Playoff Round 1 of 4! Incoming Upsets of 5A/B!

Welcome to the Playoffs! It has been a while since we took a look into Division 5A/B and things have changed in the few weeks I’ve been gone! 4 teams from each division have been eliminated and will not be joining us in the postseason. It seems that both divisions needed a minimum of 4 wins to secure a playoff spot, but some teams managed to slip in with 3! Congratulations to RUDBOYZ and WILD WEST WRANGLERS for winning their tie breakers and surviving for 1 more game! Let’s all hold a moment of silence and mourn our fallen brethren who will need to try again next season for their playoff dreams:

5A: A-SQUAD, SUPER TROOPERS, STEPBROTHERS, VULTURES

5B: RETIRED ALL-STARS, KICKING ASSETS, BREWERS, VENGEANCE

…58…59…60… OK! Moments over! Let’s jump back into the action! Playoffs are where the pedal hits the metal and every game becomes Do or Die. There are no ties, no do-overs, and mistakes can cost you the season. A few notes for the 4 rounds of playoffs:

We will be privileged enough with the presence of 3 FPF Refs! This allows for more eyes on the field, less missed calls, and more coordination between teams! Reminder: Players need to have at least 5 games played to be eligible to play in the playoffs! So make sure your teams are correct! If there has been an injury or a player can no longer continue the season, contact FPF. I believe there is a way to substitute in 1 non-eligible player due to medical reasons or something!

A quick reminder about the Onside Kick rule: Instead of scoring an extra point, teams can attempt an Onside Kick (1 play) from their 5 yard line at the cost of 1 timeout. If the team who called the Onside Kick make it to midfield (will be pointed out by refs), they retain possession of the ball and can continue with a new set of downs! All points scored on an Onside kick work as though it were a regular play. TDs, INTs and PICK-6’s count as normal (IDK about SAFETIES though…) and if the team misses their Onside Kick, their opponents gain possession of the ball on their 5 yard line! (unless the ball was intercepted! So bat those balls down)

Tie breakers are a little bit different in playoffs as well! Unlike the regular season where you have 1 exchange of sudden death, there can be no ties in the postseason. Tiebreakers continue until we are left with a winner! The order of possession and attempts are “ABBA” – Team A has attempt 1 and 4, while Team B has attempt 2 and 3. Refs will further explain tiebreakers if needed, so don’t hesitate to ask questions if you need!

With all of that out of the way! Let’s look at how this season turned out and what the first week matchups look like! There are no Bye weeks, so everyone is playing this weekend!

FROM THE HORSE’S MOUTH:

LES PETITES CAROTTES managed to stay atop of the competition by only allowing 1 loss…. Which was to VICE CITY! Every team is allowed to have an off day, and I don’t think LPC are going to beat them in the Divisional Round, but seeing a weakness in an otherwise perfect team makes me think their L.P.C’s tenure as Top Dog is not as stable as it appears! Contrast that to Division 5B – WIN DIESEL and PACK A PUNCH – 2 teams who have finished 10-0 and have the lowest Points Against in the division. It feels as though this will be the Finals Matchup and every other team is a warm up.

5A: I find that when the top few teams have Bye Weeks in the first round, it allows for a true fight for the middle teams to prove they should be playing against the top teams. This season, division 5 does not have Bye weeks so the tip of the top are playing the lowest seeds as of Game 1. Although anything can happen in the playoffs (I’ve seen some CRAZY week 1 playoff games), it is almost certain that L.P.C., STRAPAHOLICS, DUCKS, and NIGHTHAWKS, will be making it to the QuarterFinals. The games I’m most interested in this week are: SLEEPING ALL-STARS vs SKEEYEE, and RICO RYDERS vs HAIL MARTY. SLEEPING ALL-STARS are the #4 seed for a reason, and putting up 302pts in the season is enough to beat almost any team. SKEEYEE has been inconsistent this season, between scoring 6 or 30+ pts a game, but they’ve beaten IN N’ OUT, and almost beat DUCKS!

5B: Not only are there 2 UNDEFEATED teams in 5B, one of them (WIN DIESEL) has scored over 300 points! William Sebag (WIN DIESEL) put up 46 TDs this season cementing his position as #1 QB of the division! I don’t know which team will be able to beat WIN DIESEL!? Are we fated to see PACK A PUNCH vs WIN DIESEL in the finals, or will we see a major upset along the way? RAMPHINS are eagerly chasing down their Finals rematch, but having to go against the Philip Pelletier and Danick Coulombe 20+ TD duo will be no easy task!

SPOTLIGHT GAMES:

DUCKS vs NOTORIOUS C.I.G. – I like this matchup because even though DUCKS should win this game, it has the potential to be a big upset! Despite NOTORIOUS C.I.G’s record, they have been able to put up an impressive amount of points and have been competitive in almost every game they’ve played. Ducks haven’t lost since week 12 and the Chabot brothers are both on fire this season! C.I.G. will have to pull out all the stops if they want a chance at beating DUCKS. With a combined 17 INTs and 16 Sacks, the mighty DUCKS are a defensive force to be reckoned with and can shut any opponent down in the air as well as on the ground! The edge goes to DUCKS, but I love a good underdog story!

MACCABEES vs CHEZ BENNY EXPRESS – A genuine reunion! These 2 teams played each other during week 5 and became a sort of mirror match. Both teams had 3 INTs, 2 TDs from their QBs, almost identical Rushing Yards, and ended up tying 12-12. As the season progressed, both teams found themselves on different paths: MACCABEES started sweeping after their back to back ties, while CHEZ BENNY struggled to find their winning streak. Now, they are both back with vengeance! Each team has a whole season under their belt and had the time to work out the kinks. This will be an interesting game to watch because it will show us who has adjusted better throughout the season, and if MACCABEES really deserve that #5 spot! (Spoiler Alert: I think they do deserve it)

ZACK’S TOP WEEKLY PICKS:

QB (1): Nicholas Di Maulo (THE WEST ISLAND HABIBIS) – 16 Attempts / 11 Completions (70.83%), 143 Yards, 6 TDs, 0 INT, 1 Sack // 4 Rushing Attempts, 45 Yards, 1 TD

QB (2): Terry Babalis (THUNDER BUDDIES) – 30 Attempts / 18 Completions (80.77%), 151 Yards, 3 TDs, 1 INTs, 1 Sack // 4 Rushing Attempts, 44 Yards, 2 TDs

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WR (1): Paul Lapierre (SUPER TROOPERS) – 11 Targets / 9 Receptions (81.82%), 90 Yards, 3 TDs

WR (2): Samuel Omombo (SLEEPING ALL-STARS) – 3 Targets / 3 Receptions (100%), 65 Yards, 3 TDs

WR (3): Stefano De Seta (NIGHTHAWKS) – 4 Targets / 4 Receptions (100%), 43 Yards, 3 TDs

WR (4): Jeremy Pelletier (RUDBOYZ ) – 4 Targets / 3 Receptions (75%), 89 Yards, 2 TDs

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DB (1): McRodly JeanMarie (NIGHTHAWKS) – 1 Tackle, 4 INTs

DB (2): Mike Badibabungi (THE WEST ISLAND HABIBIS) – 2 Tackles, 1 INT, 1 PDs, 1 TD

DB (3): Jules Normandin (SKEEYEE) – 1 Tackles, 2 INTs, 1 PD

DB (4): Benjamin McMahon (VULTURES) – 2 Tackles, 2 INTs

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RUSHER (1): Cloutier Edouard (SLEEPING ALL-STARS) – 2 Tackles, 3 Sacks

RUSHER (2): Kenny Boutilier (SUPER TROOPERS) – 4 Tackle, 1 Sack

QB (1): Philip Pelletier (THE HOOLIGANS) – 25 Attempts / 18 Completions (72%), 208 Yards, 6 TDs, 0 INTs, 0 Sacks

QB (2): Marc Antoine Martin (PACK A PUNCH) – 14 Attempts / 10 Completions (71.43%), 121 Yards, 4 TDs, 1 INT, 0 Sacks // 3 Rushing Attempts, 35 Yards, 1 TD

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WR (1): Danick Coulombe (THE HOOLIGANS) – 7 Targets / 7 Receptions (100%), 125 Yards, 3 TDs

WR (2): Jessy Dumeignil (RAMPHINS) – 9 Targets / 5 Receptions (55.56%), 43 Yards, 3 TDs

WR (3): Michael Fafard (THE HOOLIGANS) – 6 Targets / 6 Receptions (100%), 45 Yards, 3 TDs

WR (4): Deven Glover (BREWERS) – 7 Targets / 5 Receptions (71.43%), 89 Yards, 2 TDs

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DB (1): Stefano De Seta (PACK A PUNCH) – 2 Tackles, 1 INT, 1 PD

DB (2): James Vogas (PACK A PUNCH) – 4 Tackles, 1 INT

DB (3): Émilien Castonguay (KICKING ASSETS ) – 1 INT

DB (4): Yannick Nadeau (RAMPHINS) – 5 Tackles, 2 PDs

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RUSHER (1): Tristan Garcia (PACK A PUNCH) – 4 Tackles, 2 Sacks

RUSHER (2): Michael De Seta (PACK A PUNCH) – 1 Sack, 1 PD

GAMES OF THE WEEK:

LES PETITES CAROTTES vs RUDBOYZ

STRAPAHOLICS vs IN N’ OUT

NIGHTHAWKS vs BANDITS

DUCKS vs NOTORIOUS C.I.G.

THUNDER BUDDIES vs PASTA ARRABIAT

SLEEPING ALL-STARS vs SKEEYEE

THE WEST ISLAND HABIBIS vs VICE CITY

HAIL MARTY’S vs RICO RYDERS (FIRST ROUND UPSET SPECIAL)

PREDICTION RECORD: 25-21

WIN DIESEL vs WILD WEST WRANGLERS

RAMPHINS vs THE HOOLIGANS

PACKING PACKERS vs THREAT LEVEL MIDNIGHT

PACK A PUNCH vs LES SACRIFIES 2

MACCABEES vs CHEZ BENNY EXPRESS

LES TONDUESES vs TUNESQUAD

TOP G vs PARLAY TILTERS

BETWAY BANDITS vs GREEN MONSTERS

PREDICTION RECORD: 38-21

Week 2 of playoffs HERE WE COME! Good luck surviving the first round! If there is an idea or upcoming milestone you might want me to write about/cover in my articles, don’t be a stranger, let me know! If you want to see more accurate info about your teams, your players, your rivalries – send them to me! Comments, Criticisms, and Concerns are welcome… unless it’s about my Capitalization of random words. I stand by them! Also, check out the new episode of Calling the Audible – the official FPF podcast – available on Youtube and …. Probably somewhere else too!