2 Down and only 2 to go!

We are SPEEDING through the Playoffs! 4 Games in 2 weeks has so far meant that teams are playing every 4 days; just enough time to get a bit of rest from injuries and bruises and to keep pushing your limits! There have been a ton of upsets and shake ups in the first 2 games and although I predicted some of it, there was no way I could have foreseen a RAMPHINS forfeit, a STRAPAHOLICS loss in the first game, or HOOLIGANS in the Semi-Finals?! 

The Finals are around the corner and with only 4 teams left in each 5A/B left, Sunday games will decide who will be on film for FPF’s Championships! In the 5A corner we have: SLEEPING ALL-STARS, THUNDER BUDDIES, LES PETITES CAROTTES, and RICO RYDERS! I am shocked that STRAPAHOLICS lost to IN N’ OUT, in one of the lowest scoring, high turn-over games i’ve seen this season (6-9)! Out of the top 4 teams of the season, only 2 remain, while THUNDER BUDDIES and RICO RYDERS are still constantly facing uphill battles! 

In the 5B corner, we have: the returning champs WIN DIESEL, MACCABEES, HOOLIGANS, and PARLAY TILTERS; A varied ensemble of teams ranging from the #1 seed all the way to the #14 seed! Despite some close calls, these teams have been able to overcome some of the best this division has to offer and come out victorious! I feel that although many upsets may have occurred, WIN DIESEL is still in the best position to win it all. They are undefeated and have been winning decisively all postseason with no signs of slowing down. Will any of the remaining 3 teams be able to put a stop to them? HOOLIGANS have their shot this week, while MACCABEES (or PARLAY UPSET) will get their chance the week after!

Let’s look at a quick recap of the recent games and take a look at the matchups in this Round!  

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FROM THE HORSE’S MOUTH:

5A: STRAPAHOLICS lost against IN N’ OUT! I did not think this was possible. They were able to win their match up in the regular season 30-25, but this game was completely different. Not only did both QB’s have arguably their worst game of the season, neither was able to put up more than 1 TD! STRAPAHOLICS started off strong with an INT in the first drive, but that was only the beginning of the “Turnover War”. Despite causing a lot of 4th N’ Outs for In’ N’ Out, the safety that came from Samuel Deland was able to run out enough time that STRAPAHOLICS were unable to capitalise on their last possession! A tough game and a defensive slugfest where both teams gave it their all, IN N’ OUT found themselves the victor, and gained a 2nd life to play against LES PETITES CAROTTES! Unfortunately, they met their end there, losing to LPC 37-12. The Playoff Gods giveth and they also Taketh away. 

5A: As predicted, RICO RYDERS were able to get the upset over HAIL MARTY’S in a spectacular showing (42-18). Mathew Yanakoulias was on fire and threw for 6 TDs and 0 INTs! Marty and his gang tried to keep up, but finding themselves down 18-28 in the first half, they never quite recovered. Any time HAIL MARTY’S were able to score and tighten the gap, the RYDERS were able to return in kind. At one point HAIL MARTY’s went deep, showing they could score in 2 plays… which was promptly responded with a 1 play 40-bomb TD to Daron Migdesyan. The RYDERS then faced NIGHTHAWKS, one of their toughest matchups yet, and still came out victorious 40-19! Scoring another 6 TDs was no problem for Mathew as Justin Lerner, Denis Koutavas, and Daron Migdesyan all came away with 2 TDs. 

NIGHTHAWKS had just come away from a close scrap with BANDITS, only winning 31-30, and needed to show they could still be a dominant team. Fabrice Robillard was able to run for 20 Yards and throw 3 TDs against the RYDERS, but his 2 turnovers were enough to give them the ammunition they needed to shoot down the NIGHTHAWKS. Now RICO RYDERS are taking on the top team – LES PETITES CAROTTES – who have been dismantling teams in the playoffs. If the RYDERS are able to put up 6 TDs again, I can’t see them losing this game. LES PETITES CAROTTES will have to play their biggest offensive game yet, or find a way to put a stop to this exploding defence!     

5A: The Quarter Finals have come and gone, and gone with it are some of the top teams of the Division! The aforementioned NIGHTHAWKS took tumble against RICO RYDERS, while the DUCKS took a surprising loss to THUNDER BUDDIES 34-18! THUNDER BUDDIES have been amassing wins in the 2nd half of the season at an impressive rate! They climbed the ranks this season and finished just shy of the Top 5. They took out PASTA ARRABIAT in the first round of playoffs, and got to test themselves against DUCKS – a team who had beat them once before in the regular season! William Power came through that game with 3 TDs, but Will and Terry will have to switch it up if they intend to beat LES PETITES CAROTTES this week! It will be one of the highest scoring offenses (THUNDER BUDDIES) taking on one of toughest Defences in the Division (LES PETITES CAROTTES) and should give us insight as to what wins more games in FPF – Offense or Defense. 

5B: ALERT!! ALERT!! ALERT!! RAMPHINS took an unexpected forfeit in their game against THE HOOLIGANS and were kicked out of the playoffs just as easily as they made it in. If that wasn’t enough, another upset of the week was PACK A PUNCH losing to LES SACRIFIES 2! Marc Antoine Martin has struggled to put up 30+ points consistently and this game was no different. However, with an average of 12-18 points a game, it should have been more than enough to put LES SACRIFIES 2 away. PACK A PUNCH came into this game as the #2 seed and the only other undefeated team of the Division, yet, was unable to beat the #15 seed! On the other side of the ball, Fabrice Tremblay was able to limit his Turnovers and only threw 1 INT as opposed to Marc’s 3! Alexis Aubé was the All-Star of this game, coming down with 3 TDs and 116 Yards, solidifying the win for LES SACRIFIES! 

Fast forward to last week and LES SACRIFIES 2 had to overcome impossible odds again and defeat the last undefeated team – WIN DIESEL. Having just had an easy win over WILD WEST WRANGLERS, it was hard to see how LES SACRIFIES 2 would be able to stop the DIESEL train, but they tried nonetheless. In a game where the losing team’s QB had, arguably, a better game than the Winner’s – Fabrice Tremblay showed that could keep up with the best of them! Both QB’s only threw 1 INT each, but William Sebag was able to take his INT to the house in the 2nd half and give his team a free 6 points! Having already been behind in the first half, LES SACRIFIES could not rally and lost 35-19. A wonderful showing from a team that I thought would be eliminated in the first round of playoffs and an unfortunate loss from a team I thought would go all the way. Now WIN DIESEL finds themselves taking on the HOOLIGANS, another team who benefitted from an upset. I doubt HOOLIGANS will find success where so many others have failed (including themselves, losing to WIN DIESEL by 9 in the regular season), but I have seen crazier things happen in the playoffs so far! Danick Coulombe continues his TD lead, adding 2 more TDs to his already 21, while Michael Fafard is also putting up playoff TDs, 1 of which being the result of a PICK-6! If WIN DIESEL underestimates the HOOLIGANS, they may be in for a surprise. 

5B: Another surprising team to find in the Semi-Finals are PARLAY TILTERS. Overcoming TOP G’s in the first round was no easy feat, as they were almost shut out in the 2nd half and gave up a PICK-6 and an Onside Kick. Despite his 5 INTs (6 total for TOP G), Patrick Lapierre did not give up and was able to close the 12 points difference near the end of the game. I know it hurts to lose to a team you think you should beat, but when your team has 6 Turnovers it’s almost impossible to stop anyone regardless of how good you are. Although TOP Gs lost, this should still show how tenacious and skilled this team is, to have 6 INTS (1 for a PICK-6), and still only lose by 5 points is AMAZING! PARLAY TILTERS better have thanked their lucky stars that Micheal Hiotis’ 3 INTs did not result in a loss for them, as he struggled to complete more than 2 passes to any of his receivers. After an hour of intense back and forth, PARLAY TILTERS took the win and marched forward to their next challenge – GREEN MONSTERS. 

5B: GREEN MONSTERS seemed like a perfect 5-5 team in 5B: They had almost identical Points for and Points against, they had beaten some good teams, and got the favoured seed in a 3-way tie. However, they still had to face the BETWAY BANDITS again. Losing to a team in the regular season seems to be exactly what spurs revenge in the playoffs and this rematch was no different. Having not been there in their first match, Jason De Souza was a big part in the MONSTERS success. Although Tyler threw an INT, it was the last play of the half… so still counts, but not as much. It really came down to the end of the game where GREEN MONSTERS scored with only a few plays left, which put them up 24-19. BANDITS got possession of the ball knowing that a TD wins the game for them; but it all comes crumbling down when Yannick Graham, rusher extraordinaire, sacks Tyler Havlena for a Safety – ending the game 26-19. I figured the GREENIES would keep pushing and take down PARLAY TILTERS, but was surprised when the TILTERS beat GREEN MONSTER by a single conversion (13-12)!      

5B: MACCABEES took on TUNESQUAD last round and came out victorious (25-21), pulling their weight as one of the last Top 5 teams! MACCABEES started off the game by forcing TUNESQUAD into a 4th down turnover and then scoring on their first drive! They then took turns scoring on each other until an unfortunate INT from Garner Ross shifted the momentum and MACCABEES took the lead (18-13), before heading into Halftime. Shimmy Cons was able to take advantage of the run game and picked up 43 Rushing Yards, which allowed him to hold onto the ball a bit more and limit his INTs. With the end of the game fast approaching, Avi Korman got a much needed Safety against Shimmy Cons and got his team 2 points and the ball back! TUNESQUAD was able to capitalise on their opportunity and scored a TD, but ultimately were unable to recover the onside kick to keep possession. The game ended with MACCABEES as the victor! Now, an experienced and tested MACCABEES take on PARLAY TILTERS on a hot streak! I think MACCABEES have the slight edge, but PARLAY TILTERS have shown they can beat anyone on a good day!    

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SPOTLIGHT GAME: 

 5A: SLEEPING ALL-STARS vs THUNDER BUDDIES

This game catches my eye because of their last encounter! SLEEPING ALL-STARS sleep-walked all over THUNDER BUDDIES in week 7, winning 50-26! This was SLEEPING ALL-STARS 3rd game and is the first time they really caught my eye. Samuel Cote had a combined 1500+ Yard, 39 TDs, and under 10 INTs in the regular season. A wealth of receivers who mostly had 20+ targets and at least 4 TDs each. Their defence is among the top 3 in the division and boasts 27 INTs and 10 of them returned for TDs (roughly 37%)! Seeing the ALL-STARS consistency throughout the season and the results of the last match, I would usually pick them to win…. However! THUNDER BUDDIES have been on fire recently, winning their last 4 matches of the season and then beating out DUCKS last week! Terry Babalis has outdone himself this season with 42 TDs and 5 Rushing TDs, earning himself the #1 QB spot. I thought this would have been largely due to Will Power, but Terry was actually able to spread the ball extremely effectively, highlighting both his and his receiver’s talents! 

SLEEPING ALL-STARS has the edge on defence with all of their PICK-6’s and INTs, but THUNDER BUDDIES has a great number of INTs of their own (25) and has the edge on offence. I think this game will be a shoot out with at least 2 turnovers per team, but ultimately, THUNDER BUDDIES will knock SLEEPING ALL-STARS awake! 

PREDICTION: THUNDER BUDDIES 34 – 26 SLEEPING ALL-STARS      

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ZACK’S TOP WEEKLY PICKS: 

5A

QB (1): Mathew Yanakoulias (RICO RYDERS) – 29 Attempts / 23 Completions (79.31%), 225 Yards, 6 TDs, 0 INT, 2 Sacks 

QB (2): Jason Rayes (LES PETITES CAROTTES) – 21 Attempts / 13 Completions (61.90%), 135 Yards, 6 TDs, 0 INTs, 2 Sack // 2 Rushing Attempts, 4 Yards

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WR (1): Sam Anastasopoulos (THE WEST ISLAND HABIBIS) – 12 Targets / 9 Receptions (75%), 119 Yards, 3 TDs

WR (2): William Power (THUNDER BUDDIES) – 13 Targets / 6 Receptions (46.15%), 57 Yards, 3 TDs

WR (3): Xavier Brault (LES PETITES CAROTTES) – 9 Targets / 6 Receptions (66.67%), 103 Yards, 2 TDs 

WR (4): Justin Lerner (RICO RYDERS) – 8 Targets / 6 Receptions (75%), 84 Yards, 2 TDs 

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DB (1): Zachary Cloutier (LES PETITES CAROTTES) – 4 Tackles, 3 INTs 

DB (2): Samuel Omombo (SLEEPING ALL-STARS) – 5 Tackles, 2 INTs, 1 PD 

DB (3): Nicholas Di Maulo (THE WEST ISLAND HABIBIS) – 1 Tackle, 2 INTs

DB (4): Daron Migdesyan (RICO RYDERS) – 3 Tackles, 1 INT

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RUSHER (1): Étienne Chabot (DUCKS) – 0 Tackles, 2 Sacks, 1 PD   

RUSHER (2): Samuel Deland (IN N’ OUT) – 2 Tackles, 2 Sacks

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5B

QB (1): Philip Pelletier (THE HOOLIGANS)  – 33 Attempts / 21 Completions (63.64%), 240 Yards, 6 TDs, 2 INTs

QB (2): Noah Di Lullo Langelier (PACKING PACKERS) – 30 Attempts / 21 Completions (70%), 273 Yards, 6 TDs, 2 INTs

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WR (1): Felix Boutet (PACKING PACKERS) – 11 Targets / 10 Receptions (90.91%), 131 Yards, 2 TDs

WR (2): Danick Coulombe (THE HOOLIGANS) – 10 Targets / 8 Receptions (80%), 121 Yards, 2 TDs  

WR (3): Maxime Brissette (PACKING PACKERS) – 7 Targets / 5 Receptions (71.43%), 68 Yards, 4 TDs

WR (4): Adam Antel (TUNESQUAD) – 12 Targets / 8 Receptions (66.67%), 92 Yards, 2 TDs 

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DB (1): Michael Fafard (THE HOOLIGANS) – 7 Tackles, 1 INT, 2 PDs, 1 TD 

DB (2): Peter Cote (PARLAY TILTERS) – 7 Tackles, 1 INT, 2 PDs

DB (3): William Sebag (WIN DIESEL) – 2 Tackles, 1 INT, 1 TD

DB (4): Jordy Melnik (MACCABEES) – 5 Tackles, 1 INT, 2 PDs  

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RUSHER (1): Yannick Graham (GREEN MONSTER) – 0 Tackles, 2 Sacks  

RUSHER (2): Stephen Roumeliotis (WIN DIESEL) – 1 Sack, 1 PD 

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GAMES OF THE WEEK: 

5A – SEMI-FINALS

SLEEPING ALL-STARS vs THUNDER BUDDIES

LES PETITES CARROTS vs RICO RYDERS

PREDICTION RECORD: 32-22 

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5B – SEMI-FINALS

WIN DIESEL vs THE HOOLIGANS 

MACCABEES vs PARLAY TILTERS

PREDICTION RECORD: 41-26

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That’s it! Next week is the Finals! If there is an idea or upcoming milestone you might want me to write about/cover in my articles, don’t be a stranger, let me know! If you want to see more accurate info about your teams, your players, your rivalries – send them to me! Comments, Criticisms, and Concerns are welcome… unless it’s about my Capitalization of random words. I stand by them! Also, check out the new episode of Calling the Audible – the official FPF podcast – available on Youtube and …. Probably somewhere else too!