The Wrath of Khan (Div A) – Week 9

What did I learn from last weekend? The Stoop Bowl will have significant meaning this weekend. The Kingz looked like Queenz. The world has come to an end with the rushing position in DA.

Stoop Bowl

Who wants the last playoff spot? Rainmakers, or O.N.S.? Three weeks ago it looked like the Rainmakers had the longest odds given that O.N.S. had the upper hand in wins, and games in-hand.

Today, the roles have been somewhat reversed, as the Rainmakers now hold the hammer to nail down their invitation to the playoffs. Meanwhile, the O.N.S. have a daunting task ahead of them this weekend.

All the Rainmakers need to is win, or tie this weekend and they can setup their dinner date with the Kingz (provided they don’t falter in their last two games).

What does each team need to do to win this game (or to avoid losing this game)?

Rainmakers: Simply put, they need to execute their high octane offense to perfection. On a good night, they can match any offensive output set forth by their opponents.

That means, Ryan Kastner will need to get the ball out of his hands as soon as possible, and allow his receivers to gain huge chunks of yardage afterwards. The one cardinal sin he must not commit is to hold on to the ball too long, if he does, he is a sitting duck waiting to get sacked.

His cohorts, such as Bobby Mikelberg, Michael Chitiyat (provided he is healthy), and to an extent Derek Kastner all have to dig deep, and make all the plays. The potential exists for this team to score 40-plus points a game, provided this trio is on their game.

However, given the daily turnover on their gameday roster, which lineup will appear this weekend?  Kastner will have to start making his phone calls now to make sure everyone he needs will be in attendance (also playoff eligible). Otherwise, it could be a difficult night for the Rainmakers.

O.N.S.: They need Kevin Wyeth there! It is obvious, without him, this team resembles nothing more than a below average DB team. With Wyeth in the lineup, he has the ability to control the tempo of the game.

With all due respect, in general, the roster simply does not have enough talent to matchup with the better, experienced, and seasoned players in DA.

O.N.S. will need to rely upon the arm of Wyeth to lead them to the dance. Furthermore, he has had success playing with below average teams. In winter of 2009 he took a Pacmen team to the second round of the D2 playoffs.

Beyond Wyeth, his supporting cast has to hold onto the football. Far too many drops for this group! There were many instances where O.N.S. could have scored, but ended up having stone hands. If they can catch the football, then they have chance.

The Final Conclusion: Can the Rainmakers make a stop on defense? In their last two wins, the Rainmakers have held their opponents to below 32-points. For their standards of defense, that is phenomenal. They continue to play a lot of man to man coverage feeling confident that their McGill athletes can matchup well with their opponents.

If they are to be successful, they will need their defense to come up with a big turnover against the usually flawless Kevin Wyeth.

For O.N.S. to be victorious, they will need to score points at a premium. They can ill-afford to leave any potential points on the board. Keep an eye out for their redzone offense. It has been especially difficult for them to score inside the five yard line.

For some twisted reason, it seems their offense comes to a sudden halt. If they can sharpen their redzone offense, it will be awfully difficult to defeat them.

Wyeth has played his best games against the Rainmakers in years past. So he knows their defense very well, and can he counter whatever they throw at him and his vaunted offensive play calls.

All that being said, it will come down to simply who wants it more.  

Kingz Looked Like Queenz

I guess everyone has jumped off the Queenz bandwagon.  Yes, team captain, Rey Starwar mentioned that his quarterback, Frank Lebeau had a baseball game. But for them to come out like they did, especially since they had a chance of grabbing a bye week. It is awfully disappointing.

Shockers, team president, Ross Castleton mentioned before the taping of the WEPL, that their defensive philosophy was based on what Redemption (division B) applied against them last spring season.

To the surprise of no one on the Shockers roster, it worked to perfection!  Lebeau did not have one of his better games, as he only completed 31-percent of his passes. 

Once again the Kingz (Queenz) got a first hand look at Andre Knights, as he had two interceptions on the night. Alex Lever, who in winter ’09, initiated the infamous quote; “Who is Andre Knights”? Was shutdown by the Shockers, as he was held to a mere three catches.

The Kingz have two games left against the Triple Sixers, and Goodfellas. If somehow, they lose both games by a big scoreline, and the Shockers win their game against the Mercenaries by huge margin. They could potentially fall down to the fourth seed, as opposed to the third spot, the currently hold.

So which Kingz team is the real deal? The team that defeated the Mercenaries a few weeks ago, or the one that looked flat as the Canadian prairies against the Shockers?   

Shockers Fooled Me

Well the Shockers fooled me. From all indications, there will be no Fred Dupuis taking snaps as their quarterback for the duration of the season. As a result, Kishon Thompson will lead the troops into the eye of the hurricane in hopes of successfully defending their DA crown.

During the taping of the WEPL, Castleton proudly said that Thompson has more wins as a quarterback this season than O.N.S.’ Kevin Wyeth. Which is true, but I am sure if there was survey taken within the FPF walls, most will take Wyeth as their quarterback.

Daron Basmadjian = Mark Gastineau

I think the FPF world is coming to an end when the WEPL’s own Daron Basmadjian is rushing for the Triple Sixers in DA instead of D4. At first, I thought it was a prank being played on Basmadjian. But there he was with his “cheetah-like” speed rushing Rainmakers quarterback, Ryan Kastner.

Furthermore, it is quite the sight to see his picture in the weekly stats leader board, as opposed to being in a column he wrote.

So congrats to Basmadjian, as far as spring seasons go, he has one more career sack than this scribe. Too bad is he not eligible for the playoffs!

Percentages%

5%, that the Shockers will finish in third place.

5%, that Shockers are not too concerned if they are the fourth, or fifth seed in the playoffs.

15%, that the Kingz will win both games this weekend.

20%, that Kevin Wyeth will equal the number of wins (2) that has Kishon Thompson has as QB.

25%, that the Rainmakers-O.N.S. game will finish in a tie.

30%, that we will see an upset this weekend.