Categories: Division AGeneral

Division A: The Final Four Showdown

Hey everyone, we are down to our final four. After last weekend, Braves and The Infantry finally know who they will be facing in their respective semifinals matchup. Firstly, let’s breakdown how their opponents got there.

Quarterfinals Recap:

One Stop – PartyCrashers
Game Info: Sunday August 10, 9:15pm, Brossard (field 3)
Prediction: One Stop 28 – PartyCrashers 34
Results: One Stop 6 – PartyCrashers 34

A one-sided affair resulted in PartyCrashers advancing to facing the Braves in the next round. Emerson Peterkin played as a great WR1 to Jeanslee Alexis and Mendel Joseph continued his great play following his regular season defensive player of the year honours with two interceptions. For One Stop, it was tough without Charles Cossette even without arguably their best two-way player, scoring only 6 points is disappointing. Michael Caparelli, who has a great deep ball, was not able to connect to several passes and it would result in tougher 3rd and longs. PartyCrashers played great defence when they needed it and would score off great QB play by Jeanslee Alexis who put up 251yds and 5 TDs.

Idaho Udapimps – The Jamesons
Game Info: Sunday August 10, 10:15pm, Brossard (field 3)
Prediction: Idaho Udapimps 38 – The Jamesons 24
Results: Idaho Udapimps 40 – The Jamesons 39

A much closer game than I anticipated and credit to The Jamesons to putting up a great quarterfinals matchup. A long run by QB Brady Ohanessian resulted in the game-winning TD and Jeff Rosenblatt wasn’t able to score on their final drive after a few key break-ups on defence by Marvin Steinberg and Jerome Hovington. Idaho Udapimps were trailing by 9 at the break but a key defensive 2pt return by Idaho deemed to be a game difference in the second half. Jordan Panetta led The Jamesons with 3 TDs but it wasn’t enough to overcome the 5 TDs thrown by Ohanessian which 3 were caught by Steinberg and the other 2 by Danick Coulombe. With the victory, Idaho Udapimps will meet The Infantry with a spot to the finals on the line.

Semifinals Overview:

The Infantry – Idaho Udapimps
Game Info: Monday August 18, 8:00pm, Stade de Montreal (field 1)

The Infantry finished with a 5-5 record but with a dominant second half victory over Vultures in the last game of the regular season, they would obtain a first round bye. There was the question of how would Kevin Wyeth play with The Infantry as by mid-season, Wyeth had only played 2 games. Fast forward to today, Wyeth played all the remaining games for The Infantry and put up 32 TDs and 3 INTs. By having a balanced supporting cast in Jaylan Greeves, captain Rory Semerjian, Nicholas Di Maulo among others, the offence for this team is very unpredictable. On defence, Matt Bond led the team in INTs and Ethan Adrian is the best rusher in the division. They come into this matchup not played in over three weeks and also have the victory over Idaho Udapimps in Week 6.

Idaho Udapimps are in this position after a nail-bitter victory over The Jamesons in the quarterfinals. It was a close game at the end but Idaho pulled away with the victory. Now, they get the chance to face off against the team who took the bye away from them on the last day of the regular season. Idaho Udapimps will look at avenging their Week 6 loss to The Infantry as well. In that game, Idaho has no defensive stats other than tackles so it felt that The Infantry was able to move the ball around with easy as Wyeth had 7 TDs. With the talent that Idaho has on its roster, I expect guys to be more active and hungry for a takeaway or even sack.

5 Questions to consider:

  1. Can The Infantry start out the game with a defensive stance even when they haven’t been on the field together in 3 weeks?
  2. With all the playmakers Idaho Udapimps have on defence, can Wyeth stay efficient like he did in Week 6 and keep the ball away from Idaho?
  3. Will Idaho Udapimps’ defence be ready and stay poise against the chemistry that The Infantry have, even if they let up a score?
  4. Can Ohanessian limit turnovers and 4th down stops in order to have more success with his star-powered offence?
  5. Will Wyeth’s continuous championship experience lead The Infantry to victory or will the stars of Idaho Udapimps overcome an anticipated back-and-forth battle?

I would assume Idaho Udapimps will come out swinging as they should have the ball to start off the game. I don’t think either team will have more than a 9 point lead by the break as it will be a close contest. The star-power Idaho Udapimps has will keep them in this game but I believe slightly in the overall collectiveness The Infantry has and with Wyeth behind center and playing a great second half of the season, he will lead The Infantry to the finals with a poised second half. Prediction: Idaho Udapimps 36 – The Infantry 39

Braves – PartyCrashers
Game Info: Monday August 18, 8:30pm, Marie-Victorin (field 1)

PartyCrashers won a convincing quarterfinals matchup over One Stop to get the chance to dethrone Braves in the semifinals. PartyCrashers will need to play better than their 3pt defeat to Braves in Week 4 and definitely above the subpar performance they gave to their second loss to Braves in Week 9. Jeanslee Alexis will need to protect the ball and if he plays how he did in the quarterfinals, PartyCrashers will be in range. Emerson Peterkin will need to be on the offensive spotlight or I don’t see this squad winning. In addition, Mendel Joseph will need to scan the field for any interception chance he gets and to watch out especially for James Drysdale.

I predicted Braves would have lost one game in the second half of the season as they were 5-0 by mid-season, however, they went perfect. Braves average a 15pt victory margin throughout the season and they have the most championship experience over any squad left in Division A. Jonathan Maheu won another QB of the Year award and James Drysdale proved that he can be the number 1 WR and top DB with winning Two-Way player of the Year. Braves haven’t played in either 6v6 or 5v5 competition in nearly 3 weeks so will rust play a factor?

5 Questions to consider:

  1. Who else other than Peterkin, Joseph and Jeanslee Alexis can step up for PartyCrashers?
  2. Can PartyCrashers shut down a red-hot James Drysdale for majority of the game and for conversions?
  3. Will Braves let off the gas as they haven’t played in nearly 3 weeks?
  4. If Drysdale is getting all the attention, which offensive player will be next in line to make a play?
  5. If this game is close, will Braves’ constant ability to win already deemed to be the deciding factor or will PartyCrashers finally get the job done?

PartyCrashers are one of the best teams in this division when they play their best. I love how athletic they are and are seemingly all over the field on both sides of the ball. Having a true WR1 in Peterkin and ball-hawk in Joseph will cause problems for Braves. For the opposition, Braves have Drysdale who is a game-changer on both sides of the ball. I don’t think this will be a repeat of last time these two played each other with Braves winning by 30pts. This game will be much closer throughout the game. I do trust the supporting cast that Maheu has to step up more than PartyCrashers has with Alexis. Converts may be the deciding factor and Drysdale has proven to be money when it matters most, especially for 2pts. Prediction: PartyCrashers 34 – Braves 36

Closing Remarks:
That’s all for this article! This rounds out this week’s article where we went over the quarterfinals and also the overview of the semifinals for tonight. My last article will be this week before the finals which are to be played this weekend in Brossard. The latest episode of the FPF 1st & Goal podcast is up below and you can see Quaysie Gordon-Maule talk about the world of the FPF playoffs with how the semifinals are looking across the league and also a special guest in one of the women’s rising stars in Ashley Longin. Thanks for reading this article and I hope you have all had a great regular season either by reading these articles or playing flag. If you have any questions or suggestions, you can always email me at [email protected], message me on instagram @keyoncyrus or message me from the FPF Facebook page.