The Playoffs Are Here!!!! Division A and B Quarterfinals Preview

The regular season from hell is officially in the books, and now the real season aka the playoffs, are about to begin. The ten-game warm-up is fun, essential, and if successfully completed, will give you the ticket you need to get into the tournament. But, make no mistake about it, the post-season is why we pay to be here, play, and put our bodies on the line, all in hopes of being the last team standing at the end with the championship trophy.

For those teams that were not fortunate enough to qualify for the post-season, this is the end of the line for them. With that being said, I would like to thank both the Junkyard Dogs and KGP, for taking part in the season, and providing us with some memorable plays, games, and performances. Both are veteran squads, and I know this will serve them as motivation to come back stronger next year.

As is the case every week, after I finish writing the article, before I post it, I have to choose a feature image. I didn’t want to do the usual and pick a team pic from Division A or B. I wanted to go with something that said playoffs. I didn’t mean literally, but I’ll take this. The added bonus is that the quote from former Colts Head Coach Jim Mora Sr, that goes with this picture is hilarious, and it came after they lost to my 49ers, so I figured why not? If you haven’t seen it, here you go: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oSFYxDGKy8

Division A Quarterfinals

(4) Mo’ Khans, Mo’ Problems versus (5) The Apocalypse

Tonight @ 10PM in Laval

Previous Meetings:

Mo’ Khans, Mo’ Problems (27-26) Week 7

The Apocalypse (37-34) Week 8

These teams are meeting for the third time in three weeks. Both matchups were decided by less than a touchdown, making this the ultimate rubber match.

In the first meeting, despite giving up a (19-7) lead and being severely outplayed in the second half, Mo’ Khans, Mo’ Problems, were able to escape with the 1-point victory, due to a successful defensive stand that saw them prevent The Apocalypse from scoring a 2-point conversion on the final play of the game, after they scored a touchdown to make the game (27-26) on a touchdown by Marty Freedman.

The game featured a three-touchdown performance by Sean Semerjian of Mo’ Khans, Mo’ Problems, who also had four receptions and a team-high 83 yards, to go along with an interception. His teammate AJ Gomes had an impressive game as well, with a TD on offense, and an INT, along with a trio of pass deflections.

Leading the way for The Apocalypse offensively, was the combination of Sanders Armand and James Ohayon, as the duo combined for 16 catches for 146 yards and three touchdowns. Both Receivers caught every pass that was thrown to them, with Armand and Ohayon catching ten and six passes respectively.

In the second meeting this past Monday night at Stade de Montreal, The Apocalypse snagged the three-point victory curtesy of a 35-yard touchdown reception by James Ohayon with less than 30 seconds before five plays, and then a defensive stand that saw force three straight incompletions to end the game.

Two-way threat Sanders Armand was a force once again on both sides of the ball, as he registered a receiving touchdown to go along with a pick-six.

Both Quarterbacks had solid outings, as each passer threw for five touchdowns. Dan Lazzara had the advantage in passing yards with 229, compared to 190 for Jeff Rosenblatt. The latter QB won the most important battle and that was turnovers, as he put up a zero on the stat sheet compared to his counterpart who tossed one. Just as important, Rosenblatt flirted with perfection, as he recorded only three incompletions.  

Looking at the third and final meeting, both teams have firepower and championship experience. When looking at momentum, it clearly belongs to The Apocalypse, not just because they won the last encounter, but also because they simply have been the better team over the second half of the season. Their (2-3) record over that time frame has seen all three defeats come by less than a touchdown. For Mo’ Khans, Mo’ Problems, they have four one-possession losses, but only one victory in that span, but it was over their opponents.

Mo’ Khans Mo’ Problems are the defending Spring Season champions, while The Apocalypse have the appearance of a team you don’t want to face in the playoffs. Just like the first two meetings, I think this game will be close as well, and whoever has the ball last will win. I am going with Mo Khans, Mo’ Problems.

Final Score: Mo Khans, Mo’ Problems (32-30)

Semi-Finals -Division A

We know the winner of this game will go on to face the Allstars, while the other Semi-Final matchup will feature the two versus three matchup as the Braves take on the Party Crashers. Both games are scheduled for Monday August 8^th, so you will have to wait for next week’s article to read my prediction on those contests.

Division B – Quarterfinals

*All Div. B games are scheduled to take place on Tuesday August 2nd @Loyola

(1) Silent Ticklers versus (8) Mangoose @ 7PM

Previous Meetings:

Silent Ticklers (46-26) Week 5  

Silent Ticklers (34-28) Week 7

As you can see, the first matchup was a blowout, and the second one came down to one possession. That is an indication of how much Mangoose has improved throughout the second half of the season. Not only has the team notched all their wins during that part of the schedule, but the team has improved offensively from averaging 12 points a game to 30. Regardless of the improvements, the numbers that matter most are the two losses against their opponents this year.

For Mangoose to get the victory, they will first and foremost have to protect the ball. In both meetings combined, Quarterback Nicolas Schaefer was intercepted three times. Mangoose has the speed advantage in this atchup, and they must use it to keep the Silent Ticklers’ defense off-balance, with not just deep passes, but crossing routes over the short and intermediate parts of the field.

On defense, the Mangoose must find a way to slow down the Silent Ticklers’ offense, as Quarterback Jordan Panetta the presumed starting pivot, has completed 31 of 47 passes for 11 touchdowns. Both of his highest QB Ratings 142.6 and 129.5, have both come against them.

For the Silent Ticklers to knock off Mangoose once and for all, they will need to continue to feed the dynamic duo of Adam Rosen and Daniel Mancini. Although he only played in the first meeting between both teams, Rosen, had five catches for 91 yards and four touchdowns. Mancini played both games, and he made just as big of an impact with 11 receptions for 188 yards and four TDs. Getting those two the ball early and often will be important, as will making sure to work in Vincent Dagenais, Tysen Otis Copeland, and Andrew Blevings.

On defense, this team must continue to be aggressive with Defensive Backs like Copeland, Blevings, and Panetta, to give time to Rusher Mike Zenobi to do what he does best, and rush Schaefer into quick throws.

Will the Silent Ticklers complete the sweep, or will the third time be the charm for Mangoose? I think it will be the former.

Final Score: Silent Ticklers (36-26)   

(2) B-Raves versus (7) Touch It Catch It @ 7PM

Previous Meeting: Touch It Catch It (39-0) Week 7

I am not going to go too much into the previous meeting as the normal B-Raves squad didn’t play in the game, and they were replaced by an entire team of subs. Regardless of who took the field, Touch It Catch It deserves credit for pitching a shutout, as that is never an easy task to accomplish.

Looking at tomorrow’s game, I think it is safe to assume that nobody will be held off the scoreboard.

The B-Raves don’t seem to care about the regular season all that much, and can you blame them? Whether it is this team, or the squad they have in Division A, this group is built to win a championship, and they have tons of hardware on their side to prove it.

Touch It Catch It has talent, and after looking lost especially on offense at the halfway point of the season, the team has been playing better football the last few weeks, as they have won two of their last three games and got a much-needed victory against Thor’s Hammer to close out the regular season, in arguably the best game TICI has played this year.

Their offense has weapons in AJ Gomes, Mathieu Houle, Michael Gattuso, Snapper Nicholas Gomes-Risso, and emerging star WR Nicholas Groppini. Marc-André Lapointe and Isiah Allard are more than capable of making an impact as well, when given the opportunity. Although they have combined for 10 touchdowns, the duo surprisingly only has 24 catches.

The two biggest questions that must be answered with this team is which Fred Mallette will show up? Will it be the one who looked overwhelmed, inconsistent, and most importantly inaccurate throughout the majority of first half of the season, or will it be the one who has ironed some of the kinks in his game, cut down his interceptions, and raised both his completion percentage, and touchdown rate over the second half? We will find out, as they need to keep up with the B-Raves offense. Can they do it without making mistakes?

The last question is whether the Touch It Catch It defense can contain the B-Raves offense. If TICI has one thing going in their favour, it is that they have some ballhawks on their team, and length on their side, in Gomes, Allard, and Mallette. They will need it, as they attempt to slow down the likes of Mike Pierrecin, William Trottier, Georges Gariépy, Lauriane Beauchamp, and Jean-Nicolas Brenko.

Are Touch It Catch It the deeper team? Yes. Are the B-Raves the same team as the one in Division A? No, but they are still a championship contender, and more importantly, they are still led by Quarterback Jonathan Maheu. The smart money says take the better QB and team.

Final Score: B-Raves (32-26)

(3) Thor’s Hammer versus (6) BYOB @ 8PM

Previous Meeting: Thor’s Hammer (31-26) Week 3

This matchup sees the third-ranked offense in Thor’s Hammer, taking on the number one defense in BYOB.

In the previous meeting, Thor’s Hammer won the contest on a game-winning touchdown by Quaid Johnson – his fourth of the night – with five plays remaining. The nail was hammered into the BYOB coffin, when Quarterback Mathieu René was intercepted by James Drysdale with two plays left in the game.

The main thing that stands out about the game besides the four touchdowns by Johnson, was that Thor’s Hammer got the victory, without starting Quarterback Jeff Rosenblatt, as he was replaced by Stephen Harripersaud. The change worked out, as the veteran QB threw five touchdown passes, and completed at least one pass to six different receivers.

Things will be back to normal as Rosenblatt will be behind Snapper Tuesday night. Unfortunately for BYOB, that doesn’t mean things will get any easier, as the six-time All-Star has recorded the second-best season of his career, with 41 touchdowns, a 72% completion rate, a 127.3 QB Rating, and averaging nearly 12 yards per pass (11.6).

For as solid as Rosenblatt has been, his pass-catchers have been just as good. That group starts with Anthony Brisebois, who finished first in receiving TDs with 25, yards with 846, and second in catches with 56 (one off the lead held by Joel Malkin of the Moretti Crime Family), should either win Receiver or Two-Way Player of the Year, or perhaps both.

It doesn’t end there though, as Thor’s Hammer also has a ton of other playmakers in James Drysdale, Benjamin McMahon, Noah Groper, Adam Rockman, and of course Johnson. It will fall on the BYOB defense to try and slow down this dangerous unit.

The task in doing so, will fall on the shoulders of stalwart defenders in Sebastien Simon, Mathieu Lepage, Vincent Benjamin, Ryan Perry, and Mattey Ossom. The team will also have Phil Cutler available, which gives the defense another ballhawk. The unit will need to give Rusher Julien Paiement time to get to Rosenblatt and try to force him into bad throws.

On offense, Quarterback Mathieu René, will need to avoid turnovers, which has been the Achillies Heel of this explosive offense, as he is first in interceptions among playoff QBs with 15, and second to last in both completion percentage and QB Rating with 59.3% and 95.9 respectively. He has never seen a deep shot he didn’t like to take, but he will need to work the short and intermediate parts of the field more often, and not chuck so many 50-50 balls when he does go long, especially when he is under pressure.

This team has weapons at Receiver, in Perry, Simon, Lepage, Paiement, and Ariel Librati. Will it be enough to knock off a Thor’s Hammer squad at full strength?

Thor’s Hammer comes into the contest not playing their best ball over their last two games, as they only managed to score 20 points in an eight-point win over the last-place Junkyard Dogs and are coming off a surprising (46-40) upset loss to Touch It Catch It, to close the regular season. Not exactly inspiring.

Even if you account for all that, Thor’s Hammer is still the better team, and has the deeper roster, I think they will pull it out.  

Final Score: Thor’s Hammer (33-21)

(4) Brand New versus (5) Moretti Crime Family @ 8PM

Previous Meetings:

Moretti Crime Family (38-33) Week 3

Moretti Crime Family (40-26) Week 7

In the first meeting despite getting four touchdowns by Receiver Chris Milard, and a pick-six by Jordan Lessard, Brand New, still fell short as the Moretti Crime Family’s Gabriel Wiseman scored a six-yard game-winning touchdown (his third of the evening) on the second to last play of the game.

 In the rematch, Brand New held a (26-21) halftime lead, then left their offense on the sideline the rest of the game, as they were outscored (19-0) in the second stanza.

In that second meeting, the Moretti Crime Family went with Rocco Christiano at Quarterback, as Joey Taylor was unavailable. Just like Thor’s Hammer, the MCF offense didn’t fall off without their starter, as Christiano threw for five touchdowns, three went to the Div. C leader in catches in Joel Malkin, and two went to Justin Lerner.

The top offense in Division B, will try to make it three wins in a row against Brand New. To accomplish that, they will need to do what they did in the first two meetings, capitalize on turnovers, and spread the ball around to all their receivers to stretch out their opponent’s defense. In addition to Malkin, Lerner, and Wiseman, this team also has weapons with names like Dom Benevento, Zach Zwirn, and Brandon Aylward. Joey Taylor will need to get them involved.

Confidence has never been a problem for this team, and it has to be sky-high right now, as they come into the playoffs winners of four in a row, including a big regular season finale victory over the first place Silent Ticklers. The biggest thing this team must do, is not let their recent success get to their heads, and avoid making mistakes at the wrong times, as they occasionally get in their own way. Can accomplish both?

For Brand New to finally crack the puzzle that is the Moretti Crime Family, they will need to first and foremost protect the ball. In their last meeting, Quarterback Rob Robinson threw four interceptions, three of which were hauled in by Defensive Back Eddy Lee, who had a phenomenal game. That simply cannot happen again. The team’s offense also turned the ball over on downs in the second half.

The team will also need their Receivers to step up. Carter Soles had a great game with five grabs for 105 yards and two touchdowns. The team also got TDs from the always reliable duo of Darnell Kevis Riley and Dan Dick, but the team’s two best pass-catchers in Marco Bertoldi and Vince Nardone, combined for only three catches and 59 yards. That simply won’t get it done, by two players who are as good as they are. Chris Milard missed that game, so his presence in the lineup will make a difference, but they can’t turn their offense into a one-man show as they did in their first showdown.

It is hard to beat a team three times in a season, and if sports have shown us anything, it is that the four versus five matchup is never a sure thing. Although they are the lower seed, I think that the Moretti Crime Family are the better team, and I pick them to win the game.

Final Score: Moretti Crime Family (40-35)

Here it is, the final regular season power rankings. No, I did not forget anyone this week.

Power Rankins – Division A

Allstars (8-1-1) – Last Week 1st

Braves (6-4) – Last Week: 3rd

Party Crashers (5-5) – Last Week: 2nd

The Apocalypse (3-7) – Last Week: 5th

Mo’ Khans, Mo’ Problems (4-5-1) – Last Week: 4th

KGP (2-6-2) – Last Week: 6th

Power Rankings – Division B

Silent Ticklers (7-3) – Last Week: 4th

B-Raves (7-3) – Last Week: 1st

Moretti Crime Family (6-4) – Last Week 7th

Thor’s Hammer (6-4) – Last Week: 2nd

Brand New (6-4) – Last Week: 3rd

BYOB (5-4-1) – Last Week: 5th

Touch It Catch It (4-6) – Last Week: 8th

Mangoose (2-8) – Last Week: 6th

Junkyard Dogs (1-8-1) – Last Week: 9th

Picks (Favorites in bold)

Mo’ Khans, Mo’ Problems vs The Apocalyspe – Mo’ Khans, Mo’ Problems (My pick for game of the week)

Silent Ticklers vs Mangoose – Silent Ticklers

B-Raves vs Touch It Catch It – B-Raves

Thor’s Hammer vs BYOB – Thor’s Hammer

Brand New vs Moretti Crime Family – Moretti Crime Family (Upset Special)

Last Week: (6-4-1)

Regular Season: (39-19-3)

Upset Special: (7-6-1)

That is it for this week. Good luck to everybody in their playoff games tonight and this week. Have a great rest of the weekend. I am leaving for vacation next Friday, so I will try to put out the article either Thursday night, or Friday morning.

The playoffs are finally here! Yes, I am excited.

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