The War Room (D3) – Championship Recap

It was honestly a true pleasure to have watched the FPF finals last weekend, as our league demonstrated the true quality of football available at each level. Although two of the games were lopsided in score, the other two more than made up for it in sheer excitement. I have never experienced a game as emotional and as back and forth as the D1 final. It was easily the best game of flag ever played in FPF history. The perennial favourite, Hurricanes were defeated in quadruple overtime by a hungry and vengeful Finest squad. I must thank those individuals for putting on such a performance as it will be awhile until another game like that reoccurs. Andre Knights made a case for Flag player of the year, as he torched the Canes on multiple occasions and was flying around on defense in an almost Ed Reed like manner. Both Qb’s were on fire and to be honest, it came down to the defences of each team, with Khan and company coming up big in the last 5 plays. Challenger did his best impersonation of Santonio Holmes with a legendary diving two feet in bounds conversion to win it all and make history. It really did cap an exciting season of football, one which will not be forgotten for awhile.

The D2 final wasn’t much to talk about, as the Waterbuffs decimated the poor Wolfpack who although had a very successful season, demonstrated why critics had argued that conference B was weak. The Waterbuffaloes are no longer the uninspired team which shows up for some matches and plays it easy on others. They had a tough road ahead of them in the playoffs and they outplayed every single one of their opponents to hoist the cup. O’Brian put on a clinic, with the added leadership of Chad Byers, who was a deadly halfback in the redzone. The Wolfpack can rest assured that this season was a building point for more success, as they almost won a championship in there second season in D2.

But a personal game for me was the Wildcats vs Swat matchup. It was personal because I had covered this division for 14 straight weeks. I had watched many games, scouted many teams and played in a season worth of games. At no single point in the season did I see this final occurring, and I wasn’t alone in my ignorance of the talent of both these teams. Wildcats shocked the world making it to the finals on their now legendary “man on man” defence. Swat, marred in controversy, were an offensive machine based on the excellent talent of their QB Gino DiFazio and go to receivers S. Haney and S. Lyrisist. Both never got the respect they truly deserved, and for this I apologize. The game started off rough for Qb Chadi who didn’t have the best of game but more than made up for it at the end. What really surprised us was how well DiFazio was connected with his center in the first half. Wildcats were covering the outsides very well but leaving soft coverage on the center position. This was troubling the Wildcats all game until moving Regimbald on him in the second half. As for the Swat defense, they seemed hungry and more aggressive to the football in the first half. Had you asked anyone at halftime who was to win this game, it just seemed like it was Swats to lose. As the second half unfolded, the Wildcats began desperation mode, bringing forth more elaborate routes and aggresitivity than their unusual nervous start. Swat on the other hand, seemed slightly hesistant and sedated in the second half. I’m not sure whether it was out of complacency or if the Wildcats had somehow exposed Swats weaknesses on defence but the games momentum really began to swing into the Wildcats favour. As a sideline reporter, I could feel the frustration that many of the SWAt players were feeling, letting an opponent back into the game and slowly feel like a championship was eluding them. The defining moment of the game was the Hail Mary from Chadi to Regimbald with two plays left to shock the FPF world. The pass was over the seam between both safety and Ripped out of the sky by hero and D3 legend Kevin Regimbald.

Watching him catch that ball with such authority seemed to define the Wildcat’s season; “an opportunity snatched out of the sky”. This was a common theme for them. They had seized their opportunities all playoff long, when nobody believed in them. They never questioned themselves. They knew we thought their chances were a joke, they showed us. They had their backs against the wall, and much to their reputation they pushed back. They simply were the team willing to do what it took to win, and that catch, that single moment, was where the total embodiment of what defined a champion took place. Their excitement and elation was infectious, we were all happy for them. At least, I knew I was. I have nothing against Swat, they whooped my ass in the playoffs and to be frank I would have been proud with seeing my teammate Shawn Haney raise that championship high. But it just seemed fitting that the Wildcats would win in such a clutch manner. FPF had such a competitive year, where hard work, dedication, emotions and talent come together as one to demonstrate the champions. The Wildcats were the poster boys for all these traits, and the tragedy in this was it took us 14 weeks to realize. My congrats to the Wildcats for proving us all wrong and a warm welcome to D2 next year. You certainly won’t fly under the radar anymore.