If you’re confused about what to do, It’s a sign that your enemy is winning.

Hellllooooo FPF! What a weekend of jam packed FPF action last weekend was! The first round is officially over and we are marching forward to the second round of the playoffs. Such an exciting time to be a player. One step closer to holding up that trophy. However, as tempting as it is, you gotta keep yourself focus on the process and worry less about the outcome. Nevertheless, the FPF playoffs is where the stars come out to shine the brightest! We’ve got alot to unpack here so let’s jump straight into it! Before we start breaking down this week’s matchups, lets recap what went down at Lachine last sunday.

Division recap

Last sunday, I was able to witness some SERIOUS action packed football. I saw the best QB/WR duo in division in Jeff Rosenblatt/Anthony Brisebois get dethroned by the Killa Bees. Fellas, Jeremie Mongeon-Duby is as good as advertised, i’ll leave it at that. It was an exciting back & forth matchup that didn’t disappoint. Although Jeff Rosenblatt didn’t throw an INT, getting sacked on fourth down, twice, will never put you in a position to advance in the playoffs. Kudos Killa Bees on the incredible performance. This team seems to be in sync, with each player understanding their role on the team. Nobody is selfish, which makes this team that much more terrifying.

Sheeesh clawed their way out of the first round by scoring a late touchdown to get them over the hump against Les Maloudes. Taking Vincent Morrisette out of WR, the position that got him a team high 7 Tds on the szn, to play QB, is always going to be a recipe for disaster. Les Maloudes gave Sheeesh all they can handle, keeping the game tied for the most part at 12 a piece. However, Second half, we saw why Sheeesh is who they are. They locked in, made fewer mistakes, & got the job done. It wasn’t pretty, but at the end of the day, a dub is a dub!

Touch It Catch It vs Bearskins went down to the wire! What a game that was to be in attendance for. Both QBs did a great job of leading their team’s down the field each possession for a score. As the tale goes, when no defence is being played, it only means one thing. The team with the ball last, will win the game. That proved to be the case here as Fred Mallette got his team to the 1 with only 2 plays left. He snapped the ball, pump faked once, & hit his ol’ reliable snapper Nick Risso Gomes for the go ahead score. This TD was one of 3 for Risso Gomes on the night, including a spectacular 1 handed catch for a TD. Impressive composure down the stretch from Mallette, he did exactly what he needed to do to get his team to the second round of the dance.

EZW vs Expendables proved to be a game for the ages! At the beginning of this game, EZW reached the redzone, with their sights set on tying up the game 6. Instead, Jeremy White looked right, then last second looked left, threw off balanced to the first cone on the left side of the redzone, which resulted in Andrew Carruthers stepping infront of the throw, returning it all the way for the TD. Talk about a momentum shift! The Expendables grew their lead all the way up to 26-7, which was a massive shocker in my eyes, and probably had everyone on EZW shook as well. The turning point in this game? Last play of the half, EZW had the ball at midfield. White told his left slot Charles-Olivier Lavigne to run a hook at the goaline (making sure his feet were inside the endzone), threw him the ball, and Lavigne did what ever player talks about doing pregame/post game, but never go through with it. While every defender shot the front of the endzone to stop Lavigne from catching the hook, Lavigne managed to perfectly tip the ball to the back of the endzone, where teammate Etienne Laurence-Gervais was standing all alone to complete the volleyball play for the TD before the half! An absolutely demorilizing sequence of events for the Expendables. More importantly, gave EZW the confidence to fight back their way into this game, which is exactly what they did. During the second half, the defence of EZW stepped up tremdendously, as they found ways to jump routes and pick off Gino Di Fazio THREE times to ultimately shut down the Expendables, and advance to the second round. What. A. Game.

Now that we are done with the old, we move on with the new! In new, I am referring to the new matchups, that I have no doubt will be FILLED with exciting plays, alot of s*** talking, and most of all 4 teams that will inch one step closer to fulfilling their ever so lifelong dreams, of becoming an FPF champion! Without further ado, Let’s breakdown these matchups. We shall see if I can pull a Jeremie Mongeon-Duby & go perfect 2 weeks in a row with my predictions. It wont be easy!!

Les Gros Coqs vs Sheeesh

Interesting matchup to say the least. Les Gros Coqs come into this matchup as the team that had the bye week to recover. However, I might argue that Sheeesh is not the one to be seen as an underdog in this matchup. When these two teams faced off in their matchup week 2, it was a rough day for Dom Lefort. He threw 3 INTs in that contest, en route to getting demolished by 20. Ariel Liberti had himself a day that week, as he scored 2 tds, along with adding 2 INTs to the mix as well. I remember vividly being at Hebert for that game, saying to myself “damn, who the heck is going to stop Sheeesh this year? They look incredible!” Well, it seems as though I spoke to soon, kinda setting a jinx on the team for the rest of the season. Sheeesh went on to have a rocky season, losing games they would argue they probably should have won. With that being said, they did finish their season on a high note. Winning vs Les Maloudes last week of the season really set the tone for this team gaining the momentum they needed going into the playoffs. First Les Maloudes, now Les Gros Coqs. Both those teams combined for 7 wins on the season. Safe to say if we were seeding the remaining 8 teams, Les Gros Coqs would probably be ranked #8.

With that being said, I believe that this is the playoffs, which means that anything can happen. If Les Gros Coqs can manage a way to play good defence, along with mistake free football, this could set up a tighter game than most would expect. With 35 touchdowns on the season, Dom Lefort is more than capable of pulling off an upset. Especially if he gets his main target Julien Proulx gets going early and often. Julien finished the season with a team high 7 tds for LGC. Moreover, if they got any shot in this game, it’s because Alexis Ferand found a way to get his paws on a throw or 2 from Langburt. Ferand finished with a team high 5 INTs on the season, the next closest player had only 1 INT. Les Gros Coqs is filled with lowkey talent everywhere you look. If this team was registered in Div4, they would probably be amongst the cream of the crop. However, being in div 3, I find the talent gap between Les Gros Coqs and Sheeesh is one that seems to separate itself more as we dig deeper into the rosters.

Speaking of Sheeesh, they have arguably one of the deepest rosters in this division. At the top of the food chain, they got their Batman & Robin in Ariel Librati & Noah Groper. The two seem to compliment eachother’s game so well, combining for 25 of Langburt’s 34 touchdowns on the season. Just when you think that’s abit too much of a workload to handle, you got to start worrying about Mathieu Lepage, who just seems to shine brightest when it comes playoff time. He always seems to find the soft spot on the offensive end, yet it’s his defense that impresses me most. Last week alone, he managed to step infront of an errant throw to cause a turnover that gave Sheeesh the momentum to go on & win the game. With so many X factors on this Sheeesh squad, it all comes down to execution. In my opinion, LGC doesn’t have the horses to compete in this race. I see Langburt having a big day that sends a message to the rest of the division.

Prediction:

Les Gros Coqs 18

Sheeesh 36

Blessed Vs Touch It Catch It

Touch it catch it come into this game riding an emotional game winning touchdown from Mallette to Risso Gomes to take themselves to the next round. Could this be the big momentum shift in the football world that Fred Mallette was looking for? With a playoff win under his belt, Mallette looks to put himself once step closer to his first FPF title. The road isn’t easy of course, as he is set up with a rematch against one of the best in Divison 3, Blessed. The reason as to why Blessed is arguably the team to beat, is because of their tremendous QB play by Stephen Harripersaud. Although he came up short in the awards, throwing for 52 Tds & only 2 INTs, is astronomical numbers. What makes this Blessed squad so lethal, is that out of the 52 Tds thrown, only 2 players finished with 10+ Tds; Phil Pharand, and snapper Jafar Hassan. That’s the beauty of playing with Harripersaud, he loves spreading the ball to everyone all over the field. This is generally why A. players love to play with him, and B. hes been able to have the level of success that he’s had over the years. He is unpredictable. Whenever you are going up against a QB that spreads the ball all over the field, it makes it difficult to shift coverages one way. Although Tici busted the cap the first time these two teams clashed off, it was still a one score game, even with Mallette throwing 2 Ints on the night. I somewhat have a feeling it has something to do with the defensive coverage/play calling from the 2 way player of the year AJ Gomes. AJ is no stranger to the Stephen Harripersaud experience, so this could spell danger for the runner up QB of the year.

What I will be looking for in this matchup, is how the Blessed defense adjusts to the volume Risso will receive over the middle of the field. Their first matchup saw Risso getting 13 targets on the night, which tells me that Fred Mallette felt comfortable taking what the defence was giving him all night long. More importantly, I look reaaaaaaalllly forward, to the heavy weight fight that will be going on all night long. I’m talking about the Phil Pharand-AJ Gomes Matchup. Both extremely talented players. Both won awards for their tremendous play this season. One game, let’s see who will stand out the most. With 8 Ints on the season, does Mallette still take his shots, keeping that “my player is better than yours” attitude, or does he avoid Pharand entirely for the whole night. Some key factors that need to be mentioned here would be first and foremost, Gronk himself Mr Kevin Smuda. There’s rumors that have been swirling for years that Kevin Smuda Signature Moss should be the FPF logo. If that is true, who would be crazy enough to say no to that?? The man lives rent free in some of the dbs head’s that he’s mossed over the years, i just know it! Secondly, and most importantly, is how Mallette will handle the rush from Terry Babalis. Last time they met, Terry caused extreme havoc in the backfield, as he recorded 3 sacks on the night. Should we see a repeat performance from one of the best rushers in Div 3? Or will Mallette find ways to extend plays & avoid taking the big sack. Lastly, speaking of big sacks, let’s not fall asleep on the Isiah Allard, who recorded 10 sacks as well on the season. Allard & Harripersaud are close friends as well, so i’ll be intrigued to see if Allard takes it easy on Stephen, or if he will assert his dominance all night long. Ultimately, I can see this game going either way. Blessed will march and play consisent football. The game will be decided on whether or not Fred Mallette can do the same.

Prediction:

Touch It Catch It 24

Blessed 28

Junkyard Dogs vs EZW

Coming into this matchup with 1 game apart from one another in the rankings, both teams have and will continue to play with a chip on their shoulders. Most recently, we saw EZW complete a ridiculous comeback vs the Expendables to get their way into the second round. Of course, it’s only normal they’re feeling hot right about now, I would be too after pulling off a win like they did. Throwing for 50 touchdowns to only 5 ints, White has been riding a high all season long, proving all the haters wrong in his pursuit to becoming one of the top dogs in this league. However, what better way to cool down a burning stove, than to spray the fire extinguisher everywhere until the fire goes out. The fire extinguisher in this matchup? Hinsley Adams. In the matchup these two teams had during the regular season, Adams was able to get to White…. FIVE times! Talk about a game wrecker! Providing that kind of relentless rush, is never any fun for any QB who loves buying time. White is going to need to find ways to create plays for his squad, without getting burned by the 10 yard loss of a sack. Jean-Christophe Ferland will need to be a vocal point on the receiving end for EZW! Ferland finished the game vs JYD catching all 3 touchdowns that white threw on the night. Clearly these two have extraordinary chemistry, it’s obvious the moment you watch any game these 2 are involved in. whenever white is in trouble, JC finds a way to enter his vicinity and create a passing lane for Jeremy White that will put them in a position to move the chains. You can’t hate on a product that proves to be successful!

Since I brought up being successful, i would be ashamed of myself if i didn’t mention the success rate Junkyard Dogs have on 2 point converts. They’re currently converting 51% of their 2 point converts, which is pretty wild. What’s even more wild, is the 45% of 2 pt converts attempted on the season. As crazy as that sounds, it’s almost A MUST to go for 2 with the jumpball kings this roster has! Shall we begin with the human rebound himself, Mr. Sean Semerjian. I’ve seen this man single handled take on a double teams with his elbows out as hes boxing out 2 Dbs who are starting to rethink their life decisions,and absoluetly GO GET those footballs! Having that agrresive nature in his game, is a reason why Sean finished with 17 touchdowns on the season! QB Jason Rossie absolutely loves that about his receiving core. Having that mentality, is a reason why loves the golden pass. I love how he’s constantly LOOKING to throw up that jumpball! That shows the confidence he has with his receiviers downfield. Speaking of the supoorting cast, we can’t forget about Sean’s sidekick, brother Rory Semerjian, who is just as good as advertised. Finishing his season with 11 touchdowns, Rory is great at finding zones, he does a fantastic job at coming down with a couple toe drag swag a la nate burlesson every now and then. Although Rory is a great WR to have, his defense is what seperates him from the competiiton, as he led his team this season with 5 interceptions. What intrigued me the most, was as mentioned earlier, the converts. Here’s a little timbit for you people. As stated earlier, Junkyard Dogs attempt a 2pt convert nearly half their TDs on the season. What’s interesting here, is that although both Semerjian Brothers led the team in receiving TDs for their team, neither led the team in 2 pt converts completed. With only 2 touchdowns on the season, snapper Paul Lapierre led the team in 2 pts converts competed with 6… what’s even more interesting? With all the talk about the Semerjian Brothers being the vocal point of the offence, it was actually Lapierre who also led JYD in RECEPTIONS! Whether you want to believe it or not, Rossie loves the 6’4 mismatch over the middle. If you aint got a big man who can physically compete with paul all game long, it’s almost impossible to stop this offence.

My prediction:

EZW: 20

Junkyard Dogs: 26

Silent Ticklers vs Killa Bees

Here we go. In my eyes, this is arguably the finals. Both teams have been super duper fuego as of late, and neither seems to showing signs of slowing down anytime soon. Recently, these two gladiators went at one another, which ended up going to the wire. The game saw Silent Ticklers handing the Killa Bees a 54-48 loss on a go ahead Td to Adam Rosen with one play to go. The last memory the great Jeremie Mongeon-Duby has against Silent Ticklers, is getting sacked for a safety by Francis Haley. I’m sure that stings, and Duby is most definitely seeking his revenge.

Lets begin here with the Silent Ticklers, who have one of the most potent offences in this division! Throwing for 56 touchdowns, okay Jordan Pannetta, I see you my guy! This man is a gunslinger, and why not, when you have receivers who’ve got the fries, that’ll burn your eyes! That is right, I am speaking of deadly duo involving Adam Rosen & Daniel Mancini. Rosen finished his season with 23 Tds on the season while Mancini finished with 15. The two have made some RIDICULOUS highlights right infront of my eyes, from watching Rosen snag a one handed catch while getting two feet down for the score, or Mancini simply taking the go and just BURNING dudes off the line, both these studs put on a show all season long which was fun to see. Mancini also finished the season leading his squad with 12 Pds, and 3 Ints. If Killa Bees don’t take their matchups seriously, I can very well see this game being the highest scoring game of the slate we have this weekend.

What’s the saying? Fight fire with fire? Yeah, that’s basically what’s going to be happening over here. Killa Bees’s offense is no joke. Out of all the remaining teams in the FPF playoffs, The Killa Bees currently sit as the team that scored the most Touchdowns on the year, with 60. That is mainly due, to the excellent QB play by mid season relief pitcher Jeremie Mongeon-Duby. Throwing for 42 Tds and only 2 Ints, is pretty insane. What’s absolute madness, is playing Flagplus Football in Division 3 & completing 88% of your passes. Are you kidding me? Is this league a joke to you, sir? Get ready to move up QUICK in this insane world of flag we all play in, if you keep up those types of numbers. What makes this team so well rounded, is the fact that they all play for eachother, which has a tremendous affect on the team chemistry. I was at their game vs Thor’s Hammer, and I’ve seen them run constantly the concept of a hook by the wide, and a corner route by the slot. This is to try and isolate the Cornerback, and make a read on where to go with the football based on if hes playing high/low. What really stood out to me, is that both receivers running the patterns, are constantly pointing at one another as if to say “he’s open!”. You almost never see that type of selfless play in flag anymore, so it’s always nice to see that kind of chemistry. It not only signifies that they are all unselfish WRs, but more importantly makes the QBs life easier because he doesn’t feel forced to feed any particular WR. Speaking of this Receiving core, the trio of David Dumas-Goulet,Guillaume Racine-Tessier, Alexandre Masseau proved to be one that seemed unguardable all season long! The 3 wrs have each accumulated 450+ receiving yards and 13+ touchdowns a piece! Let’s also not forget that as potent as both offences go, Killa Bees defence also made some noise by getting 13 INTs on the season as a squad. There’s going to be athletes everywhere on the field saturday night, sounds like we’re most definitely in for an absolute dog fight!

Prediction:

Silent Ticklers 32

Killa Bees 38

That is it for me this week folks. If any of yous disagree or have a comment on any of my predictions, feel free to Hit me up, would love to hear your hot takes. As always, stay safe and enjoy yourselves this weekend. Not every week you get to play in a Quarter Finals matchup. Saturday night should be a blast, I hope we get a Chris Rivest appearance so everyone can see the greatness that will be put on display.

Till’ next week!