Categories: Division 4A

Divison 4A Playoff Power Rankings

Whats up division 4, were back with other article. As the regular season has come to a close, we will check out the latest headlines, how the final standings have taken shape and a few week 14 recaps. I will also go over a playoff Power ranking where i will rank the top 12 teams, which also happens to be the every single playoff team and give a brief analysis of the team and how their 10 game regular season went. Being #1 in the rankings doesn’t mean they are the best team int he standings or even statistically but in my opinion are the biggest favourites to win the 4A championship. Without further ado, lets dive into it!

Weekly headlines 

Emile Plante and Ryan Garber throw for over 50 touchdowns 

2 Qbs here in division 4a have crossed the 50 touchdown mark and their names are Emile Plante of Speed Academy and Ryan Garber of Trapstars. Its clear that these two Quarterbacks stand alone as the QBOY finalists as they have both threw for over 2000 yards and 50 touchdowns. Emile Plante is a more high flying deep thrower of the football who excels and explosive plays and throwing well on the run. Ryan Garber on the other hand has more methodical drives and tends to use his short accuracy instead of blowing the top off of most defences. Either way both of these QBs have been Uber successful this season and have shown they are the best of the bunch and will carry their squad deep in these playoffs. 

Sun N’ Guns lose, The Process make it through 

A win and your in situation for Sun N’ Guns turned into a nightmare as they took on Killer Rays in the final week of the regular season. The Process were holding on to the last playoff sport with a record of 4-6 and were on the verge of elimination. Killer Rays who were fighting for a top 4 seed did not hold back as they unleashed their offensive potential as they did not miss a beat and put up 42 points on the Sun N’ Guns defence. Sun N’ Guns were only able to score 1 td in each half and proved that they cannot compete with the top end talent of division 4a and leaves them as the 13 seed, just missing the playoff cut off. As for the Process they find themsel

Week 14 recaps 

LPC Edge Trapstars in Thrilling 27-25 Showdown

In a nail-biting encounter that went down to the wire, Les Petites Carottes narrowly defeated Trapstars 27-25. The game was a rollercoaster of offensive plays and crucial defensive stops, keeping spectators on the edge of their seats until the final whistle.

The first half started with Les Petites Carottes finding their rhythm. QB Jason Rayes began connecting with Zachary Cloutier for key gains, eventually leading to Rayes scrambling for a 14-yard touchdown. They converted the two-point attempt, giving them an early 8-0 lead. Trapstars responded with QB Ryan Garber utilizing short passes to move the chains, eventually finding Cooper Young for a 3-yard touchdown. Their two-point attempt failed, leaving them trailing 8-6.

Les Petites Carottes quickly answered. In 4 plays, Rayes connected with Cloutier for a 16-yard touchdown, but their two-point attempt was unsuccessful. Trapstars, not to be outdone, put together another solid drive, with Garber connecting with Young for a 1-yard touchdown. Again, their extra point attempt failed.

Going into halftime with LPC up 14-12, the second half was no different as the back-and-forth affair continued. Les Petites Carottes extended their lead when Rayes found Mathieu Limoges for a 3-yard touchdown, and they converted the extra point. Trapstars responded with Garber finding William Sebag for a 12-yard touchdown, and they also converted their extra point.

The drama continued as Rayes made the first and only mistake of the game as he threw an interception to William Sebag, giving Trapstars excellent field position. Garber capitalized, finding David Giroux for a touchdown. With time winding down, Les Petites Carottes needed a score. Rayes delivered, connecting with Xavier Brault for a 10-yard touchdown. With the Pro clock already started Trapstars had little time to score and take the lead with time expiring. Garber completed two passes moving the ball 28 yards. With only one play left, Trapstars needed the ball to get into the endzone but unfortunately fell short and lost another game by a one score margin, also leaving them out of the last first round bye spot and the #4 seed. 

Killer Rays Vs Knight Hawks 

Killer Rays Outlast Knighthawks in Thrilling 34-29 Shootout

The Killer Rays and Knighthawks engaged in a high-scoring battle, with the Killer Rays ultimately prevailing 34-29. Both offenses showcased their firepower, but the Killer Rays’ late-game heroics secured the victory in this exciting contest.

The game started with the Knighthawks establishing their ground game, as QB Yvan Salomon made several strong runs. However, the Killer Rays’ defense, led by Corey and Jared Arany, held firm initially. The Killer Rays’ offense then exploded, with QB Tylar Bianchi connecting with Tyler Gurberg for a massive 40-yard touchdown. The successful two-point conversion gave the Killer Rays an early lead.

The Knighthawks responded, with Salomon finding Marc Antoine Martin for a touchdown, and a successful two-point conversion tied the game. The Killer Rays continued to rely on the connection between Bianchi and Gurberg, who connected for another significant gain. However, a pass from Bianchi was intercepted by Rahyan Prophete, giving the Knighthawks possession. The Knighthawks capitalized, with Salomon finding Fabrice Robillard for a 27-yard touchdown, though their two-point attempt failed. The Killer Rays answered before halftime. Bianchi connected with Tyler Gurberg to move the chains and then found Curtis Ryan for a touchdown. The two-point attempt failed, leaving the Knighthawks ahead. The Knighthawks then drove down the field, with Salomon connecting with Reginald Prophete for a touchdown and converting the two-point attempt. Knighthawks held the lead at halftime 22-14

The second half saw Killer Rays come out strong. Bianchi continued to find Gurberg and Chris Genio, methodically moving the ball down the field. Bianchi eventually found Gurberg in the endzone for another touchdown. The Knighthawks responded with a long drive, but the Killer Rays’ defense made key stops. Killer Rays extended their lead when Bianchi took off for an 11-yard rushing touchdown.The Knighthawks mounted a comeback, with Salomon connecting with Reginald Prophete for a touchdown and converting the extra point. However, the Killer Rays’ offense continued to move the ball. Bianchi connected with Tyler Gurberg for a short touchdown, which proved to be the game-winner as time expired.

Round 1 Playoff power Rankings 

Here’s what typically influences power rankings:

  • Recent Performance: This is a big one! Recent wins, losses, and the margin of victory/defeat all play a role. A team on a winning streak is likely to climb the rankings. Big performances from star players will also weigh heavily on where I think you’re team belongs in the rankings . 
  • Strength of Schedule: Not all wins are equal. Beating a weak team is less impressive than beating a strong team. Power rankings take this into account, giving more weight to wins against tougher opponents. Beating a team that is in the top 5 will surly move you in the rankings. 
  • Historical Performances: A team’s past records and playoff performances can also influence their ranking. A team that has consistently been strong is unlikely to plummet in the rankings after a single loss. 
  • Advanced Statistics: Beyond wins and losses, my rankings will consider advanced metrics that attempt to measure a team’s true underlying strength. This is a power ranking, not a standings page so this can include things like points scored, turnovers committed, punts and extra point conversion attempts to show how well a team is actually playing. Essentially being at the top of the rankings means I believe this is a team that should be unbeatable at that point in time and my favourite for winning the championship. 
  1. Speed Academy 7-2-1

The #1 team in my rankings finds themselves as the #3 seed which grants them a first round bye. Its obvious that Speed Academy is one of the best teams in the division and could argue they can compete in division 3. Reason for their success has been largely due to the stunning play of Emile Plante. A QBOY favourite who has thrown for 2300 yards and 55 touchdowns. Paired with one of the fastest men in all of Canada, UDM carabins track-star, Jimmy Marneris their offence has been off the charts. This team is #1 in scoring and #1 in yards in the entire division. While their defence could be a little better as 5 opposing teams have scored at east 40+ points on them, it hasn’t seemed to deter their success in anyway as the team sits at 7-2-1 with the best Qb-WR duo in the division. I don’t think any other team can keep pace with Speed Academy’s offensive production. 

  1. The Penetrators 8-2

The true #1 seed in the playoffs and a team that has found themselves in deep playoff runs season after season. The man at the helm is still Justin Goodman, the anchor of the franchise. His great season stats are a reflection of his accuracy and decision making as Goodman rarely puts the ball in harms way. They may have the best Wr duo with Rocco Christiano and Nicholas Fon as they have combined for 26 touchdowns and 800 yards. Goodman has led this team to 8 wins and apart from their week 14 blowout loss to Goons they have been unbeatable. That 51-8 loss is where Goodman threw half of this seasons INT’s and is the game that took him out of the QBOY conversation. It will be interesting to see how they bounce back in their first playoff game. 

3. Les Petites Carottes 7-3

This tough squad has taken a step back since their 2024 spring division C 9-1 season. But still the team remains intact full my former Champlain Cavaliers teammates, with Jason Reyes at QB, and his two stud Wr’s Xavier Brault and Zach Cloutier. This duo has combined for 24 touchdowns and 800 yards. Their contrasting skills allow Jason to feed both of them in different scenarios. Jason is also keen on using his legs as every rusher in this division as had trouble containing him as he has rushed for over 200 yards and 2 touchdowns. You might say that this 7-3 team is ranked too high in the power rankings but they have been one of the most successful teams on extra point conversion attempts, which we all know in the playoffs every single point matters. 

4. Ballz Deep 7-2-1

Back for vengeance as Ballz Deep were last years division 4A finalist where they suffered a 7 point loss to Backfield Penetration. The same team has presented themselves once again headlined with the best 2-way QB in Justin Weir and his top targets Matthew Peacock and Richie Mondesir. Justin has put up career highs in yards (1665), touchdowns (45) and completion percentage (71.8). With an additional 300 yards on the ground and 3 scores, Justing has performed at his highest level here in FPF this season. I might think that these teams above them are capable of beating Ballz Deep but it would be a hard fought battle and anything less then a Semi finals appearance would be a huge disappointment for Ballz Deep. 

5. Goons 7-3

This is one of the only teams here in the top 12 that I do not know a lot about. What I do know is that Xavier Tremblay and company all mostly premier Usports athletes. Mostly coming from the Concordia Stingers football program, this squad is loaded with speed and physicality. Their offence is the highest scoring team in division 4A with 376 which also grants them the donor of being the team with the best +/-. Whats even more impressive is that their schedule was not easy and they beat some of the divisions best squads like Penetrators, Speed Academy, and Sleeping All-stars. I think their solution to tightening up their defence is to find someone other then Xavier Tremblay to rush the passer, keeping all his energy and focus for the offence and sticking with some other athlete with a good defensive mind and this squad could be the Dark horse team to take the Championship home. 

6. Sleeping All Stars 6-4

I would say this is the best of all 6-4 teams and perhaps the team with the best defence in the whole division. With the second least points against with 225, this squad only averages about 3 touchdowns allowed per game. In a heavily offensive league, that is pretty impressive. This defence has forced the most punts and is top 5 in both interceptions and sacks. In the playoffs sometimes one stop is all you need and this defence is used to getting multiple. With athletic freaks like Coslens Clairveaux and Samuel Omombo pushing the ball downfield is extremely difficult. Their offence has been solid but leaves a lot to be desired as they have the 2nd least points for in the top 12 and are only completing about 50% of their passes. Their offence will have to take a leap forward and continue to take advantage of their strong defence if they want a deep playoff run. 

7. Trapstars 6-4 

Once again a slow start to the season leaves Trapstars with a 6-4 record after 14 weeks of the regular season. It baffles me how Ryan Garber can slice through defences and throw for 2000 yards and 50+ touchdowns and still lose 4 games. Granted 3 of those 4 losses came from less then 6 points but it still doesn’t give me much confidence in a team that I would have expected to dominate the division. The only thing I can notice Trapstars haven’t been efficient at has been their extra pint conversions. Opting to only go for 1 can be a good strategy as long as your winning the game, but when the game is tight, going for 2 can give you the edge against most teams especially when your offence has been clicking all season. Trapstars have not ATTEMPTED any 2-pt convert attempts and have only converted their 1-point attempts at about a 55%. Like i said earlier, in the playoffs every point matters. 

8. Killer Rays 7-3

A team that has previously reached the mountain top before in division 5 and made a finals appearance in division 6 looks to continue their success here in division 4. Its great to see young guys come in the league in division 6 and work their way up and continue to get better. QB Tyler Bianchi is the perfect example of this, since entering the league in 2020 he has steadily increased his stats and win totals. This season in division 4A, his highest level of competition so far, he has hit career highs on both yards and touchdowns. On a 5 game win streak I wish I could have placed this team higher in the power rankings but I’m not too sure if they can keep up with the offensive and defensive prowess of the teams above. I fear that this team might be too one dimensional as Tyler Gurberg and Curtis Ryan have combined for close to 85% of Bianchi’s competitions. If a defence is able to shut down and key Tyler Gurberg, I don’t know if this offence possesses the same amount of fire power as their future opponents do. 

9. Bandits 6-4

Like Trapstars, for such a long standing franchise where their QBs have been getting better and better, its a little disappointing to see Bandits at only 6 wins. Émile Skaf has shattered all his previous career highs as he has thrown for over 1700 yards, 46 touchdowns and only 8 interceptions. Another win probably grants him all-star honours for the way he performed this season. What does impress me is that they only lost by 1 measly point to two of the best teams in the division, Speed academy and Ballz Deep. They have shown the can compete with the best but they haven’t proven they can beat the best so that is why they find themselves in the bottom 3 of the power rankings. But they do have a secret weapon and his name is Gabriel-Charles Dabe Champagne. Good enough for playoff qualification as he just squeezed by with 5 games played. If you don’t know who I’m talking about then you might want to refer to FPF’s instagram page, if you see a guy mossing and one hand picking players in division 1, that would be Gabe Dabe-Champagne. There isn’t anyone who can guard him 1 on 1 in this division so he could be the key to getting these guys deeper in the playoffs then anyone expect them to.

10. Kung Pow 6-4

Not a great statistical year for Jean-François Marquis but to be fair this is only his second full season at QB in FPF.  The team is full of High IQ players like Seb Deschamps, Bol d’or winning head coach at Cegep de St- Hyacinthe, and Ben Desroches, all-star running back. But I’m not sure if the team as a whole can compete athletically with the top 3 teams of this division. Its extremely tough to analyze this team though as I have not seen them play together this season and they do not do anything specifically bad on the stat sheet. They have been more or less a middle of the pack team and unfortunately I don’t see them making it past round 1 in the division 4 playoffs. 

11. Nighthawks 5-5

The Nighthawks have done well since their 1-9 season back in Spring of 2024. With a 5-5 record the teams finds themselves only 1 game away from being in the top half of the division. QB Yvon Salamon has stepped up his game as the threw for 40 tds and only 10 ints. He also leads the division is rushing yards and touchdowns. Which leads me to believe this team is ranked all they way down here at 11 due to their poor defence all season. With only 10 interceptions in 10 games, Nighthawks find themselves in the bottom 3 in the entire division in total interceptions and total sacks. The team also has given up an average of 30 points per game. If this team doesn’t tighten up on defence, it could be a quick first round exit for them. 

12. The Process 4-6 

Just making it in after Sun N’ Guns lost their last game of the regular season, The Process find themselves with the worst record of playoff teams in division 4. As mentioned before, the term without Ariel Liberati struggles on both sides of the ball and QB Jonathan Perez has not helped the cause by throwing 19 interceptions all season. The process have also only beaten teams that have not qualified for the playoffs so I do not have much confidence in this team to take on one of the top squads and make it through

Thats all for divison 4A for today, check abck this weekend for some playoff predictions and yearly Award announcements. Good luck to all teams fighting for a championship this month!