Quarterfinals Preview in Div 4A and 4B

Things are getting heated in both division 4A and 4B. We are now down to 8 teams in each division which sets up 4 interesting games per division for the quarterfinals. Before we get into that, let’s review the results from last week’s divisional round.

Division 4A

Idaho Udapimps defeat Big Fun by a score of 33-18. Neither QB was particularly exceptional in this one with Brady Ohanessian completing only 21 of 37 attempted passes. Evan Ely Nolet was 17 for 29 but was only able to find the endzone 3 times. The difference in this one were the 4 4th down conversions for Idaho. While these teams seemed pretty evenly matched, Idaho Udapimps made the plays when it mattered most but will need to not play with fire as much if they want to win it all.

I predicted a 38-32 win for Bet Boost Ballers, but instead they destroyed Born in the 80s by a score of 50-18. Caleb Faulkner made easy work of the opponent’s defense throwing for 5TDs, rushing for another and only having 4 incompletions. Mathew Simard was once again instrumental to this defense with a pick-6. For Born in the 80s, David de Andrade, the actual QB of this team, played receiver due to Sanders Armand’s back injury, who could only throw. Craig Browning also got injured in this one unfortunately. The game could have gone much different if it wasn’t for injuries but BBB were well deserved winners.

I predicted Backfield Penetration to win 34-24 versus Les Blues Branleurs but Alessandro Barazzoni‘s squad had other plans and put up a 47-25 victory. Joseph Rokhendy was on fire as he caught 4TDs and ran for another.

I thought Ballz Deep would blow out Undisciplined Flaggers since Cory Sim-Robertson would throw. He didn’t do too bad passing for 4TDs, but the 4 interceptions he threw were costly as Ballz Deep ran away with this one 44-26.

In what I believed would be the best game of the divisional round, Tiemoko Sanogo absolutely stole the show running around the West Island Boys defense and especially Ethan Adrian. Zack Stacey’s struggles continued only scoring 20 points. On 4th down and forever from his own 1, Sanogo ran for 43 yards to set his team up for a game-winning score caught by Xavier Morin. Mofos win 24-20.

My closest prediction of the night was this one, as I believed Half Senders FC would triumph over NOMADS by a score of 27-20. Instead, the team won 24-20 thanks to a clean game by Matthew Zeppetteli, 3TDs by Sam Mashtoub and 2 picks by Jahnai Lewis.

Quarterfinals Matchups

Ballz Deep vs. Bet Boost Ballers

Previous matchup result: 26-25 Ballz Deep

Bet Boost Ballers will definitely want to get their revenge in this one, especially since the previous matchup resulted in a loss despite them being the better team that day. Caleb Faulkner has been absolutely tearing it up this season and Santino Sparagna has emerged as a great number 1 option. For Ballz Deep, Justin Weir has had his struggles but just had his best game of the season while continuing to dominate defensively. There is a lot of questions regarding their receiver core with no one emerging as a dominant receiver. If Ballz Deep are to win this one, it will most likely be due to their excellent defense.

Score prediction: 36-30 Bet Boost Ballers

Les Otaries Extremes vs. Mofos

Previous matchup result: 33-26 Mofos

The only team that has beaten LOE this season now gets to face them in the playoffs. Obviously, the biggest talking point in this one is who will rush Tiemoko Sanogo? LOE has only 1 sack from roster players and it was from QB Kris Verreault. He is probably the only player who has a chance of succeeding at rushing Sanogo but will LOE do that? It’s very tricky because rushing Sanogo surely means Verreault would be gassed, which could affect his efficiency at QB. Alternating rushers and even sending double rushes might prove successful.

Score prediction: 34-28 LOE

Trapstars vs. Half Senders FC

Previous matchup result: 39-24 Trapstars

This one was back in January so I won’t hold much weight to it. Both teams were at full force but Trapstars showed themselves to be clearly a level above HSFC. Matthew Zeppetelli has had struggles with inconsistency again this season but his performance last week vs. Nomads inspired some confidence. Both teams have great defenses but I still believe Trapstars QB Ryan Garber will have more success navigating HSFC’s defense than Zepp will have vs. Trapstars’ D.

Score prediction: 29-24 Trapstars

Backfield Penetration vs. Idaho Udapimps

Everyone expects a high scoring game in this one and it will most likely be the case. Both QBs Alessandra Barazonni and Brady Ohanessian are smart and able to put up a lot of points. There is a lot of star power on both teams and I believe the winner of this one will depend on the impact of their depth pieces.

Score prediction: N/A

Division 4B

There were 4 games in the divisional round and we saw 2 upsets, let’s review these games.

I predicted The Penetrators to win 31-14 over Mengoose, and I was pretty close (final score 26-12). I expected it to be very hard for Felix-Antoine Lavigne to score versus that defense and I was right. Justin Goodman wasn’t incredible and will need to have better games if he wants to challenge for the championship.

I predicted Dak to the Future to upset The Wolf Pack by a score of 27-25 because I trusted QB Justin Gauthier more. Dak to the Future were even more dominant than I expected pulling away with this one by a final score of 34-13. Whilst the team wasn’t able to completely limit Andrew Grant, they shut down the other players. Maxime Sharkawi was critical in this one catching 6 passes for 117 yards and 4TDs.

I also predicted 4th and Schlong to make easy work of Voodoo by a predicted score of 33-19. The final score was 33-24 (pretty good prediction from me there). QB George Koutsoukos was phenomenal and made almost no mistakes. Justin Lerner caught 2 40 yard TDs and added an interception on defense. For Voodoo, QB Frank Kaye’s struggles continued as he threw 3 costly picks.

Finally, I thought Team Sexy would easily defeat Ball Don’t Lie but QB Benjamin Berbrier didn’t show up, which is now twice in two playoffs; ouch. Team Sexy were unable to score and Ball Don’t Lie scored three times to win 18-0.

Quarterfinals matchups

Les Renards Vifs vs. Ball Don’t Lie

I don’t believe many are picking Ball Don’t Lie in this one and for good reason. Les Renards Vifs’ QB Jacob Salvail has been on fire throughout the season and has now secured the QBOY award. I don’t see Ball Don’t Lie’s QB Kyle Greenbaum able to hang with Salvail in a shootout. Greenbaum has only thrown for at least 5TDs twice this season while Salvail has done it 8 times. The one thing going for Ball Don’t Lie is they have picked off opposing QBs 14 times vs. only 8 for Les Renards Vifs

Score prediction: 43-20 Les Renards Vifs

Killer Rays vs. Dak to the Future

It’s also hard to pick against Killer Rays in this one, especially with how Tyler Gurberg and Tylar Bianchi have dominated offensively. Killer Rays’ depth has been a question mark in recent seasons and that is something to watch for in this one. If Gurberg is contained properly by Dak to the Future, will Aidan Lariviere, Curtis Ryan and the others step up? For Dak to the Future, this games rests on Justin Gauthier’s arm. He was clinical in the divisional round but his play throughout the season has been mediocre. I know that Gauthier can be dominant, I’ve seen it when he played against me in Fall. He’s recently found a great connection with Maxime Sharkawi, but will that be enough? Their defense has been really solid and they definitely have the defensive talent to hold Gurberg.

Score prediction: 34-30 Killer Rays

Pocket Rockets vs. 4th and Schlong

Previous Matchup Result: 28-19 Pocket Rockets

I’m not going to hold much weight in this one either, since it was so long ago. 4th and Schlong are now on an 8 game win streak, though the teams they’ve beaten in the past few weeks weren’t anything special. Meanwhile, Pocket Rockets have had some great results and just recently held Jacob Salvail to 28 points, despite the loss. QB Jean-Francois Marquis has regressed a little bit recently which has lowered my expectations for the team. Pocket Rockets will have the best player on the field in Gab Champagne but I think George Kotsoukos is very slightly better than JF Marquis. Despite this, I will go with Pocket Rockets to win because I think Champagne is that impactful.

Score prediction: 38-34 Pocket Rockets

X-Men vs. The Penetrators

This is a great matchup, as it features one of the best offenses vs. one of the best defenses. X-Men scored the most points in 4B and The Penetrators allowed the less amount of points. The most interesting question might be whether it will be Daniel Devine or Noah Swaminadhan throwing for X-Men. Both have done exceptionally well and the team hasn’t hesitated to switch between both depending on who’s hot. What’s great is that both are equally as good as receiving options. While it may make more sense to stick with the same guy throughout the playoffs, their current strategy has worked thus far. This team is the most talented in all of Div4B in my opinion, but the clash with The Penetrators’ defense might prove to be the biggest test of their season so far.

Score prediction: 38-28 X-Men

There you guys have it for the Quarterfinals preview in 4A. Good luck to all of you still fighting for that championship.