Both teams have been playing solid ball as of late. Having just played against Mengoose, I have seen their talent, but also their limitations offensively. If you can throw off their timing and flush Lavigne to one side, he will throw dangerous passes over the middle.  I think the Rico Ryders can do both of those things, and that is why I am picking them to win the game.

Prediction: Rico Ryders (32-18)

Picks

Idaho Udapimps vs Bleue Dry – Idaho Udapimps

Fins Up vs Backfield Penetration – Fins Up (My pick for Game of the Week)

Win Diesel vs Trinity – Trinity (Upset Special)

Rico Ryders vs Mengoose – Rico Ryders

Jagerbomb vs The Penetrators – Jagerbomb

Big Fat Bats vs Never Overtime – Big Fat Bats

Les Petites Carottes vs The Commission – N/A

Friends with Danny vs West Island Boys – Friends with Danny

Last Week: (0-3) Damn…

Playoffs (0-3)

Upset Special (7-13)

That is it for this week. Good luck to everyone in their games tomorrow night!

This coming Monday I will be releasing an interview I did with my friend, former FPF Owner and President Rob Campana on my podcast the 514 Show. It will be coming out on Spotify and Amazon Music. We talk about family, football, his entrepreneurial spirit, and of course, why he started FPF, why he decided to sell it, and what he is working on next. It was a fun interview that lasted just over an hour. Download, listen, and share.

If you liked the article, hated it, or simply felt like I left something out, please feel free to contact me at [email protected], or on the FPF Facebook page.