FPF Junior Playoff Recaps

The 2019 FPF Junior season game to a close last Saturday with the all-day playoff at Stade de Soccer. I was not able to take in that round of games because I was out of town. That is also why this article is coming out a bit later than I would have liked. Let’s get right into the games because there is plenty to talk about.

 

Atom Playoff Review

In the quarterfinals, the Jaguars came up big with a 25-6 win over the Lions. The Jaguars’ key to success came from their running game. While they only passed for 24 yards, they made up for that with nearly 90 yards on the ground. Vinh Bastien accounted for fifty of those while Jacob Jenikovsky had a big night with 37 rushing yards of his own. On defence, it was an unlikely hero who stole the show for the Jaguars. Zain Shaikh had a game for the ages with two interceptions, his first two of the season. As for the Lions, they just weren’t able to get things clicking in their passing game. This team has come so far this season, it is hard to see them bow out in the first round but if they come back next year, they will keep on improving. This year, they went from a group of strangers to a cohesive football team. With a few more games under their belt, they could become a force to be reckoned with.

While the Jaguars looked primed for a playoff run after their convincing win in the quarters, their momentum was halted by a 25-6 loss to the McCaig Gladiators 2 in the semi-finals. Luca Swaminadhan was perfect for the Gladiators in that game. He completed all six of his attempted passes for 123 yards. Five of those six completions were for touchdowns. On the receiving end of three of those TD passes was Trevor Meldrum who finished the game with three catches for 72 yards.

The other semi-final was a much closer affair. The Silver Cougars upset the Grizzlies 13-12. The Cougars’ offence got the job done, but they were not spectacular. Malcolm McLaren completed a TD pass to Luke Sabbagh for one score and Xavier Parent ran the ball in for the team’s second. While their offence scored just enough to give them the win, it was really their defence that impressed. That defence limited one of the most dangerous players in the division, Harley Minzberg, to only one reception. That defensive effort was led by the fantastic rushing of Luke Sabbagh who managed two sacks. The Cougars defence held the Grizzlies to just two scores and helped their team advance to the finals.

The Atom finals pitted the McCaig Gladiators 2 against the Silver Cougars. While the Cougars’ defence is what got them to this championship game, it was no match for the Gladiator’s high-octane offence. Luca Swaminadhan did not complete 100% of his passes like he did in the semi-finals but still had a very good game. He passed for 63 yards and he made an even bigger impact with his legs. With his five rushing attempts, he tallied 106 yards and two scores. On defence, Sammy Stamatopoulos came up big for the Gladiators with an interception that he returned for a touchdown. The Gladiators had a fantastic season and they capped it off with a 33-7 win in the finals.

 

Mosquito Playoff Review

In the quarter-finals, the winless Cavaliers gave the Reapers quite the scare. While the Reapers did manage to squeak out a 25-24 win, the Cavaliers played their best game of the season. Bryson Brojde threw for 160 yards and threw three touchdowns while the Cavaliers defence produced two turnovers. It was quite the performance but unfortunately for them, they came up just two points short of advancing to the semis. On the Reapers side of things, Noam Cytrynbaum carried their offence with his five catches for 75 yards and two scores. The efforts of Noam Cytrynbaum, Jordan Waxman and the rest of the Reapers were just enough to book themselves a semi-final duel with the McCaig Gladiators 1.

I expected the Gladiators to win convincingly against the Reapers in the semi-finals and was surprised to see that the Gladiators w0n this one by only one touchdown (24-18). Noam Cytrynbaum had another fantastic game in the semi-finals with eight receptions for 71 yards and a score. Aidan Amiel also stepped up for his team with five receptions for 53 yards and two scores. Despite the admirable efforts of the Reapers, the Gladiators were simply too much for them to handle. While Kingston Paquet only passed for three touchdowns, he managed to avoid throwing any interceptions. For most of the season, the Gladiators’ main receiver was Luca Fonsato and while he did have a good performance with five catches for 66 yards, it was Noah Swaminadhan who stole the show with six receptions for 67 yards and two scores.

In the other semi-final, we were treated to an extremely close match between the AP Hurricanes 2 and the Panthers. The Panthers did manage a 21-20 win but this game really could have gone either way. As they have all season long, the Panthers split the quarterbacking duties between Diego Leone and Kevyn De Serres-Payne. Most of the season, Kevyn De Serres-Payne has been the more effective of the two except this time Diego Leone had the better numbers with nearly 90 passing yards. Kevyn De Serres-Payne made up for any shortcomings with a tremendous performance as a receiver. He caught five passes for 70 yards and a score. The Hurricanes gave it their all in this one but came up just short. I have been accustomed to seeing Anthony Barette as a receiver for the Hurricanes and he had a good showing with four reception for 34 yards, but it was Joseph Baazov with his four catches for 100 yards who stole the show. He also made his presence felt on the defensive side of the ball with two tackles. Despite the valiant efforts of Joseph Baazov, the Hurricanes came up just short and the Panthers moved onto the finals.

The Mosquito finals featured the McCaig Gladiators 1 and the Panthers. The Gladiators struggled in the semi-finals, but they picked themselves up in a big way for the finals. They blew past the Panthers 27-0. Not much was working for the Panthers. Kevyn De Serres-Payne completed 3 passes for 20 yards while Diego Leone completed none. On the Gladiators’ side of the ball, Kingston Paquet did just enough to lead his team to victory. He passed for 132 and no TDs. Once again, he protected the ball and didn’t throw any picks. He did an admirable job of spreading the ball, six receivers finished the game with multiple receptions. All of their defence were impressive in the shutout, but Emile Kilbride stood out with his four sacks. The McCaig Gladiators were dominant all season long and they continued that strong showing in the playoffs to secure the championship.

 

Pee-Wee Playoff Review

The Pee-Wee chase for the championship got started with a quarter-final duel between the Rams and the Bulldogs. The Rams were able to move on thanks to a 18-14 win. That victorious performance was led by Lawrence Brossard with his six catches and sixty receiving yards.

The Rams victory set the stage for their semi-final matchup with the 8-0 Musketeers. All season, the Musketeers have been in a class of their own. They dismantled opponent after opponent on their way to a perfect regular season.  They continued that perfect form with a 38-6 win over the Rams. The Musketeers have some extremely talented players like Massimo Moufrage and it would be easy to throw them the ball all game long. However, you have to respect the Musketeers for staying honest and spreading the ball to all their receivers. In their semi-final match, six different Musketeer receivers had multiple receptions. While it was a collective defensive effort on the part of the Musketeers to hold their opponents to six points, I have to highlight the fantastic rushing of Frida Llaguno who finished the game with three sacks.

In the other semi-final, the Hurricanes defeated the Packers 46-24. While many teams in the younger divisions rely on running the ball to move the chains, the AP Hurricanes 1 impressed me by moving the ball with essentially only passing plays. They passed for 255 yards and only ran for one. With a talented quarterback like Logan Trepanier at the helm of your offence, it is easy to understand why you want to throw the ball every play. Logan Trepanier had one of the best FPF Junior playoff performances ever with 255 passing yards, 7 touchdowns and no interceptions. On the receiving end of most of Logan Trepanier’s passes was the talented Benjamin Zbacnik. He caught seven passes for a phenomenal 135 yards and four scores. That awesome offensive performance from the Hurricanes was enough to book them a ticket to the finals.

In the finals, the Hurricanes took on the Musketeers. Unfortunately, the stats for that game were not successfully uploaded to the website and since I was not at the game there is not much I can say. All I know is that the Musketeers won 31-6 to earn a well-deserved championship.

 

Bantam Playoff Review

As I discussed in my last article, the Bantam finals were played in the last week of the regular season and the Dusters emerged victorious. Last weekend, there was a Bantam playoff game with third place on the line. TSM Faze FC defeated the Eagles 19-6 to secure third place. Faze used three quarterbacks in their victory over the Eagles. No matter who was under center, Tyler Van Frank was the leading target. He finished the game with seven receptions for 67 yards and two scores. Jordy Melnik also had a strong game with four receptions for 51 yards and a score. While Jordy Melnik may have had a good game on offence, he had a fantastic game on defence. He finished the game with a mind-boggling four interceptions.

 

Midget Playoff Review

All season long, the Midget division has been unpredictable. It has been nearly impossible to anticipate outcomes and the playoffs were no exception. One of my favourites to go all the way, TuneSquad were knocked off in the first round by a score of 22-18 at the hands of the Alaskan Thunderducks. While Dylan Hacker usually steals the headlines as a receiver for the Thunderducks, he made a bigger impact in this game as a defensive back. He managed a crucial pick six to go along with his two tackles and one defended pass.

As expected, Montreal’s Youngest elevated their game to another level and cruised passed Bunnies 26-7 to book themselves a seat in the semi-finals. Noah Lachance returned to take the reigns of Montreal’s Youngest offence. He had a very strong game with 177 passing yards, four TDs and no interceptions. His favorite target on the night was Lorenzo Cormier-Jarbah who had a phenomenal game with five catches for 102 yards and two scores.

This set the stage for an epic semi-final match between the Mustangs and Montreal’s Youngest. These teams have played each other in past seasons and they definitely are not fond of each other. As they did in last spring’s finals, the Mustangs beat Montreal’s Youngest. Noah Lachance posted very similar statistics to his last game. He threw for 171 yards, 4 TDs and no picks. However, Mustangs QB Coby White did slightly better, he passed for 230 yards and three scores. Thanks to the performance of Coby White, the Mustang’s booked themselves a ticket to the finals.

In the other semi-final, the Tigers cruised past the Alaskan Thunderducks 28-6 to advance to the finals. As he has all season long, Jake Newman was the go-to man for the Tiger’s QB Justin Schwartz. Jake Newman led all receivers with four receptions for 58 yards and two scores.

The Midget final was set and it opposed the undefeated Tigers with the Mustangs. The Tigers were heavy favorites in this game since they hadn’t lost a game all year. Well, the Mustangs handed them their first loss of the season and claimed a second championship in the process. They even managed to hold the Tigers’ high-octane offence off the scoreboard. Perhaps their most impressive feat was preventing Jake Newman from catching a single pass. Offensively, Coby White did not have his best outing. He threw for only two touchdowns while turning the ball over three times. However, his defence bailed him out time after time. While the entire Mustang’s defence had a fantastic game, no one made a bigger impact than Evan Stern. He was an absolute nightmare in the secondary. He batted down three passes and intercepted two more. He even returned on of those picks for a score. It was that defensive effort, led by Evan Stern, that allowed the Mustangs to clinch their second championship.

 

With that, the Spring 2019 FPF Junior season is officially over. I hope you all enjoyed your experience in FPF Junior as well as my articles. Stay tuned to the website for the Dubois awards where I will name the best quarterback, receiver, rusher, defensive back and two-way player from each division.