Regular Season Wrap-Up, and the NFL Draft

Blink and you missed it, but this is it, the final week of the regular season is finally here. Eight games remain before the real season begins. In both Division 1 and Division 2, all the playoff spots have been set and accounted for, but the positioning is anything but established. From top to the bottom in both divisions, the majority of teams have an opportunity to climb or fall in the standings.

The Apocalypse have continued their climb up the Division 2 standings, as they have won their fourth game in a row, this time with a (33-32) win over the Terror Squad.

Coming up huge for The Apocalypse for the second week in a row, was Kevin Wyeth, who led his team with two touchdown receptions to go along with seven catches for 52 yards.

His teammate Anthony Brisebois also came up big in the win with six grabs for 73 yards and a TD. Brisebois, would also catch the game’s only successful 2-point conversion, which would play a factor in the game’s final score.

Another player who stepped up big in the victory was Paul Lapierre, who recorded a team-high 8 receptions for 54 yards and a TD, along with an interception as a defender.

The play of all three players was noteworthy, but the one player who deserves the most praise is Quarterback Jeff Rosenblatt. The 5-time All-Star completed 26 of 45 passes for 223 yards and 5 TDs. He saved his best performance for the last offensive series of the game, as he led his team on a 12-play drive to win the game on a 2-yard TD throw to Matt Bond, who would also convert the game-winning 1-point convo. Besides the fact that it won the game, what made the drive even more impressive, is that the team was able to convert twice on fourth down.

Looking at the big picture, has there been a more impressive Quarterback than Rosenblatt the second half of the season? The veteran gunslinger hit he halfway point of the schedule with 11 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Since then, he has thrown 22 TDs and only one INT. His QB Rating, completion percentage, sacks taken, and yards per game have all improved as well. Rosenblatt and his teammates are playing their best ball of the year, and that is exactly what you want as you make the march towards the playoffs. Next up is a huge matchup with KGP tonight night in Lachine. Can The Apocalypse make it five wins in a row? I wouldn’t bet against them.

With the win, The Apocalypse, moved one point behind All Hooks for seventh place in the Div. B standings. Due to losses to the BBallers, Party Crashers, and #NR, The Apocalypse can’t finish higher than seventh.

A win for All Hooks would not only allow them to hold on to their spot, but it would potentially see them climb all the way to fifth place. To do so, they will need to knock off #NR who sit one point ahead of them tonight in Lachine, and hope that the BBallers beat the Party Crashers tonight, or that the game doesn’t end in a tie, as PC has the head-to-head tiebreaker over All Hooks, due to their (41-26) Week 2 win.

For #NR, a win would see them leapfrog both the BBallers and Party Crashers for fourth place. Unfortunately, they can’t catch the Terror Squad for third, even if Team Swoosh were to pull off what would be the biggest upset in the history of FPF, by knocking off Terror Squad, as TS beat #NR (46-31) in Week 1.

Speaking of KGP, their 2-game winning streak came to an abrupt halt with a heart-breaking (34-31) loss to Got-Skills.

Two-way players are one of the keys to building a team. The more two-way threats you have, the better your chances are that you’ll have a winning squad. Look no further than this contest, as it featured two solid performances by Julien Paiement of KGP, and Vincent Malo of Got-Skills. Both made players made several plays on both sides of the ball, with the former recording a game-high 11 catches and three touchdowns, to go along with a team-leading two sacks. Not to be outdone, the latter registered a TD as a Receiver, while producing a contest-leading three sacks.

Those two players weren’t the only ones to step up on both sides of the ball, as Mathieu Lepage of KGP, was able to record a touchdown and an interception. On the other side, Nicolas Arsenault-Hum pulled off the same feat.

This game came down to the final four plays. After Nicola Centomo was intercepted by LePage, giving KGP the ball down by three points on their opponent’s side of the field, QB Phil Cutler completed back-to-back passes to Paiement to give his team a first down. On the final play of the game, Cutler, was picked off by Centomo. The latter went from goat to hero, as he was able to help his team get their first win since Week 2.

For a squad in Got-Skills, which has been playing some of their best ball of the year as of late but has lost their last two games by a combined nine points, it is nice to finally see them get a win.

For KGP, there is no shame in losing to a Division 1 team. They hung tough and almost pulled off the upset. Unfortunately, close only counts in horseshoes, as the loss prevents them from clinching first place in Div. 2. KGP, will have a chance to do so tomorrow if they can knock off The Apocalypse. If they lose however, and Terror Squad beats Team Swoosh, KGP, will have to settle for second.

Urgence Médic, currently sit in first place, as they beat the suddenly improving Outlaws (48-34) in a shootout at Loyola last night.

The key to the win was a vintage performance by UM Quarterback Jesse Dupuis, who tossed seven touchdown passes, and carved up the Outlaws defense on the ground with four carries for 50 yards.

Speaking of an old school performance, UM Receiver Alexis Gaumont, put on one of his own, with five grabs for 74 yards and two touchdowns. In only four games this year, the 2-time All-Star put up modest numbers, with only one touchdown, and no more than three catches in a game. The veteran saved his best performance for last and helped give his team two big points, and sole possession of first place.

Three of Dupuis’ touchdown passes went to Emile Beaudoin. The 6-year veteran, who is making only his second appearance since the midway point of the season, made a huge impact, as in addition to the three TDs, he also registered an interception and a game-high six tackles.

How crazy is it that Beaudoin hasn’t received more recognition for Defensive Player of the Year, or Two-Way Player of the Year consideration, not just this season, but in the past as well? This year alone, he has four INTs all of which he ran back for a score. In his last three seasons, he has at least one pick six. While he has yet to play a full 10-game schedule during his FPF tenure, (including this year, where he finishes with six games played) he also puts up numbers as a Receiver (he has five this year). The man deserves some respect on his name.

In Division 1, the Braves, Gryffindor and Got-Skills are locked into the third, fourth, and fifth spot respectively. The only battle that remains is to determine who will finish in first.

The Allstars beat Flag Moi L’Sac (38-29) in Week 1, and they have a 2-point lead in the standings. If the Allstars complete the sweep, then the seedings remain as is. The same holds true if Flag Moi L’Sac, beats their opponents by nine points or less. If FMLS, wins by 10 points or more, they will get first place. Tonight’s rematch in Lachine at 8PM is huge.

On a totally separate note, the NFL Draft wrapped up yesterday. I don’t care how old I get; I will always get excited for the draft. Like many people including some of you reading this article, I treat it like an event, because that is exactly what it is. Besides the start of free agency, this is the main attraction of the off-season. For fans of bad teams, it gives you some hope and a sense of relief after going through a rough season. For good or middle of the pack teams and their fans, the influx of talent gives you an opportunity to turn the corner either maintain your contender status, or finally see yourself become one.

I was happy with what my 9ers did. I don’t know why we took a Running Back in the 3^rd round one year after taking Trey Sermon in the same round, and especially when we have done so well with late and undrafted RBs like Raheem Mostert, Jeff Wilson Jr., and last year with Elijah Mitchell. Yes, Tyrion Davis-Price is a physical runner we’ve been lacking, but we needed interior O-Line and Secondary help. As is the case with picks especially in the later rounds, there are obviously a couple of selections that raised some eyebrows, and the armchair General Managers that a lot of us are, sometimes get proven right, but more often get proven wrong. Only time will tell.

I am a diehard football fan. The draft is a 3-day event that happens once a year. Watch it alone, with friends and/or family, or watch while you work. I managed to do all three, and I already can’t wait for next year.

Power Rankings

Division 1

1. Allstars – Seven wins in a row leave no doubt who the top team is in Division 1. (Last Week: 1st).

2. Braves – After a loss to the next team on the list two weeks ago, the Braves have rebounded with wins over Gryffindor, and the top team in Division 2 in Urgence Médic. (Last Week: 3rd).

3. Flag Moi L’Sac – A blowout loss to Gryffindor, followed up by a 2-point win over last place Got-Skills, sees Flag Moi L’Sac, drop a spot in the Power Rankings. (Last Week: 2nd).

4. Gryffindor – Another one touchdown loss to the Allstars, shows Gryffindor is a threat, but a loss is a loss, so they stay stuck at fourth. (Last Week: 4th).

5. Got-Skills – They finally got their second win of the season last Sunday. Can they make it two in a row as they close out the regular season versus the Allstars? (Last Week: 5th).

Division 2

1. KGP -Although they currently sit in second place, they narrowly lost to a Division 1 team, and they beat the number two team in the rankings (36-32) back in Week 3. (Last Week: 5th).

2. Urgence Médic – They sit atop the standings, but again, I can’t ignore the loss to KGP. Urgence Médic is coming off a regular finale win over the Outlaws. They might still be the team to beat when everything is said and done. (Last Week: 2nd).

3. Terror Squad – Talk about not peaking at the right time. Two losses in a row, the only thing saving Terror Squad from dropping further down the standings and power rankings, is that all the teams directly below them are barely swimming above .500. (Last Week: 1st).

4. The Apocalypse – A huge win over Terror Squad sees them jump four spots in the rankings. This is arguably the hottest team in Div. B, and a squad that no one wants to face in the first round of the playoffs next week. (Last Wek: 8th).

5. #NR – They might be in sixth place in the standings, but they have wins over the Party Crashers and BBallers, and they are favorites in their matchup against All Hooks tonight. (Last Week: 6th).

6. Party Crashers – Their only win in the last month is over the Incredibles last Sunday. To the Party Crashers’ credit, their three losses in that span have been all one possession games to Terror Squad, Urgence Médic, and #NR. (Last Week: 7th).

7. BBallers – They followed up a huge win over KGP, with a loss to the lowly Outlaws. Which team will show up tonight versus the Party Crashers? (Last Week: 3rd)

8. All Hooks – Their offense has deserted them, as they scored a grand total of seven touchdowns in their last three games combined. Tonight, they wrap up their regular season against #NR. All Hooks will need to find some scoring punch before the playoffs begin. Will they? (Last Week: 4th)

9. Outlaws – They closed out the season with a loss to Urgence Médic, and a solid win over the BBallers. If this team can add a piece or two on defense, they will eventually become dangerous. (Last Week: 9th).

10. Incredibles – Their disappointing season ends tonight against Gryffindor. Hopefully, the Incredibles can make the game competitive. (Last Week: 10th).

11. Team Swoosh – One more game left. Go out and enjoy it. (Last Week: 11th).

Picks (Favorites in bold)

Outlaws vs Urgence Médic – Urgence Médic

Team Swoosh vs Terror Squad – Terror Squad

The Apocalypse vs KGP – The Apocalypse (Upset Special #1)

Party Crashers vs BBallers – Party Crashers (Upset Special #2)

Got-Skills vs Braves – Braves

Flag Moi L’Sac vs Allstars – Allstars (My Pick for Game of the Week Div. 1)

Incredibles vs Gryffindor – Gryffindor

#NR vs All Hooks – #NR (My Pick for Game of the Week Div. 2)

Last Week: (7-3)

Regular Season (44-20-1)

Upset Special: (4-9)

This is the last article of the regular season. Good luck to everybody in their games tonight and thank-you to all the teams who are playing their final game of the FPF Winter Season. It was a pleasure writing about and for you guys.

If you liked, loved, or hated the article, or simply feel that I left something out, do not hesitate to reach out to me at [email protected], or reach me on Instagram @brent_b51