Weekly Extra Point (Div A & B) – Finals Recap

The Spring 2012 season, as all things must, has ended. And it ended not with a bang, but with a whimper, as all four championship games finished with fairly lopsided scores. Nevertheless, it’s not a finalist’s job to keep us entertained, it’s their job to win, and four teams managed to do so in the ultimate game last Sunday, which is laudable. To #NoRegard, Broccasion, Gladiateurs and DA Finest, congratulations on your achievement. Now come back and do it again in 2013.

 

The Finals recap is the absolute worst article of the season for us writers. No matter how well we describe the action, the Road Show edition of the WEPL will obviously do a better job. Some people try and get creative, do something different, in order to maintain readers’ interest. I am not one of those people. Here are the recaps.

 

 

DA:

The long-anticipated fourth battle between DA’s two juggernauts was not without its drama. DA Finest were missing Rochdi Benabdelkader and Akked Moore, two of their best players. QB Kevin Wyeth had an injured throwing arm, and apparently was having difficulty even completing a pass as recent as a few days prior to the game. Playmaker Patrick Jerome’s participation was questionable, a result of a possible concussion sustained earlier in the day. The Rainmakers had Tim Kraemer and Charles-Antoine Sinotte back in the fold, adding a boost to a line-up that was pretty deep to begin with. All these factors actually led me to change my pre-game prediction from DA Finest to the Rainmakers.

 

I forgot about one thing. Even when hurt, Kevin Wyeth is the best QB in FPF (which is why he won Playoff MVP). And even missing a few of their best players, DA Finest still boasts one of the deepest rosters ever assembled.

 

DA Finest decided to remind me of those facts, in the only way they knew how: executing flawless football. And did they ever. Short passes and deep passes, small plays and big plays, TDs and INTs (okay, well, just one, but whatever). Every time the Rainmakers put together a good drive on offence, the Finest responded with either a methodical, soul-crushing drive or a deep TD bomb to Pat Jerome (who narrowly missed out on being named Playoff MVP). The Rainmakers played their hearts out, but it just wasn’t enough. Nobody is as good as the Finest. Nobody.

 

I truly don’t know what more the Rainmakers can do to get better from this point. Their roster has never been deeper. They have a significant amount of experience, and they are hungry to win. I would hesitate to pin this loss on their defence, as there are few groups good enough to stop this Finest offence when it’s playing so well. Adding guys like Addley Dufour and Teddy Frenette was a good start. Michael Chitayat is also a top two-way player. The guys they have now are all solid players, guys who would be great in a lower division. But to succeed defensively in the upper divisions, you need playmakers too. And as has been the case since the franchise’s inception, they simply don’t have enough playmakers. They have a lot of very good players, but I think they need more great ones to clear that final hurdle. Still, they took a big step this season, and I’m looking forward to seeing what they’ll do in 2013.

 

As for DA Finest, with the exception of their stumbles in the early weeks, they have had a spectacular season. It’s a good thing Moore and Benabdelkader were out of this game because the score could have been even more lopsided. This roster might have been their best one yet. They replaced Moe Khan, Marc Champagnie, Nathan Taylor and Delien Charles with Matt Kirouac, Pat Jerome, Renaldo Jordan and (in the playoffs) Andre Knights. No slight to the four players who were on the W12 roster, as they are among the best at what they do in FPF, but when you can add the two most prolific Two-Way Players in FPF history to a team that just won the Division 1 Championship, that’s impressive. I don’t know where they go from here, though I thought the same thing after their W09 championship and it took them another 3 years to get their next one. From a competitve balance standpoint, I would love for this team to get broken up somehow, just to see what happens. But from a football standpoint, there are few things as enjoyable as witnessing what this team can do on the field. As for Playoff MVP Kevin Wyeth, I can’t believe I was dumb enough to count him out. Despite a few shaky attempts here and there, he was as excellent as usual, even playing a fair amount of defence during the game. Shame on me.

 

Congratulations to the Spring 2012 Division A Champion DA Finest, the best team I’ve ever had the privilege of covering.

 

 

DB:

The Big TDs simply came out flat in this game, and never recovered. They were able to engineer a few scoring drives in the first half, but they seemed to lack their usual swagger and confidence. Contrast that to the Gladiateurs, who took their game to an even higher level than before, and played simply flawless football. Their offence, led by Playoff MVP Frank Lebeau, was unstoppable. When he’s on, Lebeau can carve up the field like few others. Add his playoff-leading 3 INTs on defence and you can easily understand why he was named playoff MVP (though teammate Nicolas Guimier did give him a run for his money). The return of Charles Baillargeon was also a big boost for them. In addition to the obvious contribution of having a seventh player, he posted season-highs in receptions, yards, touchdowns and tackles. As for the much-maligned Glads defence? They actually did fairly well, forcing three INTs from a QB who only threw five throughout the 10-game regular season. As expected, Paul Lapierre was a big target for Jamil Springer, making 10 grabs despite fairly physical coverage by the Glads. But he was the only bright spot on the team. The TDs were just off, all game. When they needed their best performance, they delivered their worst. The second half was full of sloppiness and recrimination, frustration at having come so far and fallen so flat.

 

The Big TDs put together an impressive season. Jamil Springer continues to evolve and improve as a QB, and the addition of Paul Lapierre seemed to elevate the game of everyone on the team. While losing this game surely stings, it is exactly the kind of growth they need to continue to push their team to greater heights. They can use this loss to fuel their future seasons. They have the talent they need to contend regularly. They don’t yet have the mentality to win the big trophy, but depending on how they react to this defeat, they may well go all the way in Winter 2013.

 

On multiple occasions this playoff season, I’ve found myself amazed that the Gladiateurs could accomplish so much with so little depth. But thinking back on it, that is precisely the reason why they accomplished so much. Having so few players forces everyone to play multiple positions. It forces them to know each other’s roles and respect how hard it is to do what is necessary to succeed. This is a team in the ultimate sense of the word. It starts with QB Frank Lebeau, who is as great a leader as he is a quarterback. He’s always willing to share the praise we heap onto him with his receivers, and he distributes the ball well enough that no one can argue that he plays favorites. As for the rest of the Glads, none of them are necessarily household names in FPF, but it’s my contention that they should be. What Alex Lever, Charles Baillargeon, Marc-André Lebeau, Matthew Bishara, Nicolas Guimier and Simon Rhéaume have done is define the blueprint of team success in this league.

 

Congratulations to the Spring 2012 Division B Champion Gladiateurs, and may we see more teams like them in the future.

 

 

Well, that’s it folks. It’s been a long and arduous road. The rigidity of a regular deadline was something I did not enjoy, nor was it something I was particularly good at keeping up with. I’ve been late, misinformed and outright wrong on quite a few occasions. That being said, I’ve had a lot of fun covering the creme de la creme of FPF, and I think the few who actually read my columns enjoyed it too. Between my years on the WEPL/Breaking the Huddle and my unofficial role as consigliere of FPF, I obviously knew or knew about most of you guys, but I can honestly state that getting to closely observe the top players of FPF and what you guys accomplish on a weekly basis has been great.

 

On a personal level, it was a lot of fun being able to write again. It was something I truly enjoyed, and I’m glad to have received the opportunity to do so once more. But even beyond the enjoyment I got from being able to express my thoughts in a weekly article, the greatest pleasure of all for me was working with what is undoubtedly the best media corps FPF has ever seen. Moe Khan, Rehan Sarwar, Don Shepherd, G.M. Kolethras, Andrew D’Anna, Paolo Della Rocca and Simon Dagenais have provided news, recaps and, above all, entertainment this season in a way that I never dreamed we’d see in this league. They have been capably aided by Eddy Tarabay and Alex D’Aquila, who have contributed their technical expertise to the passion these people bring each and every week. They have taken a simple idea Robert Campana and I shared and added so much that I feel left in the dust. The media aspect is growing by leaps and bounds, and because of the people I mentioned, you can expect it to continue to do so for the forseeable future. The difference has been staggering for me. When I stopped writing in 2007, I was arrogant enough to believe no one could do what I did as good as I could. Fast forward to 2012 and now I’m not even the second-best writer on our website. Hats off to this group of FPF employees, may they continue to make us proud for years to come.

 

As for myself, I’m done. This is my last weekly article. I might write a few random articles here and there but this is the last time I ever commit to something as time-consuming as a weekly article. I will obviously continue to be involved in the league, so I’m sure you will be able to see me on the sidelines next year.

 

 

Special thanks to:

• Every single member of every single Division A and B team this season, for making it so much fun to write about.
• Every single member of the FPF staff, for all the hard work that often goes unnoticed by the players.
• Every single member of the FPF media, for carrying the torch as well as you have.
• Every single member of the FPF referees, for doing a tough job and doing it well.
• Every single member of the Daron Basmadjian Fan Club, for understanding my passion for all things involving me (and/or the promotion of me) and feeding into my monstrous ego. Oh, and for playing some pretty damn good football.
• The man who makes it all possible, Robert Campana. I still believe the cult-like worship players in this league have for him is creepy as hell, but if anybody deserves it, I guess it’s him. Thanks for letting me live out my dream…again.