And we still have 3.

With the season slowly coming to a close (maybe have 8 games played, some 9, ironically only The Tide with 7), playoffs are right around the corner.

This week’s Calling The Audible, we went over the playoff scenarios and who clinched; give it a shot if you haven’t listened in yet!

Week 9

Fun Boys are back at full strength, Jagerbomb aren’t dead just yet, 69ers dropped 60?!!!, The Tide clawed their way out of the basement, Baby Kangaroos are making me look dumb once again, Half-a-Stars didn’t need Jordan Prizant, what happened to SWAT?, Mad Bears couldn’t make their Saturday night game, Dream Breakers had a HUGE win and GloGang are slowly creeping up the rankings!

Thoughts of the Week

Justin Lerner leading the division in passing yards? OK, OK!
Another forfeit for The Infantry? Sucks man; no one deserves that. Even if they would’ve put a beating on Mad Bears.
I feel for Canes; they simply are in the wrong division. They probably would’ve dominated D6.
Air Force 1 had their best offensive showing of the season; at the right time!
Speaking of AF1, their showdown with GloGang this week is bound to be BOMB
Someone made fun of me for saying Dream Breakers were on the up and up, look at ‘em now!
Les Verges Folles isn’t the same team without Zacharie Quiviger
All Hooks with a statement game vs SWAT
Baby Kangaroos couldn’t afford to drop another game.. And DIDNT !
After taking a beating from The U last week, SMYTDs might not make playoffs!
Maybe Shea Harbour knows something about Savage Squad we don’t?
All Aboard the Dream Breakers bangwagon! Also, this week’s game is bound to be one of the best of the season vs MTL Originals
Ghosts vs The Sheriff; friendship bragging rights. Nice. Oh, and Ghosts clinched 1st seed with the win.
The playoffs race might very well be determined in week 10 rather than week 11. I’m excited.
I remember when MTL Originals were the first team in the Power Rankings not too long ago…!

Recaps

Half-A-Stars vs Keyport Lock: Warming up with only 5, Half-a-stars were also without star QB Jordan Prizant for the game and Andrew Langburt was forced into the role (Forced or chose to). A few guys showed up late for both teams and the game go on the way with minimal rosters for the first few drives. It changed nothing for Half-A-Stars as they dominated for pretty much the whole hour. Offensively, Andrew Langburt was able to do pretty much anything he wanted with that Keyport Lock defence and their defence looked good. Sure, they were plays were Keyport Lock had opportunities but bad drops kept them back, but as a whole, Half-A-Stars made enough plays including that pick-six from AJ Rashkovan who read the route perfectly, jumped it and took it back the whole way early in the game. With both teams trending in opposite directions, it’s not looking good for Keyport Lock with only a game left on their schedule before playoffs.

All Hooks vs SWAT: Sure, SWAT had a much better 2nd half and managed to get a few things going (including defensive stops), but it was too little too late as All Hooks really dominated that first half and made Gino Di Fazio pay for throwing a few ill-advised balls. With 4 interceptions and 2 for six, it was just a bad offensive outing for SWAT as a whole and All hooks just dominated on both sides of the ball. You could feel the absence of Carmine Pollice offensively and I have a feeling the game might turn out a tad different with SWAT’s full roster, but this is the kind of game you don’t just forget anytime soon…!

Players of the Week

Gabriel Cyr (Fun Boys): Usually, one’s first game playing QB doesn’t usually go well, but Gabriel Cyr isn’t an ordinary player and he proved it with a 6:1 ratio and 2 picks on defence.
Angelo Kalaidopoulos (Past Our Prime): 57 receiving yards, a sack and 4 offensive TDs. Nice little stat line there!
Shea Harbour (69ers): 7 passing TDs and 181 offensive yards. Oh, and a whoppin’ 146 QBR
Alex Joltopuf (Greendale Human Beings): 64 offensive yards, 2 TDs and 2 picks (including one for six). Doesn’t get better than that!

Francois Martin (Diablos): In a pretty good QB battle, Francois Martin came out on top with 7 combined TDs and quite the handful of converts (6 pts out of 7 attempts)
Pierre-Alexandre Taché (Dream Breakers): Defensive hat trick baby! 3 interceptions (2 of which were returned for six). Quite the show
Junior Luke (A-Squad): 7 receptions, 68 yards and 4 offensive TDs. Essentially uncoverable.

Power Rankings

Division 4A

Game Changers (8-0): They keep winning games by double digit margins. Now at 149 +/- ? C’mon!
The Stoics (7-1): Another week, another win for The Stoics. I can’t wait to see how they fare this year in the playoffs, but this could be a special year for Chris Rivest and co
Half-A-Stars (7-2): Even without their QB, they dominated a playoff team
Greendale Human Beings (6-2): The best offence in 4A keeps doing its thing!
69ers (6-2): They dropped 60 this week? After a few bad weeks, they’re back at full strength.
Fun Boys (5-4): Now 5-4 and pretty much locked in, Fun Boys didn’t even need their QB1 to get it done!
BD Bandits (5-4): One game left and a chance to raise their stocks before playoffs come rolling in
The You (5-3): Dominant victory to propel themselves into the playoffs. With 2 games left, it’s time to buy The You’s stock if there’s any left!
Baby Kangaroos (5-3): Everytime I doubt them, they prove me wrong. Maybe I should stop?
Don’t Mess With Texas (4-4-1): They’ve got a unique opportunity to clinch and jump quite a handful of teams in seeding this week. Take it.

Division 4B

The Infantry (8-0): The forfeit sucks, but they would’ve won that game either way, really.
Ghosts (8-0): Another impressive performance by the Ghosts’ offence to solidify their current seeding
Lonzo Ballers (7-2): Regardless of what that promo shows, Lonzo Ballers is no joke
The Sheriff (6-3): Their final game of the season might just be their hardest and defining point.
A-Squad (6-2): Clinched with last week’s win, A-Squad can solidify their seeding and continue to improve with 2 weeks left
SWAT (5-3): Tough loss, but one bad half won’t define these guys.
Les Verges Folles (5-2): Losing without your starting QB doesn’t weight the same.
Les Blues Branleurs (5-3): I’ve expressed my thoughts on this team time and time again. It hasn’t changed.
GloGang (4-4): Although they’ve had some fluke weeks, when they actually try, GloGang is a threatening team to play against.
All Hooks (4-4): They might be the 8th seed, but they pack a solid punch. Let’s see if they can claw their way out of the bottom seeds in these next 2 weeks.

Playoff Implications

Division 4A

Wolverines vs Savage Squad: Wolverines are officially eliminated, but Savage Squad is still very much in this. They desperately need a win to jump Sphinx and keep their fate in their own hands though
Sphinx vs EBROS: 7th vs 8th seed. Both teams trying to stay out of Savage Squad’s reach. Oh, and this is Sphinx’ last game of the season!
Les Hommes de l’Ouest vs Soft Serve: Soft Serve could technically still clinch, but they’re eliminated with a loss. This is Les Hommes de l’Ouest last game of the season; will they play spoiler?
Keyport Lock vs Don’t Mess With Texas: With the 9th seed at 8 points, the loser of this game could be in a tough spot if SMYTDs win this week.
The Tide vs SMYTDs: Probably the most important game of the season for SMYTDs: they are out of the playoffs with a loss and aren’t even guaranteed a spot with a win, but they’ve got to try. The Tide still has plenty of games left, but could clinch with a win this week.

Division 4B

Mean Machine vs Check Out My TDs: Mean Machine are currently in the 6th hole, but only 2 points away from the 8th seed. A win would have them clinch and make next week’s game irrelevant. Check Out My TDs don’t have that luxury; they’re 9th, on the outside and cannot afford a loss. They need to win to attempt to jump Ballers.
Air Force 1 vs GloGang: Air Force 1’s last game of the season could be the decision maker for them. Win and they’ll practically be guaranteed a spot. Lose and they can EASILY be jumped by the rest of the pack, including GloGang and finished 9th on the outside looking in. A must win for AF1 here.
MTL Originals vs Dream Breakers: MTL Originals were 1st recently, but fell from grace. A loss would spiral them down to 4-5 and potentially at the bottom of the pile. Dream Breakers need to keep rolling and add another W to their record to propel them into the playoffs.
A-Squad vs All Hooks: A-Squad are safe. They’ve clinched, but All hooks are in the 8th seed and could really use a win to propel them out of harm’s way.
Ballers vs Lonzo Ballers: Lonzo Ballers clinched their playoff berth, but Ballers are in the 8th seed. They can clinch with a win this week and a loss from Check Out My TDs.
Mad Bears vs Team YS: Team YS might be eliminated, but they can still play spoilers. With last week’s forfeit, Mad Bears fall to the 7th seed and has just as many points as the 9th seed. They can’t afford another loss here.

Predictions

Game of the Week in 4A: Past Our Prime vs Jagerbomb

Game of the Week in 4B: Air Force 1 vs GloGang

**Please note, these are purely subjective and have nothing to do with FPF’s official GOTW filmed product**

Pub Epoxy/Sports Campus vs Half-A-Stars: Half-A-Stars

Fun Boys vs Game Changers: Game Changers

Past Our Prime vs Jagerbomb: Past Our Prime

Greendale Human Beings vs 69ers: Greendale Human Beings

Wolverines vs Savage Squad: Savage Squad

Sphinx vs EBROS: EBROS

The You vs Baby Kangaroos: The You

The Stoics vs BD Bandits: The Stoics

Les Hommes de l’Ouest vs Soft Serve: Les Hommes de l’Ouest

Keyport Lock vs Don’t Mess With Texas: Don’t Mess With Texas

The Tide vs SMYTDs: The Tide

Canes vs Les Blues Branleurs: Les Blues Branleurs

Mean Machine vs Check Out My TDs: Mean Machine

The Infantry vs Les Montagnards: The Infantry

Air Force 1 vs GloGang: GloGang

MTL Originals vs Dream Breakers: Dream Breakers

Ghosts vs The Sheriff: Ghosts

Small Giants vs Believe the Hype: Small Giants

A-Squad vs All Hooks: A-Squad

Ballers vs Lonzo Ballers: Lonzo Ballers

Les Verges Folles vs SWAT: Les Verges Folles

Mad Bears vs Team YS: Mad Bears

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…! What’s a Peeze

Week 9: Crunch time