Championship Weekend

All this, all these games, all this hype; it all comes down to this. Sunday (or Monday) night, Brossard. Both finals have a very different vibe to them, but at the end, we’ve got 4 teams fighting for all the marbles and a chance to see their name up on our trophy.

Let’s get started.

 

Semi-Finals

4 Games, 4 very different vibes. Spring Cleaning barely made it out alive against Victory Royale and gave us a very fun game, Drop The Mic shot themselves in the foot against Underachievers, Braves felt too strong for Outsiders and #NR put on a show for that Game of the Week.

 

Thoughts of the Week

• Both matchups played each other twice this season. The finals will be their 3rd game in 14 weeks; crazy!
• On paper, I believed Khan Artists should’ve been the one putting up 55, but Cory Pecker played like an all-star out there and Daniel Lazzara did not.
• It was good to see Theo Ojeaha be his dominant self once again; I felt like he hasn’t truly been used that way this season.
• Drop The Mic took themselves out of that game with being late, way too many drops, etc.
• Spring Cleaning and Victory Royale gave us a really good show. Chirpy, intense, emotional. Everything we wanted it to be.
• Braves looked dominant on Tuesday. Everything went their way and never looked back. Crazy to think that happened against Kevin Wyeth.
• The last time Kevin Wyeth didn’t play in a Spring Final? Spring 2011. WOW.
• Expect the Finals Hype Videos tomorrow (hopefully).
• I’m shocked throwing the ball at someone’s face was only 5 plays off (a simple UR). Felt much more disrespectful than that.
• Donald Shepherd probably had the best catch of the post-season on Tuesday night. Nasty one-hander on a key down.
• Some of these new ratings are CRAZY. Luckily, Fall season doesn’t really take ratings into account, so it won’t matter for the next few months.
• It’s crazy to think that Braves were without JD Chevalier for that semi-final game and still blew Outsiders out of the water.
• By now, everyone knows about my bet with Lance Daniels. Soooo, c’mon Braves.

 

Recaps

• Braves vs Outsiders: We all know what Kevin Wyeth is able to do in the FPF playoffs, but this looked nothing like vantage Kevin Wyeth on Tuesday. Outsiders were clearly outmatched by Braves and didn’t have the power to fight back; Jonathan Maheu picked apart the Outsiders’ defence and had multiple matchups going his way as neither Jarryd Taylor nor Sebastien Crisi-Lauzon looked coverable on Tuesday night. With a pick-six on the second drive, Braves took an early lead and never looked back. With a 30-18 lead at halftime, this game felt pretty much done and Braves kept doing their thing in the second half to book their ticket to the finals. Outsiders had a few good matchups offensively as Chris Milard kept abusing whoever lined up in front of him, but in all honesty, it did feel like it hardly mattered as the Braves’ offence finished with only 6 incompletions in a game that felt weirdly easy when you consider who they played against.
• Khan Artists vs #NR: Role reversal Tuesday? Daniel Lazzara looked frazzled on the opening drive after going 1 for 4 and turning the ball over on 4th down and it took time for him to really get back into this game; too much time. #NR lost 0 time making a statement in this game. Their loud, emotional personality really came through and got the better of Khan Artists as they tried to claw their way back into a game they should’ve controlled most of the night. Down only a score with the opportunity to keep up and maybe even take the lead with converts, a deflected pass ended into Jaylan Grandison’ hands and Cory Pecker got the kill shot. With a two score lead and not enough time left in the game for Khan Artists to really make a splash, #NR kept their lead and finished with a 14 point victory. Their offence felt unstoppable; Khan Artists had no answer for neither Theo Ojeaha nor Travis Moses who had an instant impact and their defence got those key stops that put the pressure off the offence for a smooth sailing finish.
• Victory Royale! Vs Spring Cleaning: In a very chirpy, intense game, Spring Cleaning managed to pull off the upset once again as they kept the game pretty close in their favor. Our very own GM Kolethras got the clutch convert that kept Spring Cleaning slightly ahead of Victory Royale. Good rushing from Patrick Jazon kept Phil Cutler honest most of the night and he struggled to progress through his reads at times that costed his team on key downs. Neither QBs were perfect, but it felt like Victory Royale sort of gave up on the game after the Dexter Linton incident (and even more as the game progressed and guys continued to be frustrating with a stalling offence). Spring Cleaning hung in there long enough to see them make a final stand and book their ticket to the finals. After back to back upsets, it’d be foolish to bet against them, but something tells me things might not exactly go their way once more.
• Underachievers vs Drop The Mic: As good as Underachievers are and played, in all honesty, it came down to Drop The Mic’s poor performance. Sure, Mario Porreca missed a handful of throws, but he had some dimes out there that turned into drops and it just felt like everyone gave up on the game once Underachievers grabbed an early lead. A few mistakes here and there against a team that looked primed for the Finals will cost you and Moe Khan said it best: Drop The Mic’s final was vs Dad Bods in the first round and weren’t ready for another real tough challenge.

 

Playoff Previews

• Braves (1st) vs #NR (3rd)

Previous matchup: 32 – 28 Braves + 50 – 20 Braves

Analysis:  Braves finished the season as the #1 seed in Division A with an 8-2 record. Around the mid-point, they declared they’d finish first and stuck true to their word with a strong finish. After defeating Kevin Wyeth and the Outsiders in the semis, they’re primed for their first Division A title. #NR took the FPF nation by storm in their first ever Division A season with a 6-4 record and finishing the 3rd seed. Their win over Ocean’s 12 was quite the impressive feat, but the dominant performance they’ve displayed on Tuesday against Khan Artists just proves they belong amongst the top contenders.

Braves have, arguably, the best team in the division and are probably one of the toughest teams to play against due to how efficient their offence is and how good everyone is on defence. They’ve got enough depth that they can be without one or two of their top players and still play like the #1 seed that they are. Jonathan Maheu leads a deadly offence and his rapport with Mike Pierrecin, JD Chevalier and Sebastien Crisi-Lauzon is ridiculous. The acquisition of Jarryd Taylor and Sebastien Simon to this team has really changed the entire dynamic and propelled them to even higher heights.

#NR is the sort of team most dream about putting together when we discuss teams in the preseason. Every player has their respective role and play it perfectly making it one of the most close-knitted team there is. It’s been a pleasure to see guys like Travis Moses, Jordan Moses, Jaylan Grandison and Kendal Mayers flourish in Division A this season after everyone said they wouldn’t be able to. The addition of Theo Ojeaha gave them a true defensive leader and a game-changing receiver that everyone has to account for. They’ve impressed everyone in the regular season and exceeded expectations in the playoffs to make it to the Championship the way they did.

The rumors have been circling around that Braves might be missing a guy or two, but the possible absence of Theo Ojeaha and maybe other #NR players loom gravely. In a best on best, this is a VERY fun matchup to watch and I can’t wait to call the game from upstairs, but in a case where #NR shows up with only 6 players, I have a feeling Braves will be able to pick their matchups a bit too easily and take a lead they’ll never look back from.

Key matchup: Jarryd Taylor vs Travis Moses

Prediction: 40 – 28 Braves

 

 

• Underachievers (3rd) vs Spring Cleaning (7th)

Previous matchup: 40 – 18 Underachievers + 34 – 26 Spring Cleaning

Analysis: Division B final features two preseason favorites that had very different seasons. One team finished 7-3 and didn’t feel like they cared about the last few games on their schedule as they set their focus towards the playoffs and the championship game. The other finished 3-7 and were on the cusp of, maybe, not even making the playoffs to begin with!

Now that we’re here, Underachievers are the heavy favorite to win this game as their roster feels like too much for Spring Cleaning to handle and stop. Dylan Taylor should be able to put on a show for everyone who’s watching and take an early lead if his defence steps up the way we anticipate them to. The trio of Jordan McLaren, Sam Mashtoub and Rod Mashtoub is dangerous on both sides of the ball, but the depth that Underachievers have with Theo Bekelis, Nick Bekelis and even Billy Makris as an alternate rusher is ridiculous for this division. It doesn’t get better than this.

Spring Cleaning kept it close against some of the best teams in the division by making it a gritty, slow-paced game and count on their experience to prevail. Pat Chenard is a championship-proven QB and there’s way too much talent on this team including Donald Shepherd, Nicolas Lessard, Rochdi Benabdelkader and Matt Bond to be excluded from the conversation. If they can keep this close and slow, they’ve got a shot at a championship. If the first half goes in their favor, we might see another close victory.

Unless Spring Cleaning can take advantage of the first half and force a few mistakes from the Underachievers’ offence to take the lead into halftime, I don’t see them clawing their way back into this game to win the championship if the chips fall the wrong way on Monday night.

Key matchup: Nicolas Lessard vs Sam Mashtoub

Prediction: 44 – 25 Underachievers

 

That’s it for me this week. I know it might not have been the longest of articles, but, to be fair, you guys haven’t even started playing yet! I’m looking forward to Sunday and the season’s kickoff. I’ll be scorekeeping Tuesdays in Brossard, feel free to stop by and say hi! Until next time…! You and me baby. Oh, and Peeze too!