Welcome to the Real Season!!!!

The smoke has settled, the dust has cleared, and the fun is about to begin. We all pay to take part in the 10-game dance that is the regular season. The playoffs are our chance for some extra football, and of course the ultimate goal, a championship. Welcome to the real season.

Before we get into all that, I would like to take a moment to thank the Incredibles, Outlaws, Got-Skills, and Team Swoosh for playing this year. While I am sure they didn’t have the success they thought they would, all four teams did provide us with excitement, big plays, and some solid football. A couple of breaks here and there, and they could have been playing this week. Good luck to those squads going forward.   

Welcome to the playoffs! The action kicks off this Wednesday in Laval with the Division B Quarterfinals. More on the Division 1 post-season a little later in the article.

(1) KGP versus (8) The Apocalypse

Previous Meeting: KGP (42-38) Week 11

These two locks horns for the second time in just over a week. The previous meeting between both teams was a shootout. The Apocalypse held a (18-16) lead at halftime, before KGP rallied with a strong second half that saw them outscore their opponents (26-20) for the win.

The game featured several big-time performances, but none bigger than The Apocalypse’s Anthony Brisebois, who almost single-handedly beat KGP by himself, with seven catches for 61 yards, and game-high three touchdowns. He also produced the game’s only interception, which he proceeded to run back for a touchdown.

The interception, which was thrown by KGP Quarterback Phil Cutler, was essentially his only mistake of the evening, as the former All-Star completed 25 of 29 passes for 254 yards and six touchdowns. He was able to connect on at least one TD pass to all five of his receivers. Leading the way was Jonathan Garfinkle, who had two trips to the endzone.

To get the victory, Cutler would lead his team on a six-play drive that was capped off with a touchdown by Quaysie Gordon-Maule on the final play of the game.

Besides the game-winning TD, this game was also decided by conversions. The Apocalypse were a perfect 2 for 2 on 1-point convos, but they were unsuccessful on all four of their 2-point attempts. KGP on the other hand, decided to only go for the latter after all five of their touchdowns. They were successful on three of those tries.  

For The Apocalypse, the loss was their first defeat since they fell to the Party Crashers in Week 5. I have mentioned it multiple times the last few weeks, but this is arguably the hottest team in Division B.  Corresponding with the team’s second half push, has been the presence of Receiver Kevin Wyeth. In two games played, as the FPF Hall-of-Famer, has made an impact as a Receiver, and has seemingly helped steady the team’s offense and Quarterback Jeff Rosenblatt, who has been nothing short of stellar as of late.

The big question of course, is can the team maintain their play without Wyeth in the lineup, as he doesn’t meet the five games played minimum required to qualify for the playoffs.

Each side also has a plethora of playmakers on offense and defense. While The Apocalypse has players with championship experience on their roster, their opponents are coming off a Spring Season championship. KGP, is also the deeper team, with players who can slot in and out of their lineup at different positions without the team missing a beat.

For the KGP defense, the key for them will be limiting the damage done by The Apocalypse Receivers not named Paul Lapierre and Anthony Brisebois. The duo will undoubtedly get theirs, but ensuring that Matt Bond, Stephan Osman, Adam Rockman, Patrick Jazon, and Darnell Kevis Riley don’t go off, will be important. TA, has the size advantage on their side, so how KGP elects to defend especially in the endzone bears watching.

Both teams have speed, but I am giving the edge to KGP in this department. With players like Julien Paiement, Mike Pierrecin, Quaysie Gordon-Maule, and Mathieu Lepage, this team has the advantage, especially in tight spaces.

In all honesty, I don’t put all that much stock in seedings. What matters most is who is the better team, and in this case, it is KGP. This will a tight one, that should feature multiple lead changes, but I think they pull off the back-to-back sweep and get the victory.

Final score: KGP (34-30)

(2) Terror Squad vs (7) All Hooks

Previous Meeting: Terror Squad (32-20) Week 8.

In the previous meeting, Terror Squad rode on the backs of a solid defensive performance to cruise to a 12-point victory. Leading the way on that side of the ball for TS, was Patrick Jérome, who recorded two interceptions off All Hooks Quarterback Charles-Olivier Lavigne. TS’s Serge Pilon Jr. was also able to intercept the QB as well.

The first INT (by Jerome) came on the final play of the first half. The other two which were backbreakers, came after the break. The inability to move the ball in the second half by All Hooks, ruined a somewhat promising first half that saw them only trailing by two points at the break.

The TS offense was led by QB Tam Vilaydeth. The FPF 2020 Hall of Fame inductee, threw for four touchdowns in the contest, and added another score on the ground curtesy of a 7-yard TD scramble. Besides throwing and running for scores, the biggest impact the veteran passer had on the game and its outcome, was his ability to chew up clock in the second half, with two seven-play scoring drives in the second half.

In the matchup, Marc-Phillippe Roy, was the best Receiver for Terror Squad, as the third-year player had a game-high two touchdown receptions to go along with five catches and 31 yards. He also led his team with six tackles on defense.

For All Hooks to win the rematch, they will have to score more points. To do that, Charles-Olivier Lavigne, will need to protect the ball. He will also need to mix in the run and the pass. As one of the very few players in FPF who I would say are just as fast as Tam Vilaydeth, Lavinge, will need to try and keep the Terror Squad defense on their heels with the threat of the run.

When the QB does throw the ball, he will need his Receivers to come up big against contested balls. While most players and media here at FPF know are familiar with the skill of Jeremy White, All Hooks, has some other dangerous weapons as well, in Oliver Suri, Felix-Antoine Lavigne, Jean-Christophe Ferland, and Thomas Coutu among others. The crew of pass-catchers will need to step up their game and avoid the drops that have plagued them at various points throughout the season, like it did last week against #NR.

For Terror Squad to come out on top, they will have to play like the team we saw earlier in the season that, and not similar to the one who really hasn’t looked all that impressive the second half of the season, with a loss to The Apocalypse, and near losses to Party Crashers and KGP.

Last week, I stood on the sidelines and watched the majority of the second half of Terror Squad’s game against Team Swoosh. While Terror Squad was going through the motions, Team Swoosh, who would finish with no wins, was out there having fun and trying out several gadget plays, managed to put up 19 points, which was a season high for them.

I like All Hooks. They have an exciting team, and a phenomenal athlete at QB, but this squad has a habit of leaving too many points on the field, which has crippled their offense. Look no further than the fact that they haven’t scored more than three touchdowns in a game since a Week 6 (27-7) victory over lowly Team Swoosh. Those types of miscues will bury them against a team like Terror Squad in the playoffs.

It is the post-season, and you would have to think that Terror Squad would bring their A-game Wednesday night. Whether they do or not, they are too good of a team to get knocked off here, and I did pick them as one of my two teams to make it to the Finals, so I won’t be coming off that prediction just yet.

Final Score: Terror Squad (38-20).

(3) Urgence Médic versus (6) BBallers

Previous Meeting: Urgence Médic (37-26) Week 1.

This took place all the way back in February, which feels like a lifetime ago. In that contest, Urgence Médic Quarterback Jesse Dupuis did a good job of spreading the ball around offensively, as he was able to connect on touchdown passes to five different Receivers.

The team’s defensive was just as efficient, as they held the BBallers offense to just two touchdowns in both the first and second half. AJ Gomes, and Emile “Mr. Pick 6” Beaudoin (yes, that needs to be his new name) spear-headed the effort, as both players recorded an interception, with the later running his back for a touchdown.

The only negative that Urgence Médic displayed in the game was that they went 1 for 6 on conversions, with Marc-André Lapointe registering the team’s only 1-point convo.

For the BBallers, they only trailed by five points at halftime (18-13). They fell apart in the second stanza, as they scored only twice on four possessions, while their defense allowed Urgence Médic to score touchdowns on all three of their opportunities.

 In the rematch, it goes without saying, that the BBallers will need to score on more than half their possessions if they want to have any chance at pulling off the upset. Quarterback William Trottier, who did a good job spreading around the ball to his receivers in the first meeting, will need to duplicate the formula, and try to keep the Urgence Médic defense guessing. The pivot will also need to avoid the turnovers that plagued the team in the contest, as in addition to the two interceptions he threw, the team’s offense also turned the ball over on downs, and also punted in the first half.

On defense, the BBallers will need a repeat of their first half performance, as they were able to force an interception and turnover on downs from the Urgence Médic offense. The key to doing that will be to use their speed advantage to hold up in coverage long enough to give time to superb Rusher Jean-Nicolas Brenko, a chance to get after the always elusive Jesse Dupuis.

For Urgence Médic to complete the sweep, they will need to do what they did last time, and that is attack the BBallers defense in waves. Only twice over the entire game did Dupuis complete a pass to the same Receiver on consecutive plays. That is the epitome of smart QB play, getting all your players involved, and keeping the defense guessing.

Another key for the team would be to use their size and length advantage especially in the endzone with players like Mathieu Houle, AJ Gomes, and Alexis Gaumont.

I want to say this game could become a shootout, as BBallers have proven that despite having impact players like Guillaume Beland, Jean-Nicolas Brenko, Jeremy Augustin, and Jeremy Murphy on defense, the team has had trouble slowing down even average offenses this season. On the flip side, those are the same names along with Vincent Beauregard and Jean-Daniel Chevalier, that make the team’s offense potentially scary on any given night.

At the ends of the day, there is no escaping the fact that Urgence Médic has tons of playoff and championship experience and is the better team. Those are the reasons why I am picking them.

Final score: Urgence Médic (38-19).

(4) #NR versus (5) Party Crashers

Previous Meting: #NR (31-26)

The first meeting was a thriller, that saw #NR escape with a five-point victory via a Jarryd Taylor touchdown with four plays remaining in the game. The Party Crashers’ last ditch comeback effort was spoiled by Travis Moses, who intercepted PC Quarterback Frédéric Dupuis, on the game’s final play.

The loss by the Party Crashers spoiled a great game by Receiver Emile Taillefer, as the former McGill football player had five catches for 98 yards and three touchdowns. Taillefer also made an impact on the other side of the ball with four tackles and a pass deflection.

Joining his teammate with a standout defensive performance, was Olivier Bourdages, who led all players with an impressive nine tackles.

The difference in this game came down to turnovers. The Party Crashers offense turned the ball over on three separate occasions, while #NR did it only once, and that was on their first drive of the game.

In the rematch, for the Parry Crashers to win, they will have to get big plays out of their Receivers not named Emile Taillefer. In the first meeting, Taillefer, doubled his teammates in every receiving category except targets. This team has other weapons in Phil Pharand, Francois Hogue, Isaac Simard to name a few, but it will be on Dupuis, to give them opportunities to make plays. Someone will need to step up even more so given the fact that Guillaume Paquet, who scored the other touchdown for PC in the first game, will not be in the lineup Wednesday night, as he does not qualify for the post-season.

On defense, the Party Crashers will have to take away the middle of the field from #NR, as Quarterback Adam Sinagra has shown himself more than capable of carving teams up by targeting the seams.

For #NR to knock off their opponents, they will need to be aggressive on defense once again, by jumping routes and getting hands in the passing lanes early and often. Doing so against Dupuis, will most likely lead to success, as the QB has thrown at least one INT in all but three games this season.

Offensively, #NR should come out with the same game plan as last time. Spread the ball around, take advantage of mismatches in coverage with the speed of Quaid Johnson and Matt Kirouac, and attack the weak spots of the opposing defense.

Coming into this game, the Party Crashers have loss three out of their last five games, but all three of those defeats were by a touchdown or less. #NR finished the same stretch with one more win. Their two losses are not as similar. While they fell by one point to KGP in Week 7 (36-35), they got embarrassed by the Braves (58-19) one game earlier.

Despite the four versus five seed matchup here, #NR is the more talented team, and it isn’t even all that close. In all honesty, I like the Party Crashers. This entire season they have shown that they have a pit bull mentality and have enough skill to hang with anybody in the division. Its because of that, I am going with the upset here.

Final Score: Party Crashers (29-28)

Picks (favorites in bold)

(1) KGP versus (8) The Apocalypse – KGP (My Pick for Game of the Week)

(2) Terror Squad vs (7) All Hooks – Terror Squad

(3) Urgence Médic vs (6) BBallers – Urgence Médic

(4) #NR vs (5) Party Crashers – Party Crashers (Upset Special)

Last Wek: (6-2)

Regular Season: (50-22-1)

Upset Special: (5-10)

Playoffs: N/A

Don’t forget, that Round 2 of the Division 2 playoffs/Semi-Finals, will kickoff next Tuesday May 17^th.

All the Dvision 1 heads, the first round of the playoffs/Semi-Finals will kickoff in two weeks Tuesday May 24at Loyola. The matchups are as follows:

(1) vs (4) Gryffindor 7PM

(2) Flag Moi L’Sac vs (3) Braves 8PM

That is it for this week. I know it’s a day late, but Happy Mother’s Day! Fellas, I hope you all treated your moms yesterday. They deserve it.

Thank-you again to all the teams and players that played in the regular season. Good luck to everybody Wednesday night. I will see you guys in Laval. Welcome tot the real season!

If you liked, loved, or hated the article, or simply feel that I left something out, do not hesitate to reach out to me at [email protected], or reach me on Instagram @brent_b51