Finally Playoff Time in Co-ed

A very interesting co-ed season drew to a close two weeks ago. During the winter season, co-ed was predictable. Most games were played with both teams knowing full well who the probable winner was. To my great delight, the spring season of co-ed was much more exciting. Every week featured a fresh set of upsets and close games. After such an entertaining regular season, I can only hope that the playoffs are as much fun. Since the playoffs are starting very soon, this article will focus less on the previous round of games and more on the playoffs.

The closest game of week 10 was the one between Party Mix and Drunk Again and Looking to Score. I expected Party Mix to win this one comfortably. While they did manage the win, it was by a much closer score line than I expected. They only beat DALS 35-32. With quite a few absences, Party Mix called up the experienced Lonnie Johnson and Francois Deslauriers wasted no time in finding his newest receiver. He connected with Johnson on seven occasions for a total of 70 yards and a score. Party Mix’s second-best receiver was yet another replacement. Jameel Greenidge only caught two passes, but he made the most of them. He tallied 61 receiving yards and a score. Other than their two super subs, Party Mix relied on Emma Racine to produce 45 yards of offence with her three catches. Hopefully Party Mix will have their full roster back for the playoffs because they cannot use subs as of now. With their full roster, Party Mix should be in contention for it all. As for Drunk Again and Looking to Score, they put in a very good effort despite the loss. For one of the first times all season Rocco Christiano was spreading the ball. Yes, Chris Milard still led the charge with five catches for 74 yards and three scores, but Frederique Potvin was also involved with three catches for 40 yards as was Kevin Kousaie with three catches for 28 yards. To make things even more difficult for their opponent, Christiano ran four time for nearly fifty yards. When DALS are using all their offensive weapons, they are a very difficult team to stop.

Another team that performed better than expected, while still losing was Michael Scott’s Tots. They were without their two best receivers, Rico Tulino and Kenny Boutilier and as a general rule, MST has struggled heavily without Tulino. The absence of both Boutilier and Tulino seemed nearly catastrophic. The fact that they were facing the lethal 3rd Down for What did not help either. Despite all, MST still managed to keep things close and only lost 18-27 to 3DW. With his two top receivers missing, Evan Ely Nolet, turned all his attention to Zackary Alberts-Gill who he connected with six times for 50 yards and two scores. To help fill the void left by the two absent players, it was Karina Niboj who stepped up in a massive way. She was a safe pair of hands for Ely Nolet and caught five passes for thirty yards. On the other hand, 3rd Down for What’s performance was slightly worrisome. Just a few weeks before the playoffs they only managed 140 yards against a VERY depleted defence. On top of struggling to move the ball, they also turned it over once. The only thing that was working for their offence was Jeremy Murphy. Once again, he proved to be an extremely reliable receiver and tallied six catches for nearly 70 yards and a score.

 

Week 10 Team of the Week:

Each week, I name 12 players to the team of the week (TOTW). Since this is co-ed and there always needs to be two girls on the field, both the offensive and defensive team of the week will feature two or more girls. If you are on the offensive TOTW, you cannot be on the defensive one.

Offence:

Quarterback: Francois Deslauriers (Party Mix) 15 completions, 201 passing yards, 5 TDs

Receiver: Philippe Aussant (Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce) 8 receptions, 79 receiving yards

Receiver: Frederique Potvin (Drunk Again and Looking to Score) 3 receptions, 40 receiving yards, 1 TD

Receiver: Chris Milard (Drunk Again and Looking to Score) 5 receptions, 74 receiving yards, 3 TDs

Receiver: Emma Racine (Party Mix) 3 receptions, 45 receiving yards

Receiver: Etienne Brisson (Black Mamba) 4 receptions, 71 receiving yards, 1 TD

Defence:

Rusher: Alexandre Jubinville (Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce) 2 sacks

Defensive back: Zackary Alberts-Gill (Michael Scott’s Tots) 3 tackles. 1 INT, 1 PD

Defensive back: Constance Miller (3rd Down for What) 4 tackles, 1 INT, 1 PD

Defensive back: Tristan Mancini (3rd for What) 2 tackles, 1 INT, 1 PD, 1 defensive TD

Defensive back: Erica Dubois (Kiss My End Zone) 1 tackle, 2 defended passes

Defensive back: Jordan Rwiyamilira (Midtown) 1 sack, 1 INT, 1 defensive TD

 

Playoff Previews:

Black Mamba (4-4) vs Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce (4-4)

While these two teams may have identical records, their play has been drastically different. Black Mamba have kept on finding ways to win. They have surmounted long odds and rallied from behind to total a very respectable four wins. Their greatest asset is their never say die attitude. They never count themselves out of a game and their four wins are in large part due to that mentality. On the other hand, Siracha Hot Chili Sauce have been their own worst enemy. It has been impossible to predict the outcome of their games because you never know which Sriracha is going to take to the field. On some days, they have looked like one of the very top teams in the division while on others you wondered how they had won a single game. Having said all that, it is very difficult to predict the outcome of this game. I could base myself on the week 1 encounter between these two teams when Black Mamba won on a last play Hail Mary. However, Sriracha were missing some key players and they have improved since that opening week loss and gelled together as a team. Last week, their defence put up quite the performance and only allowed one score. On the other hand, no team in co-ed has improved more than Black Mamba since the end of last season. The transformation that this team has undergone is simply remarkable. With all that being said,  I have a feeling that Sriracha Hot Chili will find a way to win for once, instead of finding a way to lose.

Prediction: Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce

Yin&Yang (2-5-1) vs Michael Scott’s Tots (2-5-1)

Another difficult game to predict. Not only do these two teams have identical records, they also drew the only time they played each other. I have been expecting more from both of these teams since I saw their initial rosters. When I saw the Michael Scott’s Tots had AJ Gomes on their roster, I thought they had finally found the piece to bring them a championship. However, it is now obvious that he is not one of the Tots and they have exactly the same roster as last season. The same group that lost to Yin&Yang in the semi-finals just a few months ago. While MST are fielding exactly the same team Y&Y has undergone another roster overhaul. There only constant to Y&Y this year has been turmoil. Since one of their players quit in week 1 things have not got much better. Their roster now has nearly twenty people on it, 13 of whom are playoff eligible. Despite having all those players on their roster, they still forfeited a quarter of their games because not enough players showed up. If Y&Y are to have any chance of finding success in the playoffs they will need to find a starting 12 and stick with them. All this change has made it impossible for them to develop good chemistry. Simply put, this semi-final will see the less talented yet consistent Michael Scott’s Tots face-off against the somewhat erratic but very talented Yin&Yang. In the end, I have to pick consistency.

Prediction: Michael Scott’s Tots

Drunk Again and looking to Score (3-5) vs Kiss My End Zone (2-6)

I have always despised trying to predict the outcome of my own team’s games. As a good teammate and defensive play-caller it is part of my responsibility to imagine the ways in which we can win and convince myself that we will. On the other hand, credit must be given where credit is due. Drunk Again and Looking to Score have been playing some fantastic football as of late. They finally listened to my advice and decided to throw the ball to someone other than Chris Milard. When Rocco Christiano spreads the ball and he uses his legs to pick up yards on the ground their offence is just about unstoppable. Teams can either leave Milard in single coverage, which is as good as leaving him wide open or try to double up on him which leaves someone else open. Either way, someone is open and all Christiano needs to do is hit the open man. With all that being said, I have a defence that I hope will slow down DALS enough to keep this game close. While it may not be logical, I cannot predict my team to be eliminated.

Prediction: Kiss My End Zone

 

The first round of playoffs are just a few hours away now so best of luck to everyone. I know I didn’t cover the two games that will be played on August 4th, but don’t despair. There will be another article up previewing those games and discussing all of Monday’s action!