Like it or Not

Week one of the playoffs was absolutely jolting. Usually I would complain after spending 5 hours in the dome watching flag, but last Saturday night was ridiculously enjoyable! The level of competition displayed was like never before. If this first round is any testament to what these teams have in store for future rounds, hold onto your flags! Unfortunately, where there are winners there must be losers. I witnessed every game this weekend, and I truly believe everyone deserved to win. For everyone on the outside looking in, I wish you the most wonderful offseason. May you examine this season for what it was and come back stronger and more prepared next season!

 

Quick Review:

-#NoRegard were coming off a loss to B.D.Bandits in week 10 of regular season, but would not be denied twice. This was quite the defense showcase. Both defenses, should they, could bang with top tear offenses in this division. Mark Belvedere never seemed to get into a comfortable groove in the pocket and it ended up being the story of the game. Although Alex Holowach only accumulated 45 more offensive yards, he was able to punch it in when it mattered most. My hat goes off to every player in this game; very entertaining matchup.

-Saturdays’ upsets began with KGP Champs taking down VPC. I’d like to point out that this was not an upset to me. I know VPC has had a tone of success together but like I said on the podcast, it takes more than two players to make a playoff run. Even when Louis Richard catches 8 balls for 112 yards and 5 touchdowns, the cumulative efforts from the team across the field was too much to overcome. Phil Cutler looked in the zone when it mattered most, which must be comforting to say the least for his teammates. Phil Clark picked the perfect night for his offensive outburst. His 6 receptions for 100 yards and 4 touchdowns played a key role in neutralizing the Louis Richard effects. VPC fought hard, but when the dust settled it was KGP who sat on top 51-48.

-This one was way more of a surprise then any other game on Saturday. Legends beating Clockwork floored me. I realize there was a bit of controversy in this one, and it might have had a little to do with Clockwork’s state of mind. But this team had what it took to take it home, and was unable to deliver. Congratulations to Legends who I had as a -25 underdog; they definitely made me look foolish.

-Hard for me to understand why one of your best players seems to be always MIA. Hoof Hearted without Timothy Godber is not an elite team. The team name should be changed from Hoof Harted to Hood Afart. They still managed to give Les Buddays a run for their money, imagine if they had their stud! It was one mistake too many by Edward Shoshan forcing a ball over the middle in the red zone was the Nuclear bomb to their season.

– Rudebwoys literally came one inch short of beating Prestige World Wide on the last play of the game. Quarterback Eugene McLaren looked to have a man open down field and missed him. Alex Lever looked over to the bench after that play; he gave me an expression saying, ‘’wow we almost lost’’! Fortunately for Prestige they live to see another day.

-There isn’t much to say about the beat down Moose took this weekend. Unfortunately when your roster is as inconsistent as Moose’s roster has been this year, it’s definitely not a recipe for success. Quarter back Frederic Morissette was a no show for this playoff game,; again I can’t wrap my mind around this! They made it very easy for A.J’s Fight club to move on with a 41-6 win.

-I must give a lot of credit to Sean Avram for leading The Commission to a huge win over my Incredibles. Both Quarterbacks had an efficient outing and did what they needed to put their team in position to steal this game. At the end of the day when The Incredibles had a chance to score on fourth down to go up two scores and give the ball back with 4 plays to go, they chocked. They then stopped The Commission on the following three plays but were unable to stop the Hail Mary for the win! An amazing clutch catch by Keeshon Mayers to win the game on the last play of the game. In the end, a heart-breaking loss for the men in red who were coming in as the number one seed.

-I told Daniel Gentile he would be the key to this game; he could not afford to turn the ball over against quarter back Centomo. Gentile did what he had to do on this night but the defense was unable to stop Les Monsieur Chat. The end story here is; Ocean’s Seven became Ocean’s Five. Hard to beat any team when your best player, (Nareg Yessayan) hurts himself and you have to finish the game 5v6. David Centomo tried to overshadow the beast his brother has become this year with a massive game on offence: 8 receptions 110 yards and 4 touchdowns to take home a big first round win.

QUARTER FINALS:

(6)KGP Champs VS (1)Les Buddays

Last time they met: N/A

-KGP has the firepower to go up against a very athletic defense in Les Buddays. The key to this game is going to be: Phil Cutler remaining calm and not forcing the ball into coverage. Julien Paiment will have his hands full this weekend. Luckily for Les Buddays, they have game film which they can refer to for further game prep.

-Another Key matchup is going to be Leandre Ethier against Gabe D’amico-Mazza who just came off getting torched by Robby Robinson. Although to his credit he was able to contain him when needed; this time he’s up against a powerful shifty quarter back full of confidence. Mazza cannot allow Ethier time to make second and third reads.

-Last week KGP defence was never able to adjust to VPC’s offence. If they want to win this week they will need to figure out what Les Buddays are doing, and quickly adjust.

-Les Buddays have not really had an opponent who has given them a true sweat so far this year. I think this might be the game they’ve long awaited for to really challenge them as a team.

My prediction: KGP Champs by 3

(6)#NoRegard VS (4)AJ’s Fight Club

Last time they met: N/A

-Ladies and Gents bring your bulletproof vest, for this one is going to get nasty! Bullets will fly, and feelings will be attacked in this game no doubt about it! Quite a serious match-up we have on our hands here. A major key factor to this game is Halowach bouncing back from what could have potentially been a confidence hit he took last week against B.D Bandits.

-These two teams are very similar in personnel. The main difference is the amount of playoff experience AJ’s Fight Club has over #NoRegard. AJ’s Fight Club has more grittiness and size but #NoRegard can easily side step any downfall and overcome any default with their speed.

-Craig O’Brien is one of the top Quarterbacks in FPF, not to mention his past performances in playoffs, which gives AJ’s Fight Club a small head start. O’Brien is fresh off a Spring Div C championship, so he knows what it takes to get to the finals. Can #NoRegard’s defense fluster his calm and collected ways? I doubt it. Not because they don’t have what it takes, I just don’t think anything or anyone can knock O’Brien off his game.

-The team who remains focused on the prize and shows the ability to fight through adversity will come out victorious in this one. I guarantee both teams will get their socks knocked off. But who will get up and fight stronger?

-Keep it clean like I know you can; play like I know you can; do what you do best LIKE I KNOW YOU CAN and this game is going to come down to a single turnover.

My prediction: #NoRegard by 6

 

(5)Legends VS (2) Prestige World Wide

Last time they met: PWW Won 44-12

-The last time these two teams met, Legends didn’t have their starting quarterback. Prestige basically walked all over Legends making them a stepping stone on their way to a fabulous season. But, don’t be fooled by the results of last game in anyway shape or form, for it is very much in reference to a depleted roster.

-Legends have the knack for often overcoming situations where everyone has counted them out. Doing what seems impossible to most, over and over can only give you confidence. I’m sure they are looking forward to this rematch. Last time they had to put in their top receiver at quarterback. As a receiver, I know I would personally be pissed by the outcome of the last game, and would most definitely want to prove myself this time around.

-Prestige World Wide are probably not looking past this team the least bit. They have a roster filled with experience, such as Alex Lever and Anthony Comeau. They also know that whatever they did last time should be very fruitful and would probably not be the case this week. JS Gradowski had a field day last time they met. Who will they have covering him this time around? And does it matter?

-Key to this game is not allowing Legends to keep up with you. If you let them stick around I swear the FPF ghosts will haunt you and help them! You must force Corey Pecker to make mistakes. I always say this, but you’re up against size at center, you need to have size on size in the redzone or Jeff Rosenblatt at the center, for Legends will eat you up.

My prediction: PWW by 3

(8)The Commission VS (2) Les Monsieurs Chats

Last time they met: N/A

-Hard for me to speculate on who will show up to play for Les Monsieur Chats this week but it doesn’t seem to matter. As long as Nicola Centomo is there, The Commission is in deep waters.

-The Commission just came off their biggest win of the season; a massive confidence booster. On the other side, LMC once again squeeze out a close win. As long as Sean Avram continues to play the way he did against The Incredibles, his team will be in position to fight for the win.

-Both teams are physical on defense, which could potentially be the difference maker: who will be able to create a mismatch and abuse it? Centomo has proven to be the best quarterback in division 3 and has to be accounted for in terms of game plan. Whoever is calling the plays on defense for The Commission needs to quickly figure out the tendencies and what he likes to do; adjust and bait turnovers! Centomo has yet to have a bad game. Even in the game they lost, Centomo remained perfect. This leads me to believe he is not going to force the ball even if he has too. You can’t afford to lose any more, and for that reason I believe that if you get an early lead on LMC you could potentially force Centomo to change his game plan, which could ultimately be the Achilles’ heel.

My prediction: Les Monsieur Chats by 2

 

Top Clutch Performances:

This week instead of choosing my top freaks I’m going to change it into another gear. We are now in the playoffs and any big performance becomes a clutch performance. I also feel a huge performance on a losing team is NOT clutch. Therefore, here are the top clutch players of last week!

 

1. David Centomo (LMC): 8 Receptions for 110 yards and 4 touchdowns along with 1 tackle and 1 PD.
2. Phil Cutler (KGP): 15 Completions for 246 yards and 7 touchdowns along with 5 tackles.
3. Keeshon Mayers (COM): 9 receptions for 126 yards and 3 touchdowns.

 

Finally, here are the Division 3 All-Stars. Congrats to all the winners:

 

QB: Nicola Centomo (Les Messieurs Chats), Alex Lever (Prestige World Wide)

Rusher: Julien Paiement (les Buddays)

Snapper: Simon Provencher (Les Messieurs Chats)

WR/DB: Jeremy Anderson (#NoRegard), Marc-Antoine Bellini (Les Buddays), Sean Brophy (KGP Champs), David Chitayat (Full House), Jean-Sebastien Gradowski (Prestige World Wide), Jean-Christophe Mercille (les Messieurs Chats), Marc-Andre Paradis (Les Eudistes), Louis Richard (VPC).

 

That’s it for this week. Unfortunately I will be away as of this Friday and will not be able to witness these great games! Next week Simon Dagenais will write the article since it will be impossible for me to be relevant. Everyone continue to bring you’re A-game, it’s going to be an epic battle for the playoffs! Once again good luck to everyone! Don’t forget to check out the podcast by G.M Kolethras and Daniele The Scoop Gentile! You can stream it live as they record if you want to see their pretty faces! Follow me @VinceNardone or stop me at the field to chat. Thank you for reading, till next time… Get in the gym.