Division 5 Semi Final Preview

Semi Final Previews

5A

Super Saiyans (1) vs. Tents & Hammocks (4)

Previous Meeting: Super Saiyans won 32 – 0

You can throw the first matchup out the window as both Aylward’s were not there and if you know anything about Tents & Hammocks or Greendale Human Beings, you know that these teams center on the Aylward brothers. One of the many reasons why the article is coming out so late is that this time around, another big name player will be missing from the game but this time on the Saiyans. I won’t call him out by name, but my analysis should make it fairly obvious.

You may have expected both teams to still be around but the Super Saiyans definitely had the cleaner season. Tents & Hammocks saw Brandon Aylward go through a little bit of growing pains as a quarterback, but ultimately his brother’s formula is tried and tested and the reason why they are one game away from the finals. Would you believe me if I told you that during the regular season, only two players on the team had more than 10 catches? While both Alex Joltopuf and Danny Aylward have averaged more than 7 catches per game, the true danger lies in just how unknown the rest of the squad may be. They seem to always have one of their depth players step up and make a key play when the opposing defense is keying in on the top two targets and it’s often how they can stay consistent.

The Super Saiyans can’t get complacent when it comes to the supporting cast of Tents & Hammocks and adopt a bend but don’t break style defense when it comes to Joltopuf and Aylward. I anticipate they will try to use their size and force Brandon to throw over them and see if he can win the game on his own. After all, you can only watch that quick out from the center so often before going absolutely crazy that it always works. On the other side of the ball, I fully expect the Super Saiyans to continue to use their size. Tom Gatehouse will be playing quarterback and actually looked extremely good last week against no show for the 5 plays he was forced into. He actually scored fairly easily when Jordan Allard had to sit due to a UR. I actually don’t anticipate much of a change for the Super Saiyans with Gatehouse at quarterback as he has a lot of experience and can make plays. The question will be, who will step up for the Saiyans? Segall? Fontana? Gallant? They have a wealth of height and skill and will be firing on all cylinders.

I expect this game to be extremely close and Tents & Hammocks will try to sustain extremely long drives. They’ve shown they can take on the high flying Mahomies but the Saiyans defense is a lot stronger. I think the game will come down to extra points and possible overtime, without the extracurricular activities in the parking lot this time.

Prediction: Super Saiyans win 27 – 26 in OT

 

Outlaws (1) vs. Spartans (3)

Previous Meeting: N/A

I’ll be the first to admit that I was extremely impressed by the Spartans last week. I got to watch the game first hand and saw their defense completely take over the game. Matthew Campbell and his two interceptions completely took over the game and are the reason why the Spartans beat Voodoo. It seems to be a common theme that James D’Andrea doesn’t need to be the best quarterback left in the playoffs for the Spartans to win games and their win against Voodoo proved that. Compared to the experience and resume of Stephen Harripersaud, D’Andrea falls a little bit short but when it’s one win and you’re in, none of that matters. That’s definitely not a shot on D’Andrea either, not many people have the resume of Harripersaud, but the question is, who has the right supporting cast to get their team to the finals?

The Spartans have relied on their athleticism as a team and their quick defense to get them to this point but is it enough? Andrew Grant, Alexandre Noel and Matthew Campbell would say yes. They key will be for the Spartans to avoid turnovers, punt when they need to, and let their defense dominate the game like they’ve been really good at. D’Andrea isn’t known to complete a high percentage of his passes, but if he can attack deep in a few key moments and complete big plays to guys like Grant, Martel or Colley. One of the reasons why the Outlaws were able to win last week was because they were able to create early turnovers. They actually struggled at times on offense and showed that they can be stopped. We’ll see if the Spartans can add to that.

If we take a look at the Outlaws, we know exactly what we’re going to get. A few surprises though for me were Kevin Koussaie’s aggressive play on defense helped a lot, Tabari Yearwood had a big impact on the game and the lack of usage of Kevin Smuda and Josh Levine. If I were to bet on anything it would be that the Outlaws will make a conscious attempt to get both of them in the game this time around and we can include Shyanne Stewart in the mix as well. I would imagine their game plan to be a heavy dose of Koussaie in the middle to bait the defense and then try to hit Smuda or Stewart over top. Who am I though, right?

At this point in the playoffs it’s hard to actually predict a blowout and I’m not going to start with this game. With a little bit of magic, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Spartans pull this one off, but damn is it hard to bet against the Outlaws.

Prediction: Outlaws win 26 – 25

 

5B

Bruins (1) vs. The Process (2)

Previous Meeting: N/A

When two teams finish first and second in the conference, it’s pretty incredible that they have not played each other yet. Maybe that’s for the best. While both teams have for sure done their fair share of scouting, who knows what will happen when they square off and that’s to the delight of the 7 fans in attendance. That’s not a shot at either team, we just don’t get many spectators most of the time in FPF.

The Bruins finished first overall and they have not really had the cake walk you’d expect. Playing the 8th seed and then the 5th seed in the first two rounds of the playoffs would have you thinking that they had a pretty easy route to the semi finals but that’s not the case. They’ve won both games by a total of 3 points and it leaves you wondering about what direction they are trending in. Are they on the decline and vulnerable for The Process? Or are they saving their best for later on in the playoffs? They are probably the team with the least amount of weaknesses across the board and they are pretty tall, athletic and intelligent across the board. I’m sure that Zwirn, Ouimet and St-Arnaud will have their usual impact, but I think the Process might try and neutralize Zwirn. My bet would be with Borden.

Defensively, if they haven’t learned to keep an eye on Noah Groper by now, they haven’t been paying enough attention. Borden, Groper and Boidman provide a solid 3 options for Langburt but overall, any player on the Process can come up with a big play. Both teams have an embarrassment of riches and they key will be the matchups within the matchup. I would bet on Langburt and company to get at least a turnover but for them, it will come down to mistake free football on offense. Finally, if Justin Frankel can make Gabriel Wiseman’s day difficult, they might just run away with this one like they did against EZW.

You may think I’m biased, but when analyzing two teams it would be impossible to go with the team I knew least. I’ve watched the Process all season and I know what they can do to their opponents, it wouldn’t feel right to go against them.

Prediction: The Process win 27 – 20

 

Takeover (3) vs. The U (4)

Previous Meeting: N/A

A lot of first time matchups in this round also, but from what I am told, these two teams know each other fairly well. Takeover is coming off a crazy game where they narrowly escaped defeat at the hands of Les Gros Coqs who put up an amazing fight in their first FPF quarter finals. The U looked very strong upsetting a good Honey Martin team and Evan Frank looked like the poised quarterback that he has the potential of being week in and week out. I definitely think we’re in for another high scoring affair with both Einheiber and Frank putting up a lot of points. It’s not hard to predict with guys like Papich, Pedvis, Rosenberger, Power and Benjamin on the field.

After faltering in the final two games of the regular season, The U have turned it around and seem to be on a mission. They have looked to be true playoff contenders and are getting hot at the right time. Evan Frank looks much more comfortable playing in Division 5 and Joe Kano’s leadership seems to have the team rallying. Their first order of business will be to slow down Vincent Benjamin who has been one of the hottest receivers in the playoffs and they can’t forget about William Power in the process. Just like on offense, they’ll want to keep the ball away from them on defense as well which makes me wonder if they’ll move guys around to try and create better matchups to suit their game plan.

For Takeover, if it ain’t broke… They have been rolling and putting up tons of points, the problem has been the consistency of their defense. They’ll need to come up with an answer for all of the playmakers on The U. Both quarterbacks will need to avoid turnovers and keeping control of the game. If there is one thing I’ve learned, is that every possession in the playoffs is huge and you can’t squander anything.

I’ve been a huge fan of The U all playoffs and thought they would do well, but I think this is a bad matchup for them. Vincent Benjamin has just been so dominant and I don’t see The U slowing him down. I’d have to say Takeover in a shootout for this one.

Prediction: Takeover win 39 – 37