Two more rounds.

With Division 2’s ‘Wild card’ over, we’re now two games away from the finals. Two games away from playing for the Title. With every game considered a coin toss at this point, I can’t wait to see how Saturday unfolds; we’re in for a hell of a ride!

Let’s get started,

 

 

Week 12

Clockwork managed to repel Gladiateurs in a shoot out as predicted, BYOB dropped 50 on S Club Legion to advance to the next round, STL clawed their way out of a fight against Braves 2.0 to knock them out of contention and CLR Forces survived their matchup against Terror Squad.

 

Thoughts of the Week

• Oh, Hi D1. Long time no see!
• Gotta give some props to Maxime Paterson for 13 catches in a playoff game last week!
• Top Guns did lose a finals (Fall Cup) 6 against 5 (vs the Braves). Can they turn around and pull the upset themselves against Montreal’s Finest? How ironic would it have been if they played Braves?
• Can any of the lower seed upset in D1?
• Is playing the Finest the kiss of death in Winter seasons?
• Monstars playing Braves…. At least one of the two newcomers will move on to the next round?
• Could We P.O actually survive without Vinny Gualano and see him return for the finals?
• We’ve had some amazing playoff games so far, I hope the trend continues.
• I have 3 out of 4 division 1 game finishing by 2+ scores. Not a single one in Division 2. Interesting.
• As much as I like #NR this season, no one in Division 2 has that ‘clear-cut favorite’ status the way Montreal’s Finest does.

 

Players of the Week

• Jacques Void (BYOB): He looked unstoppable on offence last week finishing with 91 receiving yards and 3 TDs. Exactly what they needed!
• Theo Ojeaha (STL): 10 catches, 126 yards, 2 TDs and an interception on defence. The kind of game STL needed from their best player.
• Marco Masciotra (Clockwork): In a game where he needed to put up points, he did just that; 7 TDs, no interceptions and whoppin’ 270 passing yards.

 

Playoff Previews

• Flag Moi L’Sac (3rd) vs DK (6th)

Previous meeting: 40 – 32 Flag Moi L’Sac (Week 2), 25 – 18 DK (Week 9)

Having played each other twice, in two different circumstances, I have a hard time predicting how this will go down. The main thing coming into this game is Alexandre Nadeau-Piuze’s presence; not only as a QB but also as a defensive player. Without him, DK should, once again, win this matchup. If he’s present, Flag Moi L’Sac has been special this season and I don’t see DK being able to stop this train dead in their tracks. Francois Rocheleau has been a revelation as a rusher this season and should force a few early throws even against an experienced QB like Rochdi Benabdelkader. As impressive as the DK roster is, I do think this is a bad draw for them and they do not have the right matchups to stop FMS’ offence. Can Rochdi Benabdelkader have a perfect game and win solely on converts?

Key factor: Alexandre Nadeau-Piuze’s presence.

Prediction: 46 – 32 Flag Moi L’Sac

 

• Braves (4th) vs Monstars (5th)

Previous meeting: 43 – 38 Braves (Week 1)

Probably the most intriguing matchup in Division 1 this week. I don’t consider neither teams to be an actual favorite coming into this game which makes this even more exciting. Both teams are new to D1 and one of them is bound to make it to the ‘Final Four’; pretty good all things considered. Monstars had a very hot start of the season, but hit a rough patch on the back-end; Braves was the other way around. After a long hiatus, playoffs are here and I wonder who’ll be at the top of their game. Matchup-wise, I don’t even know who has the upper hand here, so it might come down to who has the final possession or which defence is able to force the opposing QB to make a mistake late in the game. Expect a barn burner.

Key factor: Stopping Jean-Daniel Chevalier

Prediction: 44 – 39 Braves

 

• D-Boys (2nd) vs Got-Skills (7th)

Previous meeting: 31 – 19 D-Boys (Week 3)

Aside from playing Montreal’s Finest, this has to be Got-Skills’ worse possible draw. Excelling at finding ways to attack zones and pick apart a defence, Got-Skills made a name of themselves in the higher division using their heads in most situations. The only problem here is they do not win the matchups across the board and every yard will be a fight; not the easiest way to go into a playoff game. D-Boys’ offence should be able to score a handful of times and I don’t see them allowing more than 25-30 points; can the Marco Masciotra-led offence score 30+ once again? This might be the lowest scoring game of the 4 Division 1 games, but it might also be one of the most exciting one to watch.

Key factor: Got-Skills scoring 5+ TDs

Prediction: 38 – 26 D-Boys

 

• Montreal’s Finest (1st) vs Top Guns (8th)

Previous meeting: 47 – 32 Montreal’s Finest (Week 7)

Playing Montreal’s Finest in the playoffs is TOUGH. Playing them with only 5 eligible players on the roster? Practically impossible. Paul Lapierre is a good QB, I’ve said it all year and I do believe he’s been making miracles with his roster to be able to compete in Division 1, but sadly their season ends here. They’ll probably be able to make a few plays, score and enjoy themselves, but I don’t think this game will be close and the Finest should be able to move to the next round without breaking too much of a sweat.

Key factor: 6 vs 5 all game?

Prediction: 51 – 31 Montreal’s Finest

 

 

• We P.O (3rd) vs BYOB (6th)

Previous meeting: N/A

We P.O are without their QB for this game (and potentially the next one too if they win). Is this the perfect draw? Potentially. Sean Avraam (I’m assuming) could score plenty against this BYOB defence with the receivers he’ll have in this game. Is he a better fit? No. Can he get the job done? Definitely. He won’t be facing the best defence in the division, which should help, but it’s guaranteed that Mathieu Rene will do everything in his power to turn this into a shoot out and a race to 50 once again (Which he excels at). For once, it’s not going to come down to the plays of the QBs at hand, but rather their supporting cast and who can make just enough plays to elevate their team to the next round. Glossing over both rosters, I’d be inclined to say that We P.O are still, even without Vinny Gualano, favorites in this one.

Key factor: Stopping Jacques Void

Prediction: 39 – 33 We P.O

 

• You Can’t Sit With Us (4th) vs Clockwork (5th)

Previous meeting: 47 – 40 Clockwork (Week 4)

The last time these two teams faced (which was a while alone), this game turned into a blood bath and both offences exceeded expectations. Can they repeat the feat? Both teams are built around their offensive output and a similar score is to be expected in this great rematch. YCSWU’s depth might hurt them against a team like Clockwork who doesn’t lean on a single receiver to get the job done, but exploits matchups and goes to whatever is most favorable. After seeing how Clockwork performed last week against Gladiateurs, there’s no doubting in their abilities. Can You Can’t Sit With Us get their revenge this time around?

Key matchup: First to get an interception wins?

Prediction: 46 – 40 Clockwork

 

• #NR (1st) vs CLR Forces (10th)

Previous meeting: 39 – 30 #NR (Week 2)

A very interesting matchup in every aspect. CLR Forces has a very good offence that can score on most opponents. #NR has one of the best defence in the division and should be able to go toe-to-toe with anyone. If it doesn’t come down to matchups, then what? Which QB makes the first mistake? In that case, I’d have to sit with Cory Pecker over Fred Dupuis, but it’s close. This game should be much closer than most people expect and as much as CLR Forces should be able to put up a good fight, #NR is having a special season and I don’t think they’ll be bounced out of the race in the first round that easily.

Key matchup: Stopping Anthony Vendrame + Guillaume Ward

Prediction: 44 – 33 #NR

 

• Waste Yout (2nd) vs STL (9th)

Previous meeting: 28 – 20 STL (Week 10)

Probably the worse draw for Waste Yout; not only did they lose to STL very recently (week 10), but the matchups across the board aren’t in their favor. Waste Yout’s offence should be able to roll efficiently, but can their defence slow down Dylan Taylor’s offence? Not if he spreads the ball well and exploits matchups in the way we all know he can. I expect Waste Yout to find a way to ‘Take away’ Theo Ojeaha and Justene Edwards, but let’s not forget how deep this STL roster is and that they’ve still got Jamie Ojeaha and Julian McLaren-Thompson ready to pounce and break a game open. If this turns into a shoot out, I might give STL the edge to make a play late in the game to seal it for their team. Waste Yout will need to get an early lead and force STL to play catch up all game to put pressure back in their hands and capitalize on the smallest of mistakes to come out on top.

Key matchup: Jarryd Taylor vs Theo Ojeaha

Prediction: 39 – 32 STL

 

That’s it for me this week. Hopefully this will trigger you just enough to drop me a message either via email ([email protected]), twitter (@DagenaisFPF) or in person. Remember, I didn’t do this to you, YOU did this to you. Until next time…! I don’t have a clever quote for you Eags as we didn’t do the Pods yet, but hey, at least I say Hi to you!