Tier 3 Awards Prediction and Wildcard Round

Playoffs are starting today for tier 3 with our wildcard round. The regular season is over and I can now make my picks for the different awards. It was a pretty short season and a lot of players excelled at every position. There are different arguments to be made for multiple contenders for the awards, and none of these picks will be easy to make. 4 different awards, and only 4 different winners. 

Best Quarterback : Zack Stacey/West Island Boys

Zack Stacey want scored 39 touchdowns while only throwing 5 picks, and getting sacked only 7 times. He completed over 68% of his passes with an average of 10.3 yards per pass, while boasting a 117.1 QBR. His 1356 passing yards weren’t at the top but he’s the QB who scored the most, and he limited turnovers. He brought his team to a 7-0-1 record, while using every single one of his receivers, with all 8 getting at least 110 yards. 

For number 2, I have Alessandro Barazzoni who scored 36 touchdowns with only 4 picks and 7 sacks. He completed 71.4% of his passes and threw for 1339 yards. He also brought his team to and 8-0-0 record.

For number 3, I have Matthew Zeppetelli who had 35TDs and only 6 interceptions and 12 sacks, but he also added 3 rushing touchdowns and added 162 rushing yards to his 1355 passing yards.

Honorable mention to Brady Ohanessian who threw for 32 touchdowns and only 3 interceptions whole getting sacked only twice and 1198 yards, though he did all this in only 6 games played.

Best Receiver : Guillaume Dufresne/Bleue Dry

While it wasn’t the greatest season for Bleue Dry, Dufresne was especially dominant. He caught 35 passes on 54 targets to amass 634 yards and 15TDs. His 11.74 yards per target is among the top is one of the best in the division, and he did all that in only 7 games. 

At number 2 I have Tyler Gurberg who had 639 yards and 16TDs, though with almost 100 targets and 64 receptions. Gurberg loses the award due to the inefficiency.

At number 3 I have Thomas Moorjani-Houle who had 568 yards and 13TDs on only 44 targets and 33 catches. His 12.9 yards per target is phenomenal. 

Honorable mentions to Bekim Borova and AJ Zeppetelli.

Best defensive player : Rocco Cristiano

8 picks with 3 brought back for TDs as well as 2 PDs. He helped his team to become one of the best defenses in tier 3 and he did it in only 7 games.

At number 2 I have Ethan Adrian with his 14 sacks in only 7 games.

At number 3, I have Alexandre Delisle with 5 interceptions, 1 sack, 6 PDs and a pick 6. 

Honorable mentions to Alexandre Szalipski and Alexandre Bordeleau. Good job Alexs.

Best two-way player: Manu Allard Roy

His 518 yards and 14TDs were right there offensively and he also added 6 interceptions, a PD and a pick-6. He was the best defensive player on the team that got the most picks, while also having to share targets on offense with myself.

At number 2 I have Sam Anastasopoulos who had 425 yards and 12TDs, as well as 7 interceptions, 4 PDs and a pick-6.

At number 3, James Wiseman with 438 yards and 11 TDs, with 3 interceptions, a pick-6 and 3PDs.

Honorable mentions to Zack Stacey and Brady Ohanessian who balled out defensively while being stud quarterbacks.

Wildcard round

In N’ Out (21)vs. West Island Knights (20)

I’ll take West Island Knights in this one. They’ve had a lot of struggles but have had some decent results in their losses. They’re very athletic and have a more potent offense than In N’ Out.

Upper bracket

Killer Rays (7) vs. Mengoose (10)

Killer Rays have shown that they can hang with the top dogs of the division and so have Mengoose. Felix-Antoine Lavigne has really stepped up his game the past few games and Mengoose have some stud receivers. Tyler Gurberg and Tylar Bianchi will be the ones to watch as they will look to bounce back from the Idaho Udapimps loss on Wednesday. Give me Killer Rays in this one.

Joes Panini (8) vs. Born in the 80s (9)

Joes Panini were slightly better throughout the season but Matthew Zeppetelli has been struggling lately, with tough losses to Mengoose and Bandits, and an unconvincing win over Lightwork. Unfortunately for Born in the 80s, David De Andrade went down in their final game and he will be out for the remained of the playoffs. In his place, Mederic Lauzon will suit up at quarterback, which is honestly a great replacement. Lauzon hasn’t had a full season at QB since Winter 2023 and may be rusty, and playing with new players always means that chemistry will need to be built. I think Joes Panini take this one, but look out for Born in the 80s in that lower bracket if that happens.

Lower Bracket

Bandits (13) vs. West Island Knights (20)

Bandits will only know their opponent an hour prior to the game, and I assume it will be West Island Knights. While Bandits struggled initially, they’ve won 3 of their last 4 with a notably huge win against Joes Panini last week. If Emile Skaf limits the mistakes, Bandits should have no issue disposing of their opponent.

Rico Ryders (14) vs. The Rudeboyz (19)

Rico Ryders have had some ups and downs this season, but they ended with a huge win over Bebes Dragons Magiques. Matthew Yanakoulias has been turnover prone this season and Rudeboyz have some really good defenders. Trevor Ruffner seems to have taken over at QB for them and has done pretty decent. This will be a game of which quarterback will throw the less picks in my opinion, and I have to go with Ruffner. Give me The Rudeboyz.

Griffnation (15) vs. Wide Open Bar (18)

Griffnation’s Olivier Sabourin has done a really good job at QB with 31TDs and 12 interceptions. Thomas Moorjani-Houle has been great and will be hard to stop for Wide Open Bar. Their big win against Born in the 80s really gave me some confidence about this squad. As for Wide Open Bar, Louis Lussier has been great with his feet, but has struggled with his arm. He has thrown for 23 TDs but 13 picks and got sacked a whopping 17 times. Lussier is really talented but will need to limit the bad decisions. I think Griffnation takes this one.

Bleue Dry (16) vs. Bebes Dragons Magiques (17)

Bleue Dry have a lot of talent on their squad, and Frederic Juneau is in my opinion one of the best QBs in this division. His receivers seem to have let him down a couple times this season, but i don’t know how Bebes Dragons Magiques stop Guillaume Dufresne. If Yvan Desjardins turns it around, the Dragons will have a lot on their plate. While Guillaume Boulanger has been solid for them, the team struggles defensively and will need to find ways to stop Dufresne. I’m taking Bleue Dry.

There you guys have it for this week, good luck if you are playing today.