Ottawa Week 9 Recap (D2)

 

Hey what’s up everybody? I am Brent ‘Bad News’ Bodkin, and I’m back once again to give you the 411 on FlagPlus Football in the nation’s capital.

After four weeks of waiting, the long anticipated re-match between the Tailgators and the Barracudas took place this past Sunday night at Ben Franklin Park. After the classic that both teams put on in week 5, you wouldn’t be wrong in thinking that round 2 would be just as thrilling.

Well… sorry to disappoint you guys, but that wasn’t the case this past Sunday. Simply put, the Gators slaughtered the ‘Cudas. To the tune of 37-0!

Last week I talked about how this would not only be a tight game, but if the Gators had to once again go with back-up quarterback Paul Seguin, (Seguin is good, but Matthews is Matthews) that the ‘Cudas could be viewed as the slight favourite to come out with the win.

            The Gators for a second straight game were without their top pivot Craig Matthews. The champs however were un-fazed as back-up quarterback Seguin looked great for a second week in a row as he torched the ‘Cudas for 171 and six touchdowns. Gators leading receiver and 2008 Receiver of the Year award winner Rick Gallinger added to his team lead in receptions, yards, and touchdowns by grabbing three catches for 59 yards, and two majors.

            The champs’ defense was even more impressive than their offense in this one. Besides the fact that they handed the ‘Cudas their first shut-out defeat in two years, the Gators’ defense also forced five interceptions from the usually error- free Tom Patrick. To put things into perspective, Patrick who came into the contest with only 11 picks, finished the game with as many interceptions as completions (5).

            Without a shadow of a doubt this win cements the Tailgators as the team to beat in D1. The road to the championship will go through them.

            Now on to a game that was actually entertaining. The Sharks who despite losing 21-20 to the champs last week, once again came out looking like the team that made it to the championship game last year, by continuing their impressive play of late by dismantling the Rugged Riders 33-19.

            The Sharks offense looked good in this one, as six different receivers registered at least a catch. Despite throwing two interceptions, Sharks signal caller Sean Carmody was finally able to join the over 20 touchdown pass club by throwing for four of them in the contest. Carmody now has 21 on the season.

            I’ve been riding the Sharks this year and for good reason. After playing so well last season, many expected them to at least match last year’s success. Obviously, that hasn’t been the case. I will say this. If they can continue their stellar play as of late this coming week and into the playoffs, there is no reason why they can’t make it back to the championship game again. I guess we’ll have to wait and see what happens.

            The Heavy Hitters and The Entourage renewed acquaintances as well on Sunday night. The Hitters who are looking to solidify their place in the playoffs, were also looking for revenge after being upset by the “rage” four weeks ago 32-19.

            After a solid defensive slugfest in the first half that saw the Hitters leading 7-0, this was nothing but a blow-out in the second stanza as the Hitters offence decided to match the intensity of their defense.

Hitters pivot Trevor Watts only completed seven of eighteen passes, but he made them count as he threw for three touchdown passes. Two of the majors were caught by Dustin Seymore who stepped up his game as he finished with three catches for 30 yards and two touchdowns.

 The stinginess of the Hitters’ defense was lead once again lead by a Belony brother. This time it was Wendell who recorded two tackles, one batted ball, and three interceptions. His brother Woodley chipped in with two knocked down passes.

Now on to Division 2…

  The Browns pulled off the three game sweep of the Federal Express Sunday evening with a 27-12 victory. The Browns triple threat of quarterback M. McPherson and receivers Steve Blimkie and MJ Mancini were just too much for the Express to stop.

Blimkie had a game-high five catches for 85 yards and two scores, while Mancini who despite having only two receptions on the evening finished with 55 yards and a major. As impressive as those two performances were, McPherson stole the show, throwing for three touchdowns and running for another.

In the three meetings this season, the Brownies outscored the Express 73-46. Fortunately for the Express, they will get a fourth and final opportunity to knock off the Browns when they play them in the first round of the playoffs.

The Wise Guys, who needed a win to lock up first place and the automatic first-round bye, (They beat the Browns in all three meetings this year, so they hold the tie-breaker regardless of what transpires this Sunday) took on the lowly Atlanta Falcons. Although most would assume that this game would have been over after the coin toss, the Falcons who had nothing to lose came out strong in the first half of this one.

In the first stanza, the Falcons were lead by Naji Zourob at quarterback. The reason why I mention it is because throughout the season, the expansion Falcons have rotated qbs in-game like it was going out of style. Zourob, who by all accounts is their best pivot, threw for two touchdowns in the first half.

In the second half things turned back to normal as the Falcons were over-matched by W.G and their high-powered offense. W.G signal caller Tommy Solarik killed the dirty birds through the air as he connected on touchdowns to five different receivers, and on the ground as well with 40 yards on just three carries.

What the Falcons need to do next season is stick with one quarterback. Playing musical chairs at the most important position will only bring your team down. Players need time to gel and build chemistry, especially on a first year team that is just finding its way. Despite their record, the Falcons actually do have some pretty good players (Zourob, Olafimihan, and especially Haddad come to mind) but good and even great players don’t do much if there is no stability and consistency to go along with it.

The Falcons’ last chance to earn their first victory of the season will come against the aforementioned Federal Express this Sunday. Despite the fact that they are the underdogs in this one, the Falcons actually have a decent chance of coming away with the win. Although they lost both previous meetings with the Express, it was only by a combined score of 52-26. Another point to take into consideration is that the two losses to F.E came in back-to-back weeks, and they were the first two games that the Falcons played after moving into D2. I am not calling the upset here. I just won’t be totally shocked if it does occur.

W.G on the other hand looked sharp once again. Although they have been my pick to win it all, I think that if they lay a beat-down on the Browns this week-end in the regular season finale, then they will be everybody else’s pick as well.

This up-coming week-end will be the end of the regular season. Although for some teams for the party will be over, for the lucky teams in D1 and D2 that will qualify for the dance, the real season is about to begin. 

In D1, the top two seeds are locked in. Tailgators finish first and Baraccudas second. The three and four spots are where it gets interesting. As it stands after Week 9, the Heavy Hitters sit in third and the Rugged Riders in fourth (based on winning percentage). The Sharks can still get in, while the Entourage is mathematically eliminated. For the Sharks, they get a chance to play the Heavy Hitters and need a win combined with a Rugged Riders loss to the Barracudas to get in. If the Sharks and Riders both lose, the Riders will qualify based on a better winning percentage. The Sharks can still qualify if they don’t get help from the Barracudas. If they beat the Heavy Hitters, they will have equal 4-6 records and will have split the season series. Therefore point differential will determine the higher seed. As it stands, the Heavy Hitters are +42 in PD. Because they are facing off this weekend, the Sharks would need to win by 22 to finish with a better +/-. If they win by 21, then the +/- would be equal and would force FPF to look at the point differential in their two head-to-head matches. The Hitters won the first game by 18, so in that case if the Sharks win their week 10 game by 21, they would get the point differential tie break and leapfrog the Heavy Hitters. Complicated? Slightly.

If the Riders win their game, they get to .500 and would place them in a tie for third with the Heavy Hitters (if they win as well). The tie break would come down to head-to-head, which the Hitters posses with a week 8 win. Either way, do not use the standings on the front page of the site to gage the playoff race! The standings do not calculate winning percentage which comes into play due to the Riders/Falcons mid-season switch.

Let’s make it simple. Heavy Hitters. Win and you’re in. (The three seed)

Riders. Win and you’re in. (Heavy Hitters win puts you in the four seed, Sharks win puts you in the three seed.) Sharks lose, you’re in.

Sharks. Win coupled with a Riders loss, you’re in. If the Riders upset the Barracudas, you need to win by 21 points or more this weekend!

The Division 2 picture is much clearer, the Falcons are eliminated from playoff contention and the top three seeds are all set. The Wise guys will get the first-round bye, while the Browns and Express will battle it out for a chance to face them in the finals.

Well that’s it for my Week 9 review/ playoff preview. I’ll see you guys next week.

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PEACE!!!