Categories: FPF Junior

And Here It Is: Championship Sunday!

 

 

It came within the blink of an eye, but after an extremely entertaining 1st and 2nd round of the playoffs that saw some games go down to the wire, and others decided by big plays, the Flag Plush Football Jr Division Finals, otherwise known as championship Sunday is finally here.

 

The action starts at noon at Stade Hebert with the Freshman Division match up featuring the (8-0) Ducks, taking on the (6-2) Bruins. At 1PM, we have the (7-11) Hawkeyes, versus the (5-2-1) Red Devils in the Sophomore Division, and finally, at 2PM we will have the undefeated (8-0) Horned Frogs, squaring off against the (3-5) Spartans.

 

In all of my years writing and playing for FPF, I can honestly say that this is the first time that all the championship match-ups are featuring the top 2 teams in each division. I can’t wait for the action to start.

 

Before we get to Sunday, let’s break down each game with a championship preview…

 

Freshman Division
 
 
(6-2) Bruins vs (8-0) Ducks
 
 
Previous Meeting: Ducks 20-6 (Week 5)
 
 
In the regular season match-up the Ducks cruised to the victory, as they beat a short-handed Bruins team that was missing Wide Receiver, and matchup nightmare Maurizio Mercuri Jr. 
 
 
The Ducks defense, which was led on the afternoon by Jayden Michel, who recorded an interception, stymied the Bruins’ high powered offense, as they held them to their worst performance of the season, with a season-low 6 points.
 
 
On the other side of the ball, the Ducks emphasized the short passing game, to get their speedy receivers the ball in space. The plan worked effectively, as Quarterback Valerian Cyrene, spread the ball around to multiple WRs through-out the game, and left the Bruins defense guessing.
 
 
For the Bruins to pull off the victory, two things will have to happen. Firstly, they will need their Quarterback William Leclerc to play much better than he did in the Week 5 showdown, where the rookie completed on 3 passes, and finished with 29 yards passing.
 
 
To do that, Leclerc will need his WRs like Thomas Hemens, Noah Swaminadhan, and the aforementioned Mercuri Jr, to win their one-to-one battles against the Ducks’ Defensive Backs.
 
 
Speaking of the Ducks defense, they led all Freshman Division teams in interceptions with an astounding 30, (8 of which were run back for touchdowns), and sacks, with 8. With game-breaking players like Kaiden Dewey-Hull, Malik Sabourin-Danglade, Joshua Jean-Jacques, the Edghill brothers, and the aforementiond Michel, this is a defense that will make you pay for making mistakes, so the most important thing the Bruins will need to do, is to protect the ball. 
 
 
For the Ducks, besides playing suffocating defense, their offense can put points on the board as well, as they have averaged 29 points a game. As I said, earlier however, they only scored 20 against a tough Bruins’ Defensive that with solid players like Eloi Tremblay, Justin Swaminadhan, as well as Hemens and Leclerc, have only surrendered an average of 17 points a game.
 
 
The Ducks versus the Bruins, is the battle of the two top teams with the best offenses and defenses. It should be a great game. Let the best team win.
 
 
 
Sophomore Division
 
 
(7-1) Hawkeye versus (3-5-1) Red Devils
 
 
Previous Meetings: Hawkeye 30-14 (Week 2) and Hawkeye 24-18 (Week 7)
 
 
 
With the possible exception of the Buckeyes’ Trey Bentley and Jaden Frenette, no other Quarterback-Wide Receiver combo has been as dangerous as the Hawkeyes’ Kaelen Trepanier and Noah Smallwood, and the Red Devils’ Noah Lachine and Lorenz Cormier-Jarbah.
 
 
In their two regular games against the Red Devils, the Hawkeyes’ rookie duo has combined for 11 catches, for 81 yards, and 4 touchdowns. 
When Smallwood isn’t getting the ball, Trepanier, who threw for 18 TDs, still has dangerous receivers to throw the ball to, in Jonatan Lebensztajn-Shahrabani and Camren Mulcair among others. 
 
 
Defensively, the Hawkeyes, who are also led by Trepanier, and his team leading 7 interceptions, also have other ball-hawks like Sacha Massicotte, Alessandro Frassetti, Alexandre Blouin, and Sammy-Joe Sudah, each of whom has at least one INT.
 
 
The Hawks’ will need their aggressive defense to slow down a potent Red Devils‘ dynamic duo of Lachine and Cormier-Jarbah, who have connected for 424 yards and a Sophomore Division leading 12 TDs.
 
 
What makes the Red Devils so dangerous, is their plethora of other productive receiving options as well, namely Oshawa Maxwell, Felix Guerin, and the versatile William Bradford.
 
 
Despite all their playmakers on offense, the game will come down to the Red Devils’ defense, as William Denis, Darrius Nicholson, Liam Fallon, and the aforementioned Cormier-Jarbah, will have to stop the divisions best QB in Trepanier, not just through the air, but on the ground as well, as the rookie Passer has 6 rushing touchdowns, and is averaging a shade under 21 yards a rush. Needless to say, the task will be easier said than done.
 
 
Last season, we saw the Hurricanes go 7-0 in dominating fashion, before losing the regular season finale. They would also go on to lose in the Finals against the underdog Longhorns. Will we see history repeat itself Sunday afternoon?
 
 
 
 
Varsity Division
 
 
(8-0) Horned Frogs versus (3-5-1) Spartans
 
 
Previous Meetings: Horned Frogs 34-24 (Week 1), Horned Frogs 41-25 (Week 4), and Horned Frogs 32-20 (Week 7).
 
 
 
As the old saying goes, beating a team three times in a season is hard enough. Trying to pull off the feat 4 times seems unimaginable. Nevertheless, the Horned Frogs, find themselves one game away from completing their path to perfection.
 
 
Despite both teams’ records, these teams are eerily similar. 
 
 
Both teams have second-year Quarterbacks in Avery Lalla, and Ryan Garber, that can not only make tons if plays with their arm and their legs, but more importantly, they always put their teams in position to not only score points, but to win the game.
 
 
Each squad has multiple players who play tackle football. Each side also more than a few players who are looking for their first FPF championship after falling short last season.
 
 
Most importantly though, both teams have explosive offenses, and playmakers at every position, who are more than capable of turning a game around at the drop of a hat.
 
 
For the Spartans, some of those games changers are Adam Mahrouse, Justin Grenon, Spencer Fitzpatrick, Jeremy Calorendi, Agostino Giagnacovo, and Jayden Hogan, who’s return to the lineup 2 weeks ago after a 4-week absence, has sparked the team’s offense.
 
 
For the Horned Frogs, they are countering with Dwante Morgan, Zachery Stehr, Justin Brunelle, and the most dangerous WRS duo in all of FPF Jr, in Jordan Murphy and Kaylem Ferdinand.
 
 
In all 3 games this year, the Horned Frogs made the Spartans pick their poison. If their defense took away Morgan as they did in Week 1, than Frogs’ QB Lalla fed the ball to Ferdinand and Morgan. 
 
 
During the Week 4 meeting, Murphy and Morgan were held in check by the Spartans’ Defensive, but Ferdinand went off to the tune of 11 catches for 114 yards and 2 TDs.
 
 
In the Week 7 contest that both Morgan and Murphy missed, and Ferdinand virtually shut down, as he had a season-low 24 yards, saw receivers Zachery Stehr and Justin Brunelle carry the offense on their backs, as they combined for 10 receptions for 72 yards and a score.
 
 
It goes without saying that the Spartans will need to not only be sound in their defensive assignments, but they will most likely need one of their Defensive Backs to make a play. Although they might not get as much spotlight as some of their other teammates, players like Casey Dobson, Christophe-Mikhail Tardif, and Julius D’Amico, who are more than capable, will forced to come though in the clutch. 
 
 
The same thing is true of Andrew Colucci, the under-rated Alexi Dubois, and Varsity Division sacks master Giordano Proulx of the Horned Frogs.
 
 
I’ve won a football championship before. I can honestly say that while our big-name players played a part in our win, the lesser-known players made a huge impact as well, and we wouldn’t have won without them. That is why football is the greatest sport in the world. It’s a team game, that requires the performance of the entire squad to get a win.
 
 
The only real difference with both teams is how they got to this point. The Horned Frogs coasted to an undefeated record this year, while the Spartans who looked left for dead after starting the year 0-4, used a mid-season run to win 4 out of their last 5 games (including playoffs) to end up with a chance to win it all.
 
 
These are clearly the best two teams in the division. I expect this game to be phenomenal. Let’s see who has what it takes to walk away as champions. 
 
 
Well guys, after the games this Sunday that will be it for the FPF Jr season. I want to thank all the players, parents, and fans who came out to play and watch the games this year. I would also like to say thanks to everybody who took the time to read my articles, and watch the podcast (A special thank-you once again to all the players and parents who came out this past Tuesday) I truly appreciate it!
 
 
I had a blast working for the Jr Division for the second year in a row. I look forward to seeing you guys this spring when we kick-off the first ever FPF Jr Spring Season. Until then, enjoy the action this Sunday, and I’ll see you guys soon!
 
 
Good luck to the 6 remaining teams this Sunday!
 
 
If you loved the article, hated it, or simply felt that I left something out, please feel free to reach me at [email protected]