The Grand Finale: Four Franchises, Four Quarterbacks and their Fast Rise to the Finals

Both in 5A and 5B, we went from eight teams on Saturday, to four teams who battled it out on Monday night at Stade de Montreal. In the end, the Killer Rays and Primal punched their ticket to the 5B Finals, while No Friend Zone and Big Fat Bats, the #1 and #2 seeds in the regular season, will do battle as NFZ look to avenge their only loss of the season.

Before we dive into the Finals Preview, let’s quickly recap what happened on Monday night. There were blowouts and last second victories, so let’s see how the teams made it to Brossard.

Division 5A – Semi-Finals Recap

Big Fat Bats (1) vs. Rico Ryders (8)

What is now close to a month ago, Big Fat Bats ended their season playing Rico Ryders and they got ROCKED 45-18. Remember though, BFB had not played a game in 19 days. Mathew Zeppetelli was as rusty as you could be, as he completed less than half of his passes, scored only 3 TDs and threw 2 INTs back on March 27th en route to a 45-18 loss. Nothing was working, and their perfect season was ruined by the Ryders. More importantly, they put some doubt in BFB if ever these 2 teams would meet down the line. Fast forward to April 17th, and the 2 teams would again do battle. The game started with the Ryders turning the ball over on downs on a 4th and 2 inside the redzone. While in the regular season game, Dylan Scattolon got the better of Mat Zeppetelli, in the more important playoff game, Zeppetelli and the run game was the difference, as he finished with 60 yards on the ground (more than any receiver had receiving yards) and 2 rushing TDs on 5 carries. In the first half, every time Rico Ryders would score (twice), BFB answered back, including converting on a 4th and 5 on their own 15, running for 21 yards and a 1st down. That drive ended the half with a Jordan Lessard 8-yard touchdown, which was huge, as it made it a 20-12 game with the Big Fat Bats starting the 2nd half with the ball. In the 2nd half, the game was won on BFB’s 4th down conversions. First, Daniel Curiale, Mr. IG himself converted the 2nd 4th down of the game which set up Lessard’s 2nd TD of the night. On the ensuing drive, Giordano Giannini picked off Mat Yanakoulias, but the Bats couldn’t ice the game as they went 4-and-out. After a Ryders score made it 27-19, BFB would once again convert on 4th down, this time the Zeppetelli brother connection kicked in for a 34 yard TD on 4th and 4 from their own 16, a most pivotal moment in the game indeed. If they don’t convert, the Ryders would have had the chance at tying the game from 16 yards out. Instead, the score was 33-19. While the Ryders drove the field and scored another TD to make it 33-25, the onside kick was their only hope at coming back in the game, and it was Anthony Giacomodonato with the game-icing PD. Despite the Ryders putting up decent offensive numbers, their 2 key mistakes: the first possession T-O-D and the INT were just too much to overcome.

No Friend Zone (2) vs. The Process (5)

After a low-scoring affair between The Process and Red “Not” Skins in the Quarter Finals, Noah Groper and the The Process knew they would need to put up the points vs. No Friend Zone. Their first drive started well, with 2 gains that got them to mid field, though, that’s as far as The Process would get, as the NFZ D would create a turnover on downs. The Process came in with a clear game plan on defense and it worked on certain occasions. They came prepared, knowing what the offense likes to hit, and took that away. They would often create 3rd and 10 situations, but the adaptiveness of the NFZ offense took advantage of what The Process tried taking away and used it against them, resulting in 40 yard touchdowns after some missed tackles from coordinated hip moves and top-flight speed of Felix Boutet as well as the strong hands and deceptive speed of Anthony Pelletier. After the 1st NFZ score and a successful convert for 2, Pelletier would deliver with a clutch INT that would be punched in by Boutet for his 1st on the night and giving NFZ a 14-0 lead. The Process would find themselves chasing that deficit all game, but with the score 20-7 and The Process driving on the final drive of the half, a stop on 3rd and 4th down with back-to-back targets going to Ariel Librati almost all but did The Process in, as NFZ would start with the ball in the 2nd half. Not wasting time, that was one of the 40 yard TDs on 3rd down discussed earlier that made the deficit, 7-26, an almost insurmountable one. It forced The Process to go in a no-huddle situation and also made them go for the onside kick on their very next TD. Except, a Pick 6 off the onside attempt by Alex Noel iced the game with the score 32-13. The teams would exchange TDs and INTs, but time simply ran out on The Process.

Division 5B – Semi-Finals Recap

Primal (4) vs. Vick in a Box (6)

Vick in a Box didn’t start their semi-final game the way they wanted to as Jeff Tayeh was intercepted by Chabot to start the game. I wonder if Tayeh went deep to try and get a quick score and Chabot was ready for it and picked him off. Not the guy you want to test right off the bat… Still, the Vick in a Box defense did their thing and forced a punt after a 3-and-out series by the high-flying Primal offense. Tayeh would settle into the game as he drove the field and punched it in with a Craig Browning TD. Primal would answer, including converting on 4th down and get the extra point to go up 7-6. As we’ll see, the extra points and how they were managed were huge in this game. Once again, both teams would exchange touchdowns, this time Burah and Chateauvert would bring the score to 13-12 for Primal. Tayeh‘s 2nd INT of the game came from the hands of Gabriel Barbeau but again, Primal couldn’t capitalize on the turnover, failing to score at the end of the half. That score would have been huge since Primal could have scored both at the end of the half and beginning of the 2nd half. Instead, the 2 interceptions thrown by Tayeh were neutralized by the 2 stops by the VIB defense.

“Their Top 2 receivers are MONSTERS”
Médéric “The Wizard” Lauzon – Primal

Primal would open the 2nd half by scoring in 3 plays and once again, converting for 1. Score 20-12 for Primal. VIB answered with their own 3-play drive AND converted the 2 point play to tie the game up at 20. After again exchanging scores, and Primal up 27-26, VIB’s D came up huge with their 3rd stop of the game. They would score 3 plays later to go up 32-27. VIB however, made 2 critical mistakes here that showed their FPF inexperience. First, Mikey Schwartz, who has played in this league for a while, surprisingly didn’t go out at the 1 yard line to chew clock and kill plays. The right play was to go out at the 1 and bring the whistle to the last 5 plays of the game. On 1st down, you throw the ball away/to the feet of your receivers. On 2nd down: Throw the ball away. You leave yourself 2 plays to punch it in. If you score on 3rd down, you give Primal 3 plays to score. If you score on 4th, you give them 2 plays. The 2nd mistake was to go for 2 points. By missing a tougher conversion, VIB allowed Primal to only need the Touchdown for the win, instead of both the Touchdown and the XP1. But that’s not what happened. They scored, missed the 2 points and gave Primal 5 plays to win the game with a TD. Even if Coby Burah was trying to make a play, he played it too aggressively and was called for UR that brought Primal to the 1 yard line. And guess who, yes, it was none other than Antoine Chabot who punched Primal’s ticket to the final for the huge semi final win.

“We made a mental mistake and didn’t go out at the 1-yard line to milk the final 5 plays”
Seb Dufour – Vick In a Box

Killer Rays (1) vs Red Dragons (9)

In sticking around for a bit after, we saw Red Dragons rather methodically, drive down the field and score on a beautiful back line endzone ball thrown by Guillaume Boulanger to Timoté Nehma-Lacasse. Boulanger was in a rhythm, much like what I had seen most of the season, so much so, that he even had rusher Jared Arany saying “There’s no way this guy was sacked 14 times this season”. The Killer Rays though, unphased, even after an incomplete pass that left them puzzled (Donovan Hinds never got his second foot inbounds – took huge strides before planting down the second foot) hit the wheel route on 3rd and 4 to Tyler Gurberg for a 34 yard Touchdown. Count the convert, and they were up 7-6.

This is where I left the building. “Alright, should be a good game, just like I thought” were my thoughts. Upon arrival at my domicile and a beer later, my eyes popped as I saw the score line. 50-6.

Whether it was 4-and-out, interceptions, or pick-6’s, nothing was working for Boulanger, as every pass he threw turned to stone and everything Bianchi threw turned to gold, scoring in just 2-4 plays every drive and suffocating the Red Dragons into elimination. That is every Quarterbacks nightmare, especially when you don’t see it coming after a well-executed first drive from Guillaume. It’s one he will want to forget for sure, but it’s also the type of performance that builds character and makes you a better quarterback in the long run. Boulanger‘s tell was exposed in Division 4, and Tyler Gurberg playing with Hot Sauce Sports took the knowledge the defenders in Div 4 saw and relayed it to his team. Boulanger tends to stare his receivers down and stare at the spot he is going to throw to, while never checking his backside read. If he wants to move up the divisions and see success there, he will need to get that bad habit out of his game. It’s one all quarterbacks start with, and it takes a game like this one to force you to adapt and change those habits.

In the end, Killer Rays are going back to the Finals after they won the Winter 2022 6D Championship and Primal (or at least The Wizard) is also returning when he won it as a QB in the Spring in Div E with the Praetorian Guard (and as a receiver in Div D with Peerless Scarred). Congrats to both teams, should be a hell of a game!

Now, let’s get on with the Finals Preview for both Divs!

Division 5A – Finals Preview 🔮

Big Fat Bats (1) vs. No Friend Zone (2)

This is the Finals matchup these 2 teams have anxiously been waiting for all season. These 2 teams did meet in the regular season, a 45-26 win for BFB. That game had very different personnel from today’s teams. No Friend Zone were without Quarterback Iggy Magnets, Snapper Alex Laroche and WR Jerome Hovington, 3 key pieces of both the offense and defense, while Big Fat Bats since lost Sam Mashtoub, but added Jordan Lessard in his place, a more than equal replacement and one we talked about in past articles. While the lineups may look different since that Week 2 regular season matchup, let’s first take a look at how both teams got here.

The Road to The Finals

Like I mentioned, BFB didn’t enter the playoffs on a good note, getting smoked by the Rico Ryders. Like I told Mat Zeppetelli that day though, you will always take a rough Game #10 to finish 9-1 than a 1st round exit after a 10-0 season.

Position	Big Fat Bats	No Friend Zone
QB		✅
Receivers		✅
DBs		✅
Rusher	✅

These 2 teams have been anxiously waiting to meet once again, after the Week 2 matchup was not the best team No Friend Zone could field that night. After the teams finished in the 1 and 2 spots in the standings, the only time they could meet would be the Finals. It is the first time Mathew Zeppetelli will be facing off against Iggy Magnets and the Finals as a first showdown between these two high flying offenses. As the #1 seed, Big Fat Bats secured themselves Home Field advantage throughout the playoffs and will have that leg up on NFZ in the finals, but first, a look at how both teams got here.

Road To The Finals

The Big Fat Bats began their post season run against The Tokyo Sandblasters, which ended up being more of a defensive battle than they would have thought. AJ Zeppetelli and Jordan Lessard led the way offensively, combining for 14 of the 20 completions thrown by their QB and all 3 touchdowns. To boot, Lessard had a pick six off the Onside Kick that iced their first playoff victory. They then faced off against Les Petites Carrottes where the LPC defense forced Mat Zeppetelli to distribute the ball across his 5 receivers and he did so, but faced some adversity doing so. Throwing his only 2 interceptions in the post season so far, the offense was helped by Jordan Lessard once again, as he’s been the defensive stallworth on their playoff run. He has 2 interceptions, but an added pick by Giordano Giannini after the BFB’s scored on the opening drive of the 2nd half helped steal a possession for the Bats. Fast forward a few days and BFB come out victorious over Rico Ryders who gave them fits at the end of the regular season. After having just 1 INT in the regular season, Giannini has doubled that total with his 2nd of the post season against Rico Ryders.

No Friend Zone’s path to the Finals started with a lights out performance against Buffalo Wild Wings the day/night of the ice storm that saw the majority of the city lose power. One of the strengths of the NFZ team is the high skill level of their receivers, and the depth they posses. In fact, in each of their 3 playoff games, there’s been 3 different leading receivers in yards. Against BWW, Jerome Hovington had a day, catching all 6 balls thrown his way for 82 yards and 2 TDs. Against Backwoods, Alex Noel also caught 100% of his 5 targets for 74 yards and a touchdown. The offense overall in the game against BFC was like a well-oiled machine that could not be stopped. Iggy Magnets went 21/22 for 284 and distributed 8 TDs to the team’s receivers for the elusive 158.3 perfect QB rating. That QBR is sky high in the playoff run, as the receivers have delivered and lead to a 149 QBR. Against The Process, they simply had no answer for Felix Boutet as he was the leading receiver with 74 yards and 2 TDs. More importantly though, the NFZ defense was able to force Noah Groper to throw 3 interceptions and turn the ball over on downs twice. With a 14-0 lead, the 5 stops were enough for the game to be in No Friend Zone’s hands the entire night.

Breakdown by Position

QB – Both Quarterbacks will need to stay calm, cool and collected and run their offense. It’s brought them this far, so the jitters and throwing the ball against the ballhawks on D on both teams means they will both need to be precise with their passes and decisive in their reads. A big part of this game will be which quarterback can better execute the converts in the tight area. Another dimension that Zeppetelli brings over myself is the run game. He is FAST and can be just as dangerous with his legs as with his arm.

Receivers – Both teams have great receivers. Jordan Lessard is just built differently. His vertical is eye-popping and his speed is serious. AJ Zeppetelli is one of FPF’s more slippery receivers and makes guys MISS. He too possess great speed and the playbook has been adapted to best utilize his skill set. The rise of Luca Leccese as the next option has been more quiet, but has not gone unnoticed. He is just as quick and elusive as AJ and makes the team have a solid and legit triple threat. While Daniel Curiale isn’t used as much, he is a reliable snapper, as he caught 86% of the targets thrown his way during the regular season and has, in 3 playoff games, almost matched his TD total on the season, as he had 2 big TDs vs. LPC. For No Friend Zone, what’s to say? 4 receivers with 100 yards in the post season, with those 4 ranging between 3 and 6 touchdowns. Then you have as equally a reliable snapper in Alex Laroche who, like Anthony Pelletier, both have the size and strength to box out receivers in short and goal-like situations. NFZ is a combination of size, speed, agility, hands and are the deepest team at receiver. It wouldn’t surprise me if we had a 4th, different receiver end up with the most yards.

Defense – Both defenses have ballhawks, but there is more experience in the NFZ defensive backfield with guys that can equally play deep or short in zone coverage and can man up on any given play. The Bats do have Jordan Lessard though, who can do so much damage in a smaller-sized flag football field.

Rusher – This one will be very interesting, as Seb Dufour has a huge challenge ahead of him for No Friend Zone, as he needs to contain Zeppetelli from taking off on big runs that can turn into touchdowns. BFB’ Luca Leccese simply can’t afford to miss a sack opportunity when the Bats defense has tight coverage. He needs to set up 3rd and 4th-and-long situations to give his team the best chance to win.

Big Fat Bats X-Factor: Giordano Giannini – Giannini needs to have another interception to tie Lessard for the team lead. BFB will need as many turnovers/stops as they can get on defense and Giannini is the X-factor to do so.

No Friend Zone X-Factor: Alex Laroche – Mr. “1st Touchdown of the Season” does in fact have 0 TDs in the playoffs and will look to get his first touchdown in the Finals. Laroche is no stranger to snapping to Iggy Magnets in the Finals, as these two combined for a Spring championship in 2022.

Prediction: You know the deal! No Predictions for my own teams!

Division 5B – Finals Preview 🔮

Killer Rays (1) vs. Primal (8)

Position	Killer Rays	Primal
QB	✅	✅
Receivers	✅	✅
DBs	✅	✅
Rusher	✅

These 2 teams did not do battle during the regular season and anxiously await to see what each other is about when they face off in the final game of the broadcast night on Saturday at 9:50pm. Before we get into the matchup though, let’s take a look at how both teams got here.

Road To The Finals

Primal started their playoff run by outscoring What Could Have Beens in a shootout. Mederic Lauzon was simply magical in that game, as he completed 95.2% of his passes for 224 yards and 7 TDs. For every score Kaylem Ferdinand put up, it was matched by Antoine Chabot as both receivers had 4 touchdowns. While the offense did their thing, the 1 interception by Alex Roel was just as game-deciding as all the offense put up by Primal. After the thrilling Wild Card game, their next game was disappointing, as no one from Les Bleue Dry notified the league that they would not be showing up to the game. A bad look from LBD lead Primal straight through to the Semi Finals, where they once again had a clutch drive offensively, as we recapped above. They fully deserve to be in the Finals as I thought they would be after taking me an WCHB down.

The Killer Rays have been great both offensively and defensively on their playoff run. It was a year ago that it all clicked for Tylar Bianchi on his and the teams way to their first ever FPF Finals in 6D. Since then, they made the Semi Finals in Div D, and won a couple rounds in the double-elimination bracket in the Fall Cup, while ultimately falling short against the Bruins. This winter, they had something to prove after 2 seasons falling short of their ultimate goal. They started their run against HimU and disposed of them rather easily. Their toughest opponent in fact came in the Quarter Finals against No Punt Intended. While Bianchi has focused more as a passer, he still is a dual-threat QB and will take advantage if a team sends a weak rusher. He kept the game clean with 0 interceptions and in fact, has been clean all playoffs; throwing 14 TDs and 0 INTs with a sparkling 122.1 QBR. Not only did Bianchi have a good game offensively against NPI, he added a critical touchdown on one of his 2 interceptions. Evan White was the other DB who picked off Jacob Soles for a Quarter Final victory. And then, it was the jaw-dropping Semi Finals score we just recapped, a 50-burger against the Red Dragons.

Breakdown by Position

QB – This will be an awesome finals to watch. Two Quarterbacks who can dissect defenses and attack all levels of the field, it promises to be a high-scoring affair. Both have accumulated experience to be knowledgeable to really be great game-managers, so it may come down to who has the final possession of the ball. One of the fascinating things to look out for will be whether Bianchi decides to be a dual-threat QB or attack the Primal defense through the air. While running isn’t a big part of Lauzon‘s game, his ability to run for a 1st down may come into effect. Either way, both are being rushed by above average rushers, so it will be interesting to see if one QB gains an advantage over either rusher.

Receivers – Both receiving cores are quite similar, in terms of both talent and depth. You can almost put them one of one in terms of either skill set or talent.

Tyler Gurberg – Antoine Chabot – Your two WR1’s. Great hands, speed, route running and understanding of the spacing concepts. Both will be heavily leaned on for a big 1st down or touchdown.

Curtis Ryan – Jean-Philippe Régnier – Two receivers with mountain-like height, but Ryan has the speed edge over Régnier.

Corey Bianchi – Valéry Shelder – Both these guys are FAST, but Shelder might just be faster. Time will tell who’s faster in the finals.

Donovan Hinds – Vincent Sabourin – Both are reliable pass catchers that are contributors as a depth receiver

Chris Genio – Étienne Chabot – Again, like Hinds and Sabourin, these Genio and Étienne provided stable pass-catching when defenses took away the primary receivers.

Defense – While both defenses are good, I think both offenses can pick apart the D. Watch for a similar score line and game play as the Primal vs. What Could Have Beens game. The game may come down to who makes the first mistake on offense. A tipped ball, a slightly overthrown ball… there won’t be many occassions for the defenses to steal a possession and can’t afford a missed pick.

Rusher – Both rushers are very good, but like we’ve said many times these playoffs, the better rusher, in this case Jared Arany, is less critical overall. Philippe Barbeau is no slouch either, he’s a VERY good rusher, but he has the more important task to make sure that if Bianchi tries to break free, to sack him for a loss.

Killer Rays X-Factor: Mike Delli Quadri – I mentioned that if one defender could get an INT, that might make the difference. Delli Quadri is an aggressive defender, which may help or hurt his team, making him the perfect X-Factor.

Primal X-Factor: Emile Chateauvert – Not sure how a Division 2 player is considered an X-Factor, but like I said for the KR’s X-Factor, whoever can come away with an interception might be the team that comes away victorious. I’m putting my chips on the green castle.

Prediction: Killer Rays 39-38 Primal

I see an absolute barn burner of a game, 6 touchdowns a piece with whoever can be more clutch in the convert game. I might be hedging my bets, because Lauzon is clutch on converts, but I see Killer Rays lifting another trophy.

Epilogue 👋

Alright Division 5, that does for the best of the best seasons FPF has to offer! It was a pleasure to write articles all season, and thanks for keeping up week in and week out, joining me on the wild ride that is the FPF season. Congrats to all 4 teams for making the finals in 5A and 5B, but there can only be 1 winner! Goodluck and we’ll see you in the Spring season! One last time, here’s CTA previewing the Finals in podcast format!