Upsets Galore as Regular Season Ends

Ladies and gentleman, boys and girls, after 9 weeks of high-paced action, the regular season is finally in the books. We got to see a lot of good football and exciting plays in that period.

This past week was the week of upsets in FPF Junior, as all 3 underdogs pulled out victories in their respective games.

The Wolverines rode an impressive performance by the Fleming brothers, Dean and Mason, who combined for 2 touchdowns and two interceptions, to knock off the previously 1-loss Tigers, 32-20.

The Wolverines also got another great performance out of two-way stud, Camdyn Jeremiah, who not only caught 3 passes for 38 yards and a TD, also ran for a score, and was all over the field on the defensive end with a game-high 6 tackles.

Emerging pass rusher Brayden Bevan recorded 2 sacks in the game, and now has a remarkable 7 QB takedowns in his last 6 games.

Bevan and Jeremiah’s efforts on defense along with contributors Nicholas Kousaie, and Hayden Lebel-Latter, really helped propel the unit to a dominant first half, that saw the Tigers tie a season-low first half score of only 6 points. 

The top Wolverine performance of the afternoon however, goes out to QB Amari Swayers. The mighty pivot outplayed his counterpart Trey Bentley- which is easier said than done- as he not only attacked the Tigers with his big arm, but more importantly, he played mistake-free football unlike his league-leading counterpart who threw 2INTs. Out of all the factors that went into the Wolverines win, that might have been the biggest difference right there.

The second upset saw the Hurricanes finally knocked off their throne, as they were handed their first loss of the season by the Longhorns. The game had a uniqueness to it, as it saw the FPF Jr debut of Marcus Pluviose, and what a debut it was. The newcomer made an instant impact for his team on both sides of the ball. The matchup also saw the return of ‘Canes DB Isabella Aguiar who returned to the lineup after missing the last month of action after undergoing hernia surgery.

Aguiar helped steady a Canes’ defense that had been rotating multiple players at her left Corner Back position since her departure. She held Nathaniel Peters and Khalil Spielman in check on her side of the field, as they combined for a season-low 2 catches for 40 yards.

Back to Pluviose, not only did he shut down the Canes’ WR Gianni Frassetti; the standout WR didn’t record a single catch, but he also inflicted damage on the offensive end, as he had a team-high 5 catches for 29 yards and 2 TDs- the first of which would give his team their first lead in head-to-head matchups this year.

The second TD by Pluviose was the nail in the coffin for the Canes’. After getting a huge 33-yard catch from Nathaniel Peters that put the Longhorns in the redzone, Edghill found an open Pluviose who juked a defender and ran the ball in for a 6-yard game-winning TD. That catch and run was reminiscent of their production all day, the QB would more often than not hit his WR with short passes, and then watch the elusive Pluviose do the rest himself.

Speaking of Quarterbacks and Receivers, in last week’s article, I talked about the Horns’ Head Coach Dave Allen’s decision to use Juwan Edghill exclusively at QB, and to go with former pivot Conor Tomalty at Wide Receiver. It looks like Coach Allen has decided to make the switch permanenty, and it definitely paid off for his team on Saturday, as the dynamic duo connected on several big plays, including the Horns’ first score of the game that came on an 18-yard seam route right up the middle of the field. That score was important, as it not only tied the game up at 6-6 after a 3-yard TD by Adam Mahrouse to open the game on the Canes’ first drive of the game, but it also showed their opponents, that this would be a hard-fought back-and-forth battle.

The Longhorns’ QB also got the last laugh on his former team, as he picked off a pass by Canes QB Ryan Garber in the end zone to end the game. The dream of an undefeated season is no more. 24-18 Longhorns final.  

The final game of the afternoon saw the heavily-favoured Wolverines take on the Buckeyes. As mentioned above, the Wolverines came off of a tough win over the Tigers just a couple of hours before this game. The Buckeyes meanwhile, came in to the game winless in 5 straight games.

For the second week in a row, the Buckeyes decided to put arguably their best WR Jaden Frenette at QB. While he does struggle a little bit with accuracy, he does have a very strong arm, and as I mentioned here last week, he can hurt teams with his running ability.

Frenette didn’t waste any time proving that last statement right, as he ran for a 35-yard TD on the game’s opening drive.

The Wolverines who elected to start their other QB Tim Jeremiah under center, responded right away, as he hit his cousin, Camdyn Jeremiah, for a 27-yard pitch and catch TD on the next series.

Frenette, perhaps not wanting to be showed up by his opponents, deked, juked, and exploded down the field for a 32-yard rushing TD that gave his team a 14-7 lead, exactly one play after an unsuccessful 1-point convert on the Jeremiah score.

After a both squads turned over the ball on downs, the Jeremiah boys connected again on a big gain over the middle of the field to put the ball inside their opponent’s 5 yard line. After 3 incompletions, and facing the reality of coming away with nothing on what until that point was a promising drive, Jeremiah rolled out and found Dean Flemming for a 4-yard TD. A successful two-point conversion sent the game to the half tied at 14 apiece.

The opening drives for both teams on offense, saw each squad throw an interception that led to zero points for either side.

As could be expected, the next two drives made up for the earlier picks by having huge scoring plays. First, was a 35-yard catch and run TD by the Wolverines Camdyn Jeremiah. On the very next play, Ben Arnovitz, who was now in at QB for the buckeyes, connected with his little brother Max on a 40-yard TD to tie the game up at 20.

Now with 2 minutes left before 5 plays, and the Buckeyes looking to make a big play on defense in order to get the ball back, did more than that as Jaeden Edghill who recorded an interception earlier in the game off of Jeremiah, picked off Amari Swayers, and ran the INT back for a TD. Game. Set Match. 27-20 Buckeyes final.

What a great game, and a fantastic effort by both teams!

 

High 5

Jaeden Edghill

As you just read above, he was the hero of the game. His second of two INTs was a pic-6 that sealed the win for his team.

Juwan Edghill

He had a sack, and interception, and threw for 3 TDs. More importantly however, he finally beat his old team, and ended their path to perfection. Will he have the last laugh if both teams meet in the championship?

The Tigers’ Pass Rush

Despite losing to the Wolverines, the Tigers certainly got after their QBs all game long. Terrence Brown and Kaiden Dewey combined for a more than impressive 5 sacks on the afternoon.

Marcus Pluviose

Where has this guy been all season? The L.C.C football player had an FPF Jr debut to remember. Whether it was his lockdown defense, or his game breaking plays on offense, he played a HUGE role in knocking off the Hurricanes.

Isabella Aguiar

In her first game back in 5 weeks, she more than held her own in coverage. Her not appearing on the statsheet speaks to her skills as a corner. The good ones don’t get tested that often, and Aguiar is certainly a good one.

 

Matchups

Jose Castro (Crimson Tide) vs Juwan Edghill (Longhorns) – Out of all the potential matchups in this game, this one will be the most important. Both players are extremely quick, and use their agility to keep pays alive. Whoever wins this battle will most likely be on the winning team when things are all said and done.

Malik James (Crimson Tide) vs Khalil Spielman (Longhorns) – The last time these two teams hooked up (Week 8) Spielman couldn’t handle his former teammate, as James went off for 4 catches for 89 yards and a TD. Will Spielman learn from his mistakes this time around?

Camdyn Jeremiah (Wolverines) vs the Buckeyes Defense – Last Saturday, Jeremiah lit up the Buckeyes’ defense to the tune of 4 catches for 106 yards and 2 TDs. He also recorded a pick on Defense. For the Bucks’ to have any hope of knocking off the Wolverines for a second week in a row, they will need to limit the damage Jeremiah causes.

Jaden Frenette vs the Wolverines’ Defense – Yeah, it’s the playoffs, why not put an extra matchup in here? As we saw last week, Frenette torched the Wolverines’ defense on the ground for nearly 100 yards and 2 TDs on just 3 carries. It was enough to help his team pull off the upset. The Buckeyes have some really good speedy receiving options with the Arnovitz brothers, Jaeden Edghill, Joshua Riddoch, Malcolm De Pooter, and Maya Di Fazio. If Frenette who has gotten better each week at QB finally start hitting his targets, we could see another upset in the making.

 

Picks (Favourites in bold)

 

Buckeyes vs Wolverines

As I mentioned earlier, these two teams hooked up last Saturday, and the Buckeyes pulled off the 27-22 upset. During the regular season, the teams split the series with both sides winning two games.  I think the Wolverines’ defense will learn from the lesson they received last week, and play the run more aggressively, and force Buckeyes’ QB Jaden Frenette to beat them with his arm. So far the pivot hasn’t proven he can consistently do that, and trying to pull that off in the face of a solid pass rush by Brayden Bevan won’t be easy.

For the Wolverines offense, I think they will go with Tim Jeremiah at QB instead of Amari Swayers, due to the fact that Jeremiah has put up better numbers against the Buckeyes. In 3 games against them this year, he has 6 TDs and only 2 INTs. Swayers, on the other hand has 4 INTs and only 2 TDs in 2 games against them as a QB.  

Finally, whether it is Malcolm De Potter, Elie Fortugno, QB/DB Jaden Frenette or last week’s hero Jaeden Edghill, the Buckeyes’ defense must find a way to slow down Wolverines’ stud WR Camdyn Jeremiah, who in 4 games against them so far this year, has registered 15 catches for 183 yards and a jaw-dropping 5 TDs. I don’t think they can contain him.

Prediction: 24-18 Wolverines.  

 

Longhorns vs Crimson Tide

The QB switch has really energized the Longhorns. Although he scrambles and throws to his right far too often, Juwan Edghill is unquestionably making plays for his team. Don’t forget however, that the playmaker is still new to the position. The aforementioned matchup with Crimson Tide Rusher Jose Catro will be huge.

The Longhorns have an aggressive defense featuring pass rush specialist Shaylynn Bentley, that has a bend but don’t break mentality, has been coming up with plays as well when their backs are against the wall. They best their best game of the season last week vs the Hurricanes. They will need the same effort this Saturday in this do-or-die game against the Tide’.

Tide’ QB Avery Lalla has probably the most powerful arm out of all the Sophomore QBs. He has the same problem as Edghill does however, in that he only really throws to one side of the field. The open WRs and wasted plays on the side that he doesn’t really throw to, adds up over the season. Smart defenses will recognize this about both pivots and adjust accordingly.

The last time these two teams met up, the Longhorns came away with a hard-fought controversial 24-22 victory. I have a feeling this game will go down to the wire as well.

The Week 8 win by the Longhorns sparked a two-game winning streak. I see them making it 3 in a row this Saturday.

Prediction: 28-27 Longhorns.

 

That’s it for this week. I will see you guys on the sideline this Saturday.

If you loved the article, hated it, or simply felt I left something out, don’t be shy. You can shoot me a tweet at @BADNEWS51.