The Bowl Cup “Roadshow” Final Weekend is Here at Last!

With the Fall Cup having started wayyyy back in September, with green leaves, sunny skies, and outdoor games, we conclude the tournament with snowy, white streets and only the best of the best that survived what was, for some, a long, arduous and what some would describe as a gauntlet journey to get here.

Let’s start by congratulating all the finalists for having made it to where all teams were hoping to be at the start of the season. Everyone’s run to the final has had its own story, whether its been overcoming adversity, battling through devastating injuries, and showing why this sport is truly one of the best, in that it truly takes a team effort, and different team members make key contributions at different moments in a game.

This weekend, we celebrate all FPF finalists with FPF’s famous “Roadshow”: Live broadcasting of the games, instant replay challenges, and of course, the best teams in FPF facing off for Championship glory! Of course, this being the Fall Cup, there’s a bonus cash prize incentive for both teams (although a friendly wager has been in our very own Co-Ed Tier 1 if you hadn’t heard). Yes, both Kiss My End Zone and The IG Team agreed that they will be playing for the cash prizes as single lump sum, in a Winner-take-all outcome. Loser leaves with nothing but the grips of defeat in their hands.

Alright, enough preamble. It’s time to get down to it and breakdown the matchups as its getting late and there’s a Roadshow to prepare! So let’s begin this final article of the 2023 calendar year with our first matchup of the night in Co-Ed Tier 2.

Co-Ed Tier 2: The Finals Edition

Kiss My Christmas Balls vs Subzero

Saturday, December 9th, 2023 – Brossard (1) – 6pm

I am definitely not the first to say, but let me say it anyways, but I am so happy that Subzero made the Bowl Cup Final. I’m sure many (not all) teams looked at Subzero and didn’t think they could make the finals. Granted, maybe they didn’t know that this all-woman roster is the best that Canada has to offer, but many teams found out the rough way just how dangerous this team can be.

Their season started sub-optimally, going 0-2 and looking up at many teams in the standings. They quickly turned their season around and ended with a 4-4 record, but it was not enough to make the double-elimination side of the Tier. That meant that Subzero had to take the long road to the finals, and that they did; slaying 4 teams on their way to the Bowl Cup, including 2 wins against teams that had previously beat them in At Least We Tried (an Overtime thriller) and Y&Y.

Their playoff run hasn’t gone unnoticed, but also hasn’t gone without its share of ravishing injuries. Subzero lost both Defensive player of the year Sabrina Gervais and stud 2-way player, Laurence Pontbriand to injury, yet, they’ve been resilient as a team, and didn’t rely on a single individual to carry them to victory. Sure, there have been key performances from individuals, like Caroline Moquin-Joubert against Y&Y, with her 3 TDs and 2 critical interceptions that she tipped to her herself, or Jessica Bositampen and her 4-sacks against the speedy and shifty TIGRES Quarterback, but the team as a whole has played outstanding football and truly deserve to be in the Bowl Cup Championship game.

Kiss My Christmas’ Balls run to the Bowl Cup Final is, in some ways different and in other ways similar to Subzero’s. First off, KMCB’s 6-2 regular season got them the double-elimination status they never needed, as they went undefeated during the Knockout Round. In fact, they only required 2 games to make it to the Finals compared to Subzero’s 4. In those 2 Knockout games, they took out At Least We Tried in convincing fashion and then, similar to Subzero, needed an overtime game to get past their Semi-Final opponent. For KMCB, that was arch-rival Y&Y, which knocked them down to face Subzero, where of course, Subzero ultimately won.

And so, now these 2 teams face off against each other for the first time this season. Yes, Subzero is entering the field minus 2 key players, but as long as you have your Quarterback, and that Quarterback’s name is Sara Parker, you always have a chance to win on gameday. That said, they will need to put forth their best effort if they want to come out as champs. That effort needs to come from everyone, as Parker does a great job of distributing the ball as I’ve mentioned in previous articles, and everyone usually is on top of their game. Caroline Moquin-Joubert is just one of the star-studded females that will need to step up, but if Subzero is going to win this game, she HAS to be one of the names in the Finals MVP conversation. Her intelligence, speed, quickness and agility enable her to be a force on both offense and defense can absolutely take over a game, and if she has a repeat performance from her Semi-Final game against Y&Y, we could be seeing Rob Campana handing Moquin-Joubert the Finals MVP.

On the KMCB side of things, it might be the right time for the defense to come up with an interception. While they have 0 so far, they do have about 9 drives that ended in either 4-and-outs or in a punt, as they have only allowed 22 points in 2 playoff games. Like Subzero, the offense of KMCB is by committee, which makes it very difficult for defenses to clue in on just 1 or 2 defenders. That’s why I think, that if KMCB is going to be lifting the trophy by 7pm, that Alex Noel would be a big reason why, leading the offense (and defense) to victory and a Finals MVP.

I’m going to leave it at that, but end my thoughts and analysis with the belief that both Quarterbacks will score 4 TDs. The winner will be the first to 5 TDs, or if both end with 4, it will be a game of converts. Could this game even potentially conclude with Overtime? It will be a fun one, so good luck to both teams!

Women’s Bowl Cup Final: For All the Marbles

BRUTES vs. Red Nation

Sunday, December 10th, 2023 – Hebert Dome – 12:30pm

Let’s start this one with the BRUTES. Their playoff run, and really their entire season has been a masterclass showing of flag football on both sides of the ball. In their 8 regular season Cup games, they allowed an incredibly low 63 points and therefore only 74 points through 10 games this Fall. Are you kidding me? Averaging 7.4 points against is wild, especially with the offense that the BRUTES possess. Not only do BRUTES technically only need 8 points to win a game, looking at the averages, but they are always looking to score at will, and that they did, as they averaged 43 points a game in the regular season. In their 2 playoff games, they averaged 35 points a game, and that is key. BRUTES have proven all season and in their entire franchise at FPF, that they are more than capable of scoring 30+ points a game. They are however, going into the Bowl Cup Finals minus two of their best players in Sabrina Gervais and Laurence Pontbriand. While losing two key players like them hurts, offensively, I’m not too worried for BRUTES, as time after time, I’ve seen Maude Lacasse be super confident in throwing to ANY of her receivers, and the target share tells the same story. Any of the receivers, whether its Annabelle Chevrier, Rebecca Décary-Corbeil, Frédéric Chevarie or Virginie Roussel, all of them are threats down field and all are more than capable of popping off for multiple TD’s and 100 yards. Defensively is where it hurts more, as between Gervais and Pontbriand, they combined for 6 playoff interceptions out of the 9 the team totaled in 3 Knockout games. Without those two, the defense is still solid, but will lack the height of Pontbriand and the agility of Gervais. If the defense can create 1 turnover (which they are definitely capable of), they know that Maude can capitalize off of it and turn it into points and perhaps stretch the lead to 2 or 3 possessions. Once that’s the case, the defense will know that Red Nation will be looking to score quick and go deep, and that’s where the game can slip away and where the loss of Gervais and Pontbriand on defense will be mitigated.

When we take a look at the other side of this matchup, Red Nation’s offense has never been a juggernaut offensively, despite having playmakers on the team. Let me be clear, Red Nation CAN score 30+ points in a game, they just have not been able to consistently do it to a point where that’s the point total they are averaging against any opponent they face. They’ve eclipsed the 30-point mark twice this season, most recently against Wolfpack in their Semi-Final game, which bodes well for Red Nation now playing in the Finals. While their offense is up and down where they can catch fire or be stone cold, Red Nation is more well known for performing consistently on the defensive side of the ball. Allowing 17 points per game, on average, during the regular season is actually a really good defensive stat. Allyson Sobol is more than capable of putting up 18+ points on the board, but the defense needs to stand tall against the incredibly efficient and high-powered BRUTES offense. The defense has created 8 turnovers from interceptions in their 3 Knockout Round games, which is a key reason why Red Nation is playing in this Bowl Cup final. While these 2 teams already faced each other in a double-elimination game, and BRUTES dominated 39-0, the Red Nation defense did intercept Maude Lacasse twice, and stopped them another 1 drive. I mentioned that if they could create a turnover or two, that MAYBE they can plant a seed of doubt in Maude, and if not that, plant a seed of encouragement and confidence in their own defense, that they CAN stop the power house BRUTES offense. So while the defense has proven to me they can create stops, the Red Nation offense did not prove that they can piggy-back off the defensive stops and turn it into points. They were shutout on November 22nd and only scored 7 points back on Sept 26th. Not only were they shutout in November, but Sobol threw 6 INTs in that game, though, remember, she was coming off the Alouettes Grey Cup parade, so perhaps not in the freshest state she could have been in. That, and she will very happy to see that Sabrina Gervais and Laurence Pontbriand will not be in the defensive backfield, as those two combined for 4 interceptions, returning one of those for 6 points. In many ways, Sobol and the Alouettes have shared a similar playoff run. Many teams, players and analysts have made them major underdogs and are not giving them a chance to win. Sobol will need to do her best impersonation of said Alouettes and be ready to grind out a shocking upset victory in the Bowl Cup Final by slowing the game down, playing her offensive game plan, moving up the field methodically and not panicking by going deep too often, even if they find themselves behind by 2 or more possessions. The loss of Keiya Allen-Beckles is a massive one for Red Nation, particularly on offense, as her speed and shiftiness was a recipe required if Red Nation was going to beat BRUTES in the Finals. She will be dearly missed, but the team as a whole will need to contribute in her absence.

Alright, those are my takes and rundown of these 2 teams that will do battle at the Hebert Dome on Sunday December 10th at 12:30 in the afternoon. The only thing left is for a prediction for this Bowl Cup Final, and here it is.

BRUTES 32 – 12 Red Nation

Finals MVP Prediction: Annabelle Chevrier

Congrats to both teams for making the Finals, it is always a grind to get there, and good luck in putting the best performance on Sunday afternoon and leaving it all on the field!

Co-Ed Tier 1

The KMEZ vs IG Team Rivalry: The Finals Rematch Edition

Sunday, December 10th, 2023 – Hebert Dome – 1:40pm

Oh baby, this is one of the great rivalries brewing in Co-Ed the past few seasons: Kiss My End Zone vs. The IG Team. The rivalry started in Winter 2023, where these two teams battled in the Semi-Finals in a 43-42 crazy shootout game where both teams put up 7 TD’s but struggled in the convert game. In the end, The IG Team was 1 convert better than Kiss My End Zone and sent the team in blue packing. The IG Team went on to defeat the Benchwarmers in the Finals to claim their first FPF Championship.

The rivalry was then heightened in the Spring 23′ season with a Finals matchup. KMEZ got a substantial lead that they could not hold on to. The IG Team mounted a great comeback, but did leave Kiss My End Zone 5 plays to win the game on the final drive. Instead of pulling a classic game-winning drive, Jeanslee Alexis had other plans and took an interception all the way into the endzone for a game-sealing and championship-winning Pick 6. A wild finish to a Championship final that added to the rivalry.

Then, this Fall season, the two teams did battle early on, on September 17th, and The IG Team made an early-season statement with a 45-20 victory over KMEZ. The two teams played out their regular season games, defeated their first-round knockout matchup (Plenty of Fish for KMEZ and EZFun for The IG Team) and then proceeded to meet in the Quarter Final game, where the winner would go directly to the Finals. In that game, KMEZ played a flawless game and capitalized on every mistake (small or large) that The IG Team made, particularly making them pay by scoring points off of defensive turnovers. That victory propelled KMEZ straight to the Final and put The IG Team against Plenty of Fish in the Semi-Finals, where they took care of business to set up a 3rd and final game between these two to break the season series currently tied at 1 win each.

So what kind of game will we have? Expect a lot of points, expect a dazzling display of athleticism from both sides, and expect another tantalizing finish to the game. Who will have the ball last? Which player will make a play on that final drive? These are the main questions that will likely determine a winner. FPF games are usually defined by a key 5 or 6 plays. Whoever is on the winning side of those 5 or 6 key plays will likely determine your winner.

For The IG Team, they need to come up with a stop or 2 on defense. They bolstered their lineup in the female department by adding Constance Millaire, so they expect her to be able to take away her female adversaries in Lory Ouellette, Amélie Durocher and Erica Dubois. Of course, she can’t take away all 3, which is where Gabrielle Poissant and Jafya Jones are critical pieces as well when The IG Team decide to play a shadow coverage on defense. Offensively, what else is there to say? Jeanslee Alexis has become an elite Quarterback, even taking his Tier 1 team to the promised land. He’s incredibly elusive, but not just that, he can throw a deep ball, cross-body like only few can. It forces defenses to be stretched and opens holes on defense that he likes to exploit. It’s a tough offense to stop and Alexi Dubois will have to come up with another game plan in case Jeanslee adapts to the coverage. The chess-match will be as interesting as always because both athleticism and scheming/smarts will be of the utmost importance.

For Kiss My End Zone, a patient, but adaptive offense will be necessary, as The IG Team defense can be tricky with their 3-headed monster of Jerry Beaubeouf, Jeanslee and Jordanson Alexis manning the coverage downfield. They create so many turnovers with their speed and athleticism, setting up their offense in prime position to add to the scoreboard. As is often the case in Co-Ed, the female players on KMEZ will need to step up and win their matchups if the offense wants to keep driving the field. From the male perspective, KMEZ has as good of a WR core, with a mix of size, speed and agility, starting with Receiver of the Year, Marvin Steinberg, but goes plenty deep with Justin Gauthier, Vincent Cheung and Lucas Quenneville. There’s a great blend of different offensive attributes there that allows the KMEZ QB to go deep into the playbook and show The IG Team different looks. Defensively, I applaud the work Lucas Quenneville and Vincent Cheung do as rushers, because they have the hardest job rushing the freakishly athletic Jeanslee Alexis.

Of course, there’s no prediction for this game, as I’m too heavily implicated, but all I can say is that I wish the best of luck to both teams, going for all the money in 1 pot, and I wish another epic chapter in such a great rivalry!

Alright, it’s time! Time to go setup the broadcast booth, so that will conclude another FPF season of articles. Until the Winter 2024 season, I wish you all a great holiday season and we’ll see you on the fields in 2024.

Cheers!

Iggy Magnets