Playoff Picture: Loading Complete

One week. That’s all that stands between us and the postseason. For four of the five teams in co-ed, that’s one last week to either improve playoff positioning, get momentum going, keep momentum going, or a mix of first and one of the other two. For the last team, this last week is all about playing for pride. Let’s get to it.

 

Recaps

I’m Winnin’ Anyway Pt. 2

When the opening play of It’s a Match’s game versus Served With Girls saw Alexis Labonté complete a 15-yard pass to JP Nadeau, I actually thought there was a chance for an upset.

Then David Shopov picked Labonté off on the very next play. And that’s about when reality set in.

Karl Lavallée proceeded to find JD Chevalier on a short dump-off pass in the middle of the field, and he took it the rest of the way for the 34-yard TD. A couple of 40 bombs later and the scoreboard showed 31-6 in SWG’s favor.

A QB switch from Labonté to François Éthier did give a boost to the It’s a Match offense for a short while, with a short TD pass from Éthier to Labonté making it 31-12. A pick by Labonté on a deep ball on the very next play led to a second TD pass off Éthier’s hands, this time going to Lovinski Gelin from five yards out to make it 31-18 with about five minutes left. 

But then came the back-breaker: a 40-yard scamper down the sideline by Lavallée, complete with about three missed tackles – surely providing the inspiration for Labonté to do his best impression of that same run in Division 5 a day later (va chier, Alexis. Saro aussi) – sealed the deal. 

This one was a tough loss for sure for the boys and girls in blue. But it’s not the kind they should erase from their memory so quickly: considering the fact that, despite the loss, they nonetheless clinched a playoff spot this past week, It’s a Match may very well be facing SWG for a third time come playoffs. And some adjustments will definitely be in order.

 

Playoff Picture: Confirmed

Confirmed Positive’s battle versus Flamboyant Dragons on Saturday unfortunately went little as hoped, very much as expected, as Vanessa Birri and company dominated from start to finish en route to a 35-6 victory.

A big reason why: the late addition of Maxime Patterson to the CP squad, who has seemingly provided an electrifying spark to an already stacked roster. For yet another week, Patterson contributed big plays not only on offense (two catches for 47 yards and a score), but also proved to be a game-changer on defense, tasked with rushing the ever-mobile Guillaume Fontaine for most of the night – and coming up big with two sacks as well as putting heavy pressure on Fontaine in the pocket. Effective rushing truly proved to make the difference in this game, with Guillaume Fontaine being held out of the end zone on the ground after having scored twice on three runs the last time these two teams faced off.

Well… that, and the fact that Flamboyant Dragons had the help of both Fred Mallette and Laurent Ladouceur as subs the first time around. Neither sub was present for last Saturday’s bout, and the result was that the only dependable receiver proved to be Philip Cazavan, who finished with four grabs for 58 yards and the Dragons’ lone score. 

The loss effectively knocked Flamboyant Dragons out of the playoffs. As disappointing as that fact may be, it doesn’t mean Flamboyant can’t go out on a high note: there’s still one more week to go – one last chance for Flamboyant Dragons to get a W on the season, and a chance to play spoiler of sorts to boot.

  

Playoff Picture

Conference A	Team	GP	PTS	Wins	PA
1	Confirmed Positive	8	14	7	102
2	Served With Girls	7	12	6	146
3	Party Mix	7	6	3	164
4	It’s a Match	7	4	2	154
5	Flamboyant Dragons	7	0	0	276

 

With the playoff picture set, all that’s left to determine is the seeding. Tiebreakers are, in order: wins, head-to-head (in case of two-way ties), and points against. With that in mind, Confirmed Positive have locked up the top seed: even with a SWG win this weekend, the fact these two teams split their two regular season meetings means the next tiebreaker is points against, and CP have SWG beat in that category.

As for Party Mix and It’s a Match, it’s a similar scenario. A win from It’s a Match this weekend, coupled with a loss by Party Mix, would have the two teams tied in terms of both points and wins. Considering they, too, split their two regular season matchups, the tiebreaker would come down to points against, where It’s a Match may have the advantage if Party Mix get blown out and/or the It’s a Match defense shut down the Flamboyant Dragons offense. 

 

Power Rankings 

1. Confirmed Positive (7-1): They were the favorites coming into the regular season. They remain the favorites exiting the regular season.

 

2. Served With Girls (6-1): QB Karl Lavallée has completed fewer than 60% of his passes in five of his seven games on the season. The fact this team puts up nearly 30 points a game despite that is testament to how explosive this receiving corps is. After all, going 1-for-2 isn’t so bad when the 1 is a 40-yard bomb, is it?

 

3. Party Mix (3-4): They failed their big test two weeks ago, but we can chalk that one up to unfortunate circumstances. With a date versus Served With Girls coming up next, it’s time to see if Party Mix really belong in the conversation for a co-ed championship.

 

4. It’s a Match (2-5): The good thing is the offense looked decent when Éthier took over the QB reigns this past week. The bad thing is the strides they’re making remain far too short with the playoffs right around the corner.

 

5. Flamboyant Dragons (0-7): On the season, the Dragons were slow out of the gate, progressively reaching a peak around midseason, and are now slowly reverting back to where they started. That being said, I think they’re a lot better heading into Week 11 than they were in Week 1. Now it’s just time for them to translate that improvement into a W.

 

Predictions

It’s a Match vs. Flamboyant Dragons

Served With Girls vs. Party Mix

 

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That wraps up Week 10 of the Co-Ed Division. Questions, comments, criticism? Let me know on Facebook or on Twitter @JBlanchFPF. See you at the fields!