Divisional Round Recap

The Divisional Round of the playoffs is officially in the books, and what an opening weekend it was. Upsets, forfeits, and some really tight games that had some memorable finishes marked the first round of the FlagPlus Football Division E post-season last night in Lachine.

The first game saw the Bloodmachines take on the Been There Done That. The former had beaten the latter in their Week 1 matchup 39-19 on the exact field they played on last night. The intrigue just writes itself I tell you.

Both teams started off pretty evenly in the first half as each squad was able to find the end-zone twice. Facing an opportunity to go by a TD before the end of the first stanza, Been There Done That had their opponents back on their heels, but the Bloodmachines perhaps finding some of the confidence and swagger that they displayed earlier this season, was able to come up with a momentum changing stop to keep the game tied at 13.

Besides giving up a late TD to Wide Receiver Maxime Fournier, the Bloodmachines’ defense carried the first half swagger that they built up from the aforementioned stand into the 2nd half as they shutdown Been There Done That’s offense.

Some of that confidence rubbed off on the Bloodmachines’ Quarterback Nicolas Blais who had his best game in recent memory, as he was effective through the air and on the ground last night. Blais, who connected on passes to six different receivers, hit WR Jean Christophe for the game winning TD early in the second half.

For a first year team in Been There Done That, it was a good season. You guys made the playoffs, and came within a couple of plays of advancing to the Quarter-Finals. That’s nothing to hang your heads about. Make some minor changes, and get some more experience, and you guys will be fine.

Up next tomorrow night for the Bloodmachines is match against what in my opinion is the best team in Div. E, the Flight of the Conchords. These teams will be meeting each other for the 2nd time in 3 weeks, as FOTC took their Week 10 encounter 20-13.

The next game of the night saw the Smash Bros take on #Baton. I expected this to be one of the best games of the night, and despite the fact S.B was without All-Star (If you haven’t noticed it yet, our fearless leader Rob Campana posted up the All-Star selections on the site. You guys should check it out.)QB Jonah Cohen, the game still delivered.

Both teams traded TDs in the first half, WR/Rusher Naim Goulamhoussen found the end-zone for #Baton, as did Mr. Reliable Jason Previllon.

 In the aforementioned absence of Cohen, WR Eddy Rousseau stepped in the all-important pivot position for his squad, and just like the game, he delivered as well, as he hit WRs Paul Santache, Dylan Weiss, and Michael Hopmeyer.

The second half was completely different, as both teams due to a combination of good defense, but also bad throws, and drops, failed to get on the scoreboard. The one TD advantage that the Smash Bros got in the 1st half curtesy of a Rousseau TD pass to Hopmeyer was the game winner.

You really have to admire the performances of Hopmeyer and Weiss. During the regular season, both WR combined to catch 14 balls. When the team’s starting QB is out of action, one of their top WRs is filling in for at the pivot position, and another is having a relatively quiet day (Vincent Bastrash) all during a do-or-die game, for those two to step up was huge. 

For #Baton despite the great defense they played last night, the loss marks the end of their magical run. For a team that looked hopelessly lost not just on offense, but in general as recently as Week 5, the turn around that has been well-documented, is still impressive nonetheless. Keep your heads up boys, I hope I see you guys this Winter Season.

The next game saw the Smokin’ Axolotls square off with the Redmen. Hands down, this was the most exciting game of the opening round. I’ll fast forward through the majority of the game, and get you to the best part. Trailing by a TD with less than 4 four minutes remaining, the Redmen needed to stop an Axolotls’ offense that was driving and looking to put the proverbial nail in the coffin.

Zach Zwirn the MVP of the Redmen, and a player whose two-way exploits have been mentioned here plenty of times this season, saved the day for his team once again, as he came up with a season-saving interception of Smokin’ Axolotls’ QB Jason Rossie that he ran to the house for the score to tie the game at 18 all. That was Zwirn’s second INT of the match. He wasn’t done yet however, as he scored the important conversion to give his team a one-point lead.

With 5 plays left, the Smokin Axolotls still had a chance to come away with the win. Fortunately for the Redmen, Zwirn struck again as he picked off Rossie for a third time and his team was the one putting the nail in the coffin.

Like I said, this was a really good game. Zwirn had a mind-blowing game with 5 catches for 34 yards and a TD to go along with 3 INTs one of which was a pick 6, and 3 tackles on defense.

For the Smokin’ Axolotls, it’s a disappointing end to the campaign. The team made leaps and bounds from where they were in the Winter Season, but unfortunately for them QB Jason Rossie who had only 5 INTs all season, chose the worst possible time to have his worst performance of the season, as he threw 4 to the Redmen defense.

Up next for the Redmen is a second round tilt with the Looney Goons. These two teams met up in Week 9, and L.G squeaked out a 19-12 win.

TDs and Beer versus the One Man Show was another game that delivered as promised.

Going into the game, I One Man Show formerly known as Wax On Wax Off the edge based on their playoff experience. I also said that I didn’t expect Dangerous Danny D’Amour to be shut down for a second consecutive game by the TDs and Beer defense.

It looks like I was right on both fronts. D’Amour mad his presence felt the entire game as he recorded 4 catches for 78 yards and a TD on offense, and added 2 INTs on defense.

In the preview article I also mentioned quarterback play and how much of a factor it played into the result of the first matchup that saw TDs and Beer escape with a 32-25 victory in Week 5. One Night Stand QB Jordan Bellemare threw 4 INTs, while Brandon Keiller was almost flawless for his team. Sunday night saw a reverse in fortunes as Bellemare had a great night completing 13 of 23 passes for 143 yards and 3 TDs, while Keiller finished an underwhelming 8 of 21 for 84 yards with 2 TDs and 3 INTs. That was the difference in game and why Bellemare’s team is advancing.

Up next for One Man Show are the Tigers. These two teams faced off in Week 9, and the Tigers escaped with the 26-20 win.

Flight of the Conchords took on Royalty in a game I must admit going into; I thought they would win easily. I’m the first to admit that I was wrong, Royalty behind a MONSTER game from stud WR Daniel Lazzara, (7 catches for 159 yards, 5 TDs) and QB James D’Andrea (14 of 26 for 253 yards and 6TDs) who by far had his best game of the season, came with a TD of knocking off the best team in Div. E. 

Despite the Royalty’s duo’s Madden-like performance, they couldn’t outshine FOTC QB/DB Etienne Guilmain who not only threw for 5 TDs, but he ran 5 times for 60 yards and a score. To add further salt in the Royalty wound, he also recorded 2 INT and a pick 6 on defense. Simply put, he played the biggest role in his team’s 45-39 win.

Royalty had a good season. If D’Andrea can build off of this performance and cut down on the INTs heading into the Winter season, and if the squad can find another game-changing receiving option to go along with Lazzara and Joseph Buffone, this team should be alright. 

In the previous article, I mentioned during my preview of the Falcons and Tigers that I was hoping/assuming the Tigers would not try to pull what they did it the playoffs during the Winter season and try to sneak in an ineligible player. Even though QB Rahul Mohav tried to deny it to my face again yesterday, they got caught red handed.

As you can imagine, the same type of move was tried again Sunday, but shockingly not by the aforementioned team. This time the Falcons, who only had 5 eligible players at the game, tried to pull a fast one. Long story short, they tried to put somebody else in Rusher/WR’s Daniel Cohen’s jersey. Naturally the plot got sniffed out after the game, and they were given an automatic forfeit.

 The sad thing about the entire situation is that the Falcons didn’t even need to do that. The Tiger’s offense was horrible, and they couldn’t even get on the scoreboard. Their defense didn’t do all that much better as Jonathan Garfinkle shredded their Defensive Backs. No disrespect to the Tigers, but they looked so bad, that the Falcons would have won the game short-handed without a doubt.

Shame on the Falcons for cheating. Did you guys not learn anything from my article or the Winter Season? What a waste of a season.

Up next for the Tigers is the aforementioned meeting with the One Man Show. Let’s hope that the Tigers come out with a better performance.

Los Guapos was scheduled to take on JeanGuy. Unfortunately for everybody involved, JG decided not to show up. Not only is that selfish on their part as it is a waste of Los Guapos’ time, but  the FPF staff, and the other players who have to wait around to start the next set of games, but it also robs LG of getting valuable game time which they could use to sharpen things up. More importantly, who no-shows a playoff game? You might as well save your money and not even bother playing the entire season if you’re going to do that.

Up next for Los Guapos is a huge test against the Smash Bros. These teams met up in what was classic matchup in Week 4 that saw Los Guapos escape with a 32-30 win. That loss was the last time the Smash Bros tasted defeat. They’ll hope to keep their 7 game win streak going. The availability of SB QB Jonah Cohen will play a huge role.

The final game of the night saw The Looney Goons take on team No Name. I wrote last week about this game having the feel of the classic Clippers/Spurs first round matchup from this past spring. Unfortunately it felt more like the Wizards/Raptors series.

No Name who played the majority of the 1st half without their best player Chris Fields who came late -On a personal note as a captain of a team, I can’t stand it when players come late, especially if it’s for a stupid reason (I had to deal with that three times this season, and it cost us all 3 games). I have no clue why Fields came late, but I really hope it was for a good reason, especially considering he was late for a playoff game.-

That rant aside, this game honestly came down to No Name’s inability to get stops on defense, and an unimpressive performance by QB Jesse Racine.

On defense, Rob White’s unit that at times this season has played like the best D in Div. E, had holes all night long and Looney Goons QB Matt Bytalan sat back and exposed them.  Evan Ely Nolet had to fill in for Fields at Rush. As much as Nolet tried, he simply wasn’t able to bring the same pressure as his teammate.

The problems leaked into the secondary, as break downs in assignments left multiple Looney Goons’ WRs wide open. Communication issues also got in the way of at least 2 potential interceptions as one No Name DB would call off another of a bad pass by Bytalan, only to have both go up for the ball but neither come down with it. 

On offense, Racine despite his decent stat line (20 of 29 for 149 yards and 3 TDs) looked indecisive and shaky. He also looked like he fell in love with Fields too much as he kept on staring him down and targeting him play after play. The problem with that was Fields was running mainly hooks and 5 to 7 yard drags. When you’re down 20-6, your offense needs to be more diverse than that. The other problem with focusing mainly on one WR is that there were other receivers that were open, namely Johnny Symonds who for some bizarre reason wasn’t thrown to at all in the 2nd stanza.

With No Name playing so bad, it was no surprise that the Looney Goons proved me wrong and went on to win 32-18. Up next for them is the Redmen.

 

Picks

Flight of the Conchords vs Bloodmachines – FOTC. Despite the Bloodmachines halting their 3 game losing streak, they will be facing a much better opponent in the 2nd round. FOTC, who won the Week 10 meeting between these two clubs 20-13, had a close call against Royalty. I think they will step it up on defense and get the W tonight.  

One Man Show vs Tigers – One Man Show.  Yes the Tigers won the first meeting 26-20 in Week 9, but like I said earlier, the Tigers didn’t show me or anybody anything Sunday night. While I am hoping and expecting a better performance, I honestly can’t see them knocking off One Man Show a second time.

Redmen vs Looney Goons  – Looney Goons.  The Redmen needed a performance of the ages from stud two-way player Zach Zwirn to get past the Smokin’ Axolotls. While I am sure he will put up great numbers again, The Redmen will need a much better outing out of QB John Papadimitriou who barely looked average in his team’s win on Sunday. I don’t see it happening.

Los Guapos vs Smash Bros (My pick for game the week) – Smash Bros. I am going for the Smash Bros if Cohen plays. I also think the layoff curtesy of the JeanGuy no-show could affect a Los Guapos offense that has only had starting QB Dilan Daoust under center since 8. This will also mark the first good team he’ll have to face in his new role 

If Cohen isn’t available, I’ll go with Los Guapos, as I don’t see Rousseau being capable of doing it 2 weeks in a row against a team of this caliber.

Last Week: 6-3

Season: 66-27-2

 

That’s it for the Divisional Round; I will be back this Friday with a recap of the Quarter Finals, and a preview of the Conference Finals. I love playoff football. See you guys tonight!!!!

Once again, if you loved the article, hated it, or simply felt I left something out, don’t be shy. You can shoot me a tweet at @BADNEWS51, or do it the semi-old fashioned way and e-mail me at [email protected]