Categories: Co-EdCo-Ed 1Co-Ed 2Co-Ed 3ComplementaryWomen's

Semifinals time in Coed and the Women’s Divisions

The first two rounds of the playoffs are already in the books and all in all, they were pretty uneventful. In just about every single game the home team (that is to say the higher seeded team) won as expected. There were a few upsets but they were short lived. Never Too Late Team beast Fitsquad in the divisional round but a set of unfortunate events saw Never Too Late Team’s run end in the quarters. Their star, William Paquette, blew a tire on his way to the game and was not able to play. They were also only 6 players which forced Paollo Della Roca to play defence. Tigres had an impressive 44-38 win over We Love Big TDs and nearly pulled of the impossible in the next round. They came within a score of beating Fast not furious 3 and pulling off a massive upset. They eventually lost that game 31-24. In the Women’s division, things went as expected and every single higher seeded team won relatively comfortably. Before heading onto our semi-final predictions let’s take a look at the games of the week from the divisional round and quarterfinals.

Games of the Week

The IG Team (39) vs Vultures (38) – Coed 2

The Vultures gave the The IG Team a pretty good scare in this one. For starters Benjamin McMahon took the reigns of this offence and he had a pretty impressive game, throwing for nearly 200 yards and four scores. He added sixty more yards and two scores with his legs. McMahon was able to throw in Coed 2 despite his cap being nearly 5 points above the Coed 2 maximal cap of 80 thanks to the QB flex cap. On the downside, the teams overall cap was lowered by nearly 25 points but that did not wind up mattering for Vultures since they had key players, like James Drysdale, out with injuries in this game.

On the IG Team side of things, they did a great job adapting to the change of QB. McMahon is an extremely elusive and agile passer so rushing him is a nightmare. The difficult task fell to Jerry Beauboeuf and frankly he struggled. McMahon ran for two scores and over 60 yards whereas this IG Team defence did not record a single sack. As a matter of fact, this was not a stellar game by any account for the IG Team defence. They did not record a sack, interception or even a defended pass. Simply put, they had no real read on what McMahon is doing. On the flip side of things, their offence had a fantastic game and led this team to victory and the semifinals. Jeanslee Alexis was looking deep like usual in this one. He completed just 16 passes but passed for nearly 230 yards and five scores. He ran for a sixth score. Jeanslee did all that while only completing 16 passes which means he averaged nearly 15 yards a reception and one out of three passes caught were for scores. The Alexis connection was strong in this one as Jeanslee connected with his brother Jordanson Alexis on three occasions for 68 yards and a score. Jeanne Gravel was the go to person for the IG Team in the red zone as she led this team with two scores. All in all this was a solid showing from The IG Team but their defence will need to take a step up if they hope to beat Pig Six in the next round.

Thunder Buddies (19) vs Pig Six (18)

This was not an impressive game from either one of these teams. Terry Babalis struggled in this one and Brady Ohanessian once again came in to give Babalis a hand. Between the two of those QBs, they only managed to pass for two scores and turned the ball over once. Babalis was able to add a score with his legs, which is a promising since since I know that Babalis has been limiting the use of his legs due to a lingering ankle to see that he was able to use the rushing ability that made him such a dangerous dual threat qb in past seasons was very exciting. I think the biggest issue with this team offensively in this game was the overreliance on William Power and David Gutkovski. The two of them were targeted 20 times and accounted for over 75% of the team’s offensive production. While those two are both great players. And overreliance on just a few receivers is never a recipe for offensive success. It was the defensive effort of this team that saved and kept them in the playoff race. Brady Ohanessian had a fantastic game as he recorded one of his team’s two picks. The other came courtesy of William Power. Jenna Araujo also had a monster game. Rushing Vincent Cheung is no easy task and the fact that Araujo managed to sack Cheung once and hold him to just 28 rushing yards is extremely impressive.

As for Pig Six, this must have been a crushing way for their season to come to an end. They were stuck in first gear all game long. They struggled to move the ball. Cheung passed for just three scores and turned the ball over twice. The biggest difference between this game and the regular season was that Pig Six were not using their female players. Olivia Sormany and Roxane Rashidian combined for a grand total of five receiving yards which is simply not enough. More than that, this team struggled mightily on converts. They did not get a single extra point and it was ultimately that which sent this team packing since they lost by just a point. The fact that they had an impressive defensive performance and that Sormany sacked Babalis twice is probably little solace for this team that was definitely expecting to make it out of the quarters.

Quarter-finals team of the Week

Every week, I will name 12 players to the team of the week. If you make the offensive team of the week, you cannot be on the defensive one and vice versa. The team of the week will be made up of players from Coed 2, Coed 3, Women’s 1 and the Women’s 2 divisions. Only stats will be considered when choosing players for the team of the week. That means 100 receiving yards in Women’s 1 is equivalent to 100 receiving yards in Coed 2. In the spirit of the Coed and Women’s divisions, every team of the week will have a minimum of two female players on the offensive and defensive team.

Offence

Quarterback: Ignacio Valdes Manzanedo (Kiss My End Zone) 14 completions, 199 passing yards, 7 TDs, 0 INTs

Receiver: Lucas Quenneville (Kiss My End Zone) 3 receptions, 87 yards, 3 TDs

Receiver: Marielle Paradis (Wolfpack) 14 receptions, 117 yards, 2 TDs

Receiver: Tamara Journeau (Wildcats) 6 receptions, 105 yards, 1 TD

Receiver: Charlotte Grimmel (Blue Thunder) 13 receptions, 119 yards, 3 TDs

Receiver: Geraldine Cabillo-Abante (Red Nation) 8 receptions, 130 yards, 3 TDs

Defence

Rusher: Camille Bissonnette (Fast Not Furious 3) 3 sacks 

Defensive Back: Marilyne Cesaire (Red Nation) 4 tackles, 2 INTs, 1 PD

Defensive Back: Laeticia Ngaleu (B.I.T) 6 tackles, 2 INTs, 1 PD

Defensive Back: Audrey Lajoie (Supernova) 4 tackles, 3 INTs, 1 PD  

Defensive Back: Rachel Shea (Les P’tites Miettes) 2 INTs, 1 TD 

Defensive Back: Beatrice Tremblay (Drink Team) 2 tackles, 3 INTs, 1 TD

Semifinal Predictions

Kiss My End Zone (9-1) vs EZFun (7-3) – Coed 2

This is going to be a trap game for EZFun. Despite having an average season and finishing in fourth, this EZFun is a force to be reckoned with and they are surging at just the right time. They have a deep and talented group of receivers and amongst the best female players in the division. In their previous matchup this season Kiss My End Zone did come out on top but it is important to remember that they did not get a single stop in that game and frankly, I am worried about their ability to get a stop in this game as well. EZFun do a fantastic job at slowing down the game, avoiding mistakes and making their opponents pay for every single error. Ultimately Kiss My End Zone will need to play a mistake free game to this one and I am not sure if they will be able to do that.

Prediction: Not applicable (my own team)

Pig 6 (8-1-1) vs The IG Team (7-2-1)

This is definitely the game of the week in Coed. The last time that these teams played, it was a dramatic draw. Just like that result indicates, there is very little to separate these two teams. Even though Pig 6 is going into this one as the higher seed and with the better record, I am very worried about them in this one. For starters, Vincent Cheung has struggled in the postseason. He lost in Coed 3 and only scored three times in that game. In Coed 2 he was only able to throw for 90 yards in the quarterfinals. Now he is facing one of the toughest secondaries in all of Coed. The Alexis brothers are imposing ballhawks and this team recorded over interceptions during the regular season. All in all, Cheung would need to improve upon his regular season form to win this one and instead of improving it appears that he has taken a step in the opposite direction.

Fast Not Furious 3 (10-0) vs Thunder Buddies (8-2) – Coed 3

Fast Not Furious are the huge favorites heading into this one but I do think there is a path to victory for Thunder Buddies and that path is called William Power. Simply put, Power is the best player in Coed 3 and has the ability to single handedly change the outcome of a game. Fast not Furious have also looked human as of late. They only beat Tigres by a score  and did not look otherworldly in that game. The other secret weapon for Thunder Buddies is the rapidly recovering Terry Babalis. For the first time all season we saw him use his legs. If Babalis is able to start shifting around in the pocket and producing rushing yards this could be a game changer for Thunder Buddies. If Babalis can create some magic with his legs and if Power can play like the dominant player he is, there is hope for Thunder Buddies in this one.

All that being said, Fast Not Furious 3 just needs to stick to their game plan in this one. Ryan Dobbs-Garnett has a tendency to get a bit of tunnel vision in bigger games and he focuses on just a few receivers. He needs to avoid making that mistake in this game because Thunder Buddies will be able to take away his top receivers but it is the depth of FNF3 that is their biggest asset in this matchup. 

Prediction: Fast Not Furious 3

Drink Team (9-0-1) vs 1-9ers (8-2) – Coed 3

I have been thinking about this one for a long time, and I am finally ready to say it. Drink Team are the best team in Coed 3. They are the complete package and what sets this team apart from the rest of the competition in C3 is the strength of their female players. Erika Magini is the female Most Outstanding Player in the division and Beatrice Tremblay is this teams postseason interception leader with three. On top of all of that female talent, they have the best rusher in the division in Darryl Dorcely. On the flip side, 1-9ers have two weaknesses and that is the quality of their female players and Charles Presser’s affinity for getting sacked at the worst possible time. On top of all that, rumor has it that 1-9ers will be without the Coed 3 receiver of the season Alex Blais. There just seem to be too many factors stacked against this 1-9ers team. If they are to have any chance, it is going to take a perfect performance from Presser and a bit of magic from the speedy Lucas Quenneville. While it is possible that Quenneville dances around all opposing defenders and Presser finally plays it safe and avoids turnovers, I do not think that that is very likely.

Prediction: Drink Team

WOS (8-2) vs The Rock (6-4) – Women’s 1

While this semifinal round might be full of tantalizing matchups this one is not quite looking as evenly matched. Unfortunately things have not gone as planned for The Rock this season. While they have managed to win 6 games, all of those wins came versus Women’s 2 division opposition. WOS and The Rock have already played twice this season and The Rock lost both of those games by a cumulative score of 77-18. Fair to say, it would take a major twist of fate for The Rock to compete in this one. 

As for WOS, they simply need to execute their usual game plan in this one. Andréanne Cadorette is one of the safest passers in this division. Her trademark this season has been protecting the ball and that is exactly what she needs to do in this one. It is one defense where I expect this WOS team to cause the most trouble to their opponents. The Rock have struggled both with scoring and protecting the ball so far this season. On the other hand, WOS have recorded a whopping 20 interceptions, five of which they have returned for pick sixes. As long as Cadorette is safe with the ball and the WOS ballhawks manage a stop or two, WOS will be able to book their seat to the final.

Prediction: WOS

I would like to apologize to the Wildcats, Wildcats, Les P’tites Miettes and Supernova. Unfortunately this article came out just a bit too late and there games have already been played by the time of publication. 

Red Nation were able to pull off a massive upset and beat the Wildcats, so it is probably a good thing I did not write a prediction for that game because I was definitely not going to choose them to win.

With that, good luck to everyone in the semis and as always, you can reach me at [email protected] with any questions, comments or feedback about the articles.