We’re on to the Quarterfinals

Divisional results and reactions

The quarter-finals are tonight. 9 teams will be playing tonight, with FSU and Cover 3 Inches Long playing out their divisional game. Seeds 2, 3, 6, 7 and 9 have already been eliminated, which shows how much parity there is in this division. 

Marty Freedman dominates Bloodline

Freedman threw 7 TDs and no interceptions for a total of 206 yards. Brandon Vickers continues his dominant run with 86 yards and 2TDs. David Weiss catches 3 passes that all go for TDs. Justin Fraser is only able to find the endzone three times for Bloodline. Nathan Duguay has another great game with 74 yards and 2TDs, but it’s not even close to being enough to matter in the end.

Ramphins beat WHO D’EH as predicted, but barely

Sheldon Dumeignil had one of his worst games throwing the ball (1TD, 3INT, only 99 yards), but dominates on the feet with 73 yards and 1TD. Jesse Dumeignil’s absence complicated things for Ramphins, but they still cleared WHO D’EH in overtime. Tom Gatehouse once again struggled with pace, and only puts up 13 points for his team, a disappointing but typical performance for him. Gabriel Bruno had his best game of the season and kept his team in the game with his 2 interceptions, but it wasn’t enough.

Satriales blow out Minchia FT in the biggest upset of the postseason so far

George Kalavritinos had his best offensive output of the season with over 200 yards and at least 5TDs for the first time. He completed 75% of his passes, and despite his 3 interceptions, was absolutely dominant. Raff Morelli was unguardable, catching 8 of his 9 targets for 95 yards and a touchdown catching, as well as a 10 yard TD run. He also added 4, I repeat, 4 sacks. This was one of the best performances we’ve seen all season from any player, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. Alex Di Gregorio (53 yards, 1TD, 1PD), Alessandro Barazzoni (51 yards, 2TDs, 1PD) and Luca Castellano (2INTs) were the other show-outs for Satriales. 

Adam Antel had a terrible game, only throwing for 76 yards and 2TDs, while also throwing 2 picks. With how he had played all season, way more was expected of Antel, but it seems Morelli really disrupted him. We obviously have to mention that Antel was without his 2 best players in Justin Neemeh and Matthew Neiss. 

Not You Too? forfeit against Pasta Arrabiat

Without Kaiden Dewey-Hull, Not You Too? didn’t stand a chance against Pasta Arrabiat, and perhaps the team decided it was not worth it to make the trip to Laval to get blown out.

Primetime get absolutely embarrassed by George Spano and Co.

Spano only had to complete 11 passes to rack up 159 yards and 5TDs. Most importantly, he avoided throwing any interceptions, and if he can keep doing that, OnlyFlags have a real shot at being contenders. He also dominated defensively with 2 interceptions. If your QB gets more picks than he throws, you’re usually in a great position to win games. Charles Barbeau was cooking Primetime deep with 3 catches for 73 yards and 2TDs. Albert Hallal also caught 2 TD passes. Yohan Elharrar also had a 40 yard touchdown, 1 interception and 2PDs. Zachary Mastromonaco had one of his worst offensive games, but had 1 pick and 3PDs on defense. 

Matthew Cadogan, who I had as one of the best QBs in the division, showed why he still needs to work on his game. The potential is there for sure, but it seems the lack of experience got to him. He threw 4 interceptions, and 8 of his passes were defended by OnlyFlags’ defense. Primetime also wasn’t able to come down with even one interception despite getting their hands on 6 passes thrown by Spano. 

Bend Don’t Break upset Meat Lovers, despite Manny Bizogias not throwing an interception

I knew an upset was in the cards for this game, but I assumed that if Bend Don’t Break would win, it would be because Manny Bizogias was unable to protect the ball. Instead, Bizogias was unable to convert on two 4th down situations in the 2nd half, which left Bend Don’t Break with 2 short fields, and Luke Moreau scored quickly twice. Bizogias had a nice drive to tie it up late, but Bend Don’t Break got it done in overtime. Luke Moreau was great, despite throwing 2 picks (one of them was on the last play of the game to win it before OT). If we erase that, he only threw 1 pick and had only 2 incompletions. Meat Lovers’ defense, which had been great all season, simply did not do its job. Josh Notte, who had really started to get going late in the season, was brilliant. He caught 7 of 8 passes intended to him for 81 yards and 3TDs. He also added 3 sacks and 1PD on defense. 6 different defenders also had a PD for Bend Don’t Break. 

Show Me Dem TDies get it done against Trailer Park Boys

I had this one as a real potential upset, as I didn’t trust Daniel Caruana to get it done, and boy did he prove me wrong. He put up over 200 yards for the first time, and had 5TDs to only one interception. He did it by almost exclusively throwing to Matthew Yanakoulias (4rec, 77yds, 1TD), Denis Koutavas (5 rec, 67yds, 3TDs) and Daron Migdesyan (5 rec, 53yds, 1TD). 

On the other side, Antoine Meunier had another good game, with 4TDs and 1 interception, and also ran for 73 yards, but as had been the case all season, his defense let him down. Frederic and Alexandre Meunier were his two best targets, but the rest of the squad was nowhere to be seen on offense. Antoine did his best defensively with a pick and 2PDs. 

FSU and Cover 3 Inches Long are going to finish their game at 6:45 Thursday

So, 6 plays remaining, FSU have the ball at C3IL’s 15 yard line, and it is 4th and 7. This means that the game is going to be decided on the very first play. If FSU are able to convert, they’ll be within the 10 yard line (assuming they don’t score), with 5 plays left, 1st down and goal. If they don’t, C3IL will have 5 plays to find the end zone from 25 yards away. 

If FSU win, they’ll face Pasta Arrabiat and OnlyFlags will face Ramphins. If C3IL win, OnlyFlags will face Pasta Arrabiat and C3IL will face Ramphins. 

Matchup predictions for quarter-finals

Scenario 1

FSU vs. Pasta Arrabiat

Assuming FSU best C3IL, they’ll have a very tough matchup in Pasta Arrabiat. FSU have been less than convincing recently, and Justin Schwartz’ troubles throwing the football are very concerning. He hasn’t had game with a QB rating above 100 since Week 5. What has been saving him is his rushing game, but you have to be able to move the ball passing the football if you want to score a lot of points. They will have to score plenty of points if they want to beat Pasta Arrabiat and match Joe Morgese’s offense. One thing that might play in FSU’s favor is that the end of the game versus Cover 3 Inches Long will be played right before their quarter-finals game which means they’ll be warmed up and with momentum. Pasta Arrabiat also haven’t played since July 16th. I’m kind of losing trust in Schwartz, but the situation favors FSU. I’m going to trust the Delisi-Morgese connection and pick them.

Score prediction: 32-26 Pasta Arrabiat

OnlyFlags vs. Ramphins

I have been skeptical of George Spano all season, but he absolutely dominated Primetime. I still have some doubts, as I previously said, 6 of his passes were tipped by Primetime defenders, which means his accuracy still isn’t on point. Charles Barbeau was great against Primetime, but Zachary Mastromonaco is the best receiver for this team, and he didn’t need to do much  offensively for his team to crush Primetime. If Spano is able to get both Mastromonaco and Barbeau going, watch out. For Ramphins, they were without Jesse Dumeignil and it really showed against WHO D’EH. If all 3 Dumeignils are there, Spano will have to be very accurate if he wants to avoid getting picked off. Balls are going to need to be thrown hard and on target or I could see him crumble. 

Scenario 2

OnlyFlags vs. Pasta Arrabiat

This is not an easier matchup for OnlyFlags. Unfortunately, Joe Morgese and Ricardo Oliva are both beasts defensively, and will also make it tough on Spano. OnlyFlags’ defense will need to find a way to slow down the Delisi-Morgese connection and that starts with Spano and Mastromonaco defensively. Someone will have to shadow Morgese all game, and understand that Delisi will always be looking for him as a first read. If Morgese has even the slightest window, the ball will be coming to him, and that’s why someone needs to be shadowing him at all times. 

Will Spano prove me wrong again? 

Score prediction: 34-26 Pasta Arrabiat

Cover 3 Inches Long vs. Ramphins

We know that Ramphins are mainly being carried by the 3 Dumeignils, and that Cover 3 Inches Long have Vincent Demers and William Seguin. We also know Fabrice Tremblay isn’t the most reliable quarterback. I think Tremblay could have a nightmare game throwing with Jesse Dumeignil patrolling and with Chad Dumeignil pressuring him. I think this is a terrible matchup for Tremblay, and he will be nervous and impatient in the pocket. Who will Tremblay turn to if the going gets tough? William Seguin or Vincent Demers? Will Nathan Lequin go under the radar? 

Score prediction: 37-20 Ramphins

Hail Marty’s vs. Satriales

Satriales just beat Minchia FT, but the roster they faced wasn’t the Minchia FT roster we’ve seen all season. I think Satriales got a lucky draw, and that their season ends tonight. Raff Morelli will need to have another amazing game, and George Kalavritinos will have to be near perfect to beat Hail Marty’s. He can’t throw more than 1 pick, as Marty Freedman will score on almost every possession. Morelli’s rushing might impact Freedman’s confidence in the pocket, and forcing one or two picks might give Satriales an opening, but Kalavritinos can’t give anything back. Brandon Vickers will be really hard to cover for Satriales and I expect another big game from him. 

Score prediction: 38-17 Hail Marty’s

Show Me Dem TDies vs. Bend Don’t Break

The name Bend Don’t Break is starting to make a lot of sense for the team led by Luke Moreau. They have been competitive in almost every game they’ve played this season and just edged out Meat Lovers. Luke Moreau was fantastic in that game, and he’ll need to be as good if not better to overcome Show Me Dem TDies. Josh Notte has stepped up big time, and Moreau will look to target him a lot tonight, again. Defensively, the team has racked up a godly amount of PDs in 2 games with 11, and Notte has also sacked the opposing QB 5 times. They will need to find a way to come down with interceptions more if they are to beat Show Me Dem TDies. Daniel Caruana has thrown his fair share of picks this season, but only threw one against Trailer Park Boys. Slowing down Koutavas, Yanakoulias and Louis Gaitanis if he plays tonight will be a tough ask for any team. Show Me Dem TDies have the most complete roster in the division, and are almost unbeatable if Caruana doesn’t give the other team the ball. 

Score prediction: 28-27 Show Me Dem TDies

We will have 4 remaining teams after tonight, and it is possible that all 4 of those teams will be seeds 10 and below. Will we see anymore blowouts or upsets? Will Hail Marty’s save the honor of the top seeds? Will we have more overtime games?

Good luck to all of you tonight.