Categories: FPF Junior

FPF Jr | Playoffs

Playoffs.

FlagPlus Football, alongside most sports leagues, have the pleasure of hosting playoffs every season. In our league, the playoffs are a single-round knockout format where winners move on and losers see their seasons end. Fpf Jr is no different as teams will all get to play in the playoffs, but only the winners will move onwards to further rounds.

These playoffs start Saturday June 17th and Sunday June 18th; come hang out, there’s nothing quite like that playoff atmosphere that we offer.

Let’s get started.

 

Week 8

Lions triumphed in a glorious battle against Voltigeurs and Yellow Jackets stole the first spot in Sophomore after their week 8 win as the previously first seed Hurricanes fall to both Fighting Irish and Dusters. Musketeers prevail and finish with a perfect 8-0 record moving straight to the finals.

 

Looking back

Varsity Division

  • Lions: The Lions needed a week or two to figure out FPF, but once they did, they were unstoppable. Evan White has been making waves since his start in Week 2 and no one has come close to what he was able to accomplish on both sides of the ball this season. With players like Greg Stopal, Jake Applebaum, Jacob Soles and Bradley Parent, it’s difficult to imagine these guys anywhere but in the finals this season.
  • Voltigeurs: Starting the season in Sophomore, Voltigeurs made the jump after 4 weeks into Varsity and impressed even more as they played against some of the best teams in the division. With their only loss coming to the undefeated Lions in week 8, there is no doubt the Voltigeurs are the real deal this season. With great routes by Felix Joly and Nassim Negragui’s ability to go up for balls, they might just have the best roster in the division.
  • Mustangs: After a slow start to their season, the Mustangs quickly found what works for them and what doesn’t and turned their season around. Due to small roster inconsistencies, they weren’t able to be as dominant as they possibly could be every week, but with the playoff games looming ahead, there’s no doubt they’ll be firing on all cylinders once again. Is there any stopping Coby White when he has all his pieces?
  • Cougars: After an eventful start to the season, the team was forced to scramble for a new starting QB and figure out what will work for them. After a few weeks of adjustments, the Cougars managed to turn their season around helped by star player Ryan McGrath and Alexi Dubois. With the playoff season looming, there’s very little doubt they’ll leave everything they’ve got at the fields on Saturday.
  • Longhorns: Plagued with injury early in the season, Longhorns took time to find their rhythm due to roster inconsistencies. At full strength, they can take on any opponents, but most of their players weren’t 100% for most of their games which caused setbacks. With one of their biggest matchups coming up on Saturday, a full Longhorns team could very well upset and become a darkhorse team in Varsity this season.

 

Sophomore Division

  • Yellow Jackets: This offence-first team really shocked everyone once Garner Ross felt more comfortable spreading the ball offensively between Charles Presser, Jonathan Jagerman and Jesse Dym. The discovery of rusher-extraordinaire Evan Dias-Juliao came at the perfect time to help their defence find its rhythm behind great rushes and ball hawks. They slowly crept up to the first seed and will defend it with all their might on Sunday against the winner of Saturday’s game.
  • Hurricanes: This defensive unit retooled their offence after a few weeks and managed to really find the key to their success behind Marco Gentile’s ability to spread the ball to everyone on offence. With key defenders like Brenden Urquhart and Ashtin Philistin, the Hurricanes bolster the kind of defence no one wants to play against when everything is on the line. If they can stick to their gameplan, they’ll be showing everyone why they finished second this season.
  • Dusters: Learning the ropes in FPF is no easy feat, but the Dusters really turned their season around after a few bad games to kick off their season. Led by QB Adam Malinoff and receiver Matthew Eiley, their offence really found their rhythm midseason and have not looked back since. Winning their double-header allowed them to move up into the 3rd spot and be one of the best offence in their division.
  • Wildcats: Once the favorite in the division, roster inconsistencies saw them drop a few spot and finish 4th. Considering the playoffs are upon us and we’re expecting a full roster for this Saturday’s game, we’ll finally see just how strong the Wildcats can really be when all their playmakers like Jaden Frenette, William Bradford, T’Shawn Hinkson-Frenette, Noah Smallwood and Dean Fleming can perform together.
  • Fighting Irish: The best defence in the division will need to repeat their feat as they’ll face the Wildcats for the second time this season in their first playoff game. On the bright side, they’ve took down the Wildcats 18-7 in their first matchup and they could very well repeat. Helped by star players Lucas Piscopos, Jacob Wilson and Jacob Provost, the Fighting Irish’ defence doesn’t allow much to get past them. If Jonatan Lebensztajn-Shahrabani can get the ball going early, they might play on Sunday too.

 

Freshman Division

  • Musketeers: After an undefeated season, the Musketeers get a bye directly to the Finals where they’ll play the winner of next Sunday’s game. Seeing how strong their offence has been this entire season, it’s difficult to imagine their defence being just as successful, but with players like Brennen Dias-Juliao, Massimo Moufrage, Cam Trickett and Kaydon Shaw, you are bound to see impressive plays on any given downs.
  • Panthers: With many talented quarterbacks, we saw a trio of guys take snaps for the team and impress in different ways. With receivers like Phoenix Thomas and Caleb Perks, their offence quickly made waves and found their rhythm distributing the ball. Defensively, playmakers like Zacharie Gadbois, Emile Gagnon, Massimo Longo and Lucas Pereira all had huge parts in making the team successful this spring.
  • Tigers: After a difficult start of the season, Tigers made some adjustments and their defence found their rhythm behind playmakers like Thomas Hemens, Noah Swaminadhan and Alex Paliotti. The switch at QB allowing Noah Swaminadhan to distribute the ball gave Alex Paliotti new life as a receiver and their offence redefined itself. With many new players, Tigers will look to show the Panthers what they’ve learnt this season on Sunday in their first playoff game.

 

Players of the Week

  • Noah Smallwood (Wildcats): With 106 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns, he definitely left a mark on the Yellow Jackets’ defence.
  • Garner Ross (Yellow Jackets): Closed out the season with his best game yet throwing for 202 yards and 7 touchdowns. Well done.
  • Zachary Nelson (Fighting Irish): With 2 interceptions, he definitely stood out on Sunday as his team prevailed in a gritty defensive game.
  • Evan White (Lions): Is there anything he cannot do? When he struggles early as a passer, he comes back defensively with 3 interceptions, a rushing TD and still managed to finish the hour with 4 passing Tds.

 

Regular Season MVPs

We always like to wrap our regular season up with special mentions to standout players; this season is no different. We’ve decided to adopt last season’s format of Team’s Most Valuable Player award in which we give the team’s MVP a special mention and trophy for their hard work, dedication and outstanding playmaking ability.

Without further ado, here’s your Spring 2017 winners. Congratulations to all!

 

Freshman

  • Musketeers: Kaydon Shaw
  • Panthers: Caleb Perks
  • Tigers: Thomas Hemens

 

Sophomore

  • Yellow Jackets: Jonathan Jagerman
  • Hurricanes: Brenden Urquhart
  • Dusters: Matthew Eiley
  • Wildcats: Noah Smallwood
  • Fighting Irish: Jacob Provost

 

Varsity

  • Lions: Evan White
  • Voltigeurs: Simon Boudreault
  • Mustangs: Coby White
  • Cougars: Ryan McGrath
  • Longhorns: Spencer Fitzpatrick

 

Crystall Ball and Shenanigans

  • Wildcats vs Fighting Irish: In what could potentially turn out to be one of the best games on the weekend, the tough Fighting Irish defence will try and limit Noah Smallwood’s incredible production when William Bradford is taking snaps for his team. If they can find a way to do so and not allow Jaden Frenette to carve them up for big gains, Fighting Irish’ offence could surprise more than one bystander before the final whistle is blown.
  • Cougars vs Longhorns: In their last two encounters, Cougars won by a combined 7 points. With that in mind, we’re set for a glorious battle that will probably come down to the final snap of the game. With everyone healthy, Longhorns bolster a very threatening roster, but Cougars’ Ryan McGrath is the kind of player one cannot simply pick against so easily. Hopefully, both rosters will feature all their players ready to play.

 

  • Panthers vs Tigers: For the last time this season, these two teams will face off against each other and I expect a very close game that will not see a big amount of touchdowns. In fact, 3 might just be enough to win it. If the Tigers can get a sprinkle of luck, they might just shock us all and turn this situation around.
  • Yellow Jackets vs Winner of Saturday: It’s difficult to predict who the Yellow Jackets will face in their semi finals, but one thing’s for sure, they’ll need to find a way to limit the Tandem of Charles Presser and Jonathan Jagerman in some way. Even without these two offering a very high offensive production, the threat of Jesse Dym carving up defences is still very real. Could Adam Perks be this weekend’s surprise?
  • Hurricanes vs Dusters: In their first encounter, the Hurricanes won 21-14. Last week, the Dusters found the winning formula and won 36-6. Will history repeat itself? Can we say best out of 3? Seeing how talented both of these rosters are, there’s very little doubt that we’ll have ourselves a thriller on our hands. Can Adam Malinoff break Brenden Urquhart’s rush? Can Ashtin Philistin contain Matthew Eiley for 44 minutes? We shall see on Sunday.
  • Lions vs Winner of Saturday: The way Lions have been playing this season shows no sign of weaknesses, but the playoffs are a different kind of beast and one small thing could go wrong and see a team go home. With the plethora of weapons on this team, it’s difficult to imagine them not making the finals, but we’ve seen crazier things in FPF history. Don’t count yourself out just yet if you’re the one playing the Lions this Sunday.
  • Voltigeurs vs Mustangs: After making a jump into Varsity, the Voltigeurs have shocked pretty much everyone by finishing 3-1 in their new division. In their last encounter, Nassim Negragui went off for 3 touchdowns; I doubt the Mustangs will allow that performance to repeat itself. Expect a big output from Felix Joly and Samuel Cahill on Sunday to keep this game close and competitive. Could converts be the difference maker?

 

That’s it for me this week. Hopefully I’ll still have a job by week 2. Happy, annoyed, frustrated, humbled by my comments? Take a second to send me a quick message either via twiter (@DagenaisFPF) or via email ([email protected]) and I’ll be sure to rectify or simply explain my point of view. I’m also at the fields every Sunday; don’t be shy to drop by and talk some football!