Division A and Division B: Championship Preview

Welcome to the final Division A/B article of the FlagPlus Football Summer Season.

This is it. Four teams remain, and only two will be crowned champion. Who will it be? The king of the mountain Braves? The throne-chasers in Khantraband? The offensive juggernauts KGP, or the upset kings in the Junkyard Dogs? Let’s find out.

Division B

Junkyard Dogs versus KGP (Sunday 10:40PM @ Lachine)

*Previous Meeting: KGP won (31-30) Week 8

The previous meeting was just over a month ago, but KGP was able to get the huge victory in the middle of an impressive streak that has seen them win four out of their last five games.

An asterisk should go beside the win, as KGP was who missing Phil Cutler at Quarterback, called upon Liam Mahoney to sub in.

The former Concordia Stingers Quarterback and Wide Receiver who last played in FPF all the way back in the 2018 Winter Season with You Can’t Sit With Us, did not miss a beat, as he went 21 of 34 for 206 yards to go along with five touchdown passes and one interception. Not bad at all.

His favorite target of the evening was another former Concordia Stinger in Quaysie Gordon-Maule, who had a solid game of his own catching nine of 11 passes for 106 yards and a TD. He would also add an interception on defense.

It wasn’t just the Mahoney and Gordon-Maule combo that propelled KGP to victory, as the team also got big outings from Receivers James Acker and Jonathan Garfinkle, who both had six catches apiece and a trip each to the endzone.

As good as his performance was, unfortunately for KGP, they will not have the services of Mahoney in the rematch. For most teams, the loss of such a great QB would cripple them, but with Cutler back at the helm, there should not much if any drop-off, as the 6-time All-Star has been on fire this post-season, as he is coming of arguably the best game of his career in the Semi-Finals against Get Off Our D, completing 15 of 16 passes for five touchdowns to five different Receivers.

If you go back one week earlier to his team’s (46-45) victory over the All-Stars of Division A to close out the regular season, Cutler threw just three incomplete passes against 280 yards and seven touchdowns. I have said it once, and I will say it again, when your Quarterback tosses more TDs than incompletions, you know they are doing something right.

Junkyard Dogs Quarterback Jason Rossie had a good game as well, as he threw 200 yards to go along with four touchdowns and one interception.

The biggest beneficiaries of Rossie’s outing were Receivers Sean Semerjian, who had five catches for 115 yards and a touchdown, and Charles-Olivier Lavigne, who recorded three receptions for 105 yards and a game-high two trips to the endzone. Lavigne, would even throw a 49-yard TD to Semerjian on the second to last play of the game, setting up the 2-point conversion attempt that JYD needed to win the game, but would fail to convert.

The missed 2-point attempt, was just one of five that JYD would miss on the evening. Their opponents didn’t do much better, as they went one for five, but the one they did make had a huge impact on the final score.

Redzone performances also played a big role in the contest, as KGP went four of five for a success rate of 80%, while JYD scored on five of their seven trips, good for 70%.  

So far, this post-season, JYD have been the underdogs. They have embraced that status and used it as fuel in upset wins over Here For The Beers and Urgence Médic.

Three keys to victory

For the Junkyard Dogs, they will need to play an entire game. In the first meeting, despite staging a furious near second half comeback, they found themselves down (18-0) at halftime, and (31-18) before they would go on to score the final two touchdowns of the contest. Look for Rossie to target his playmakers in Rory Semerjian, Sean Semerjian, and Paul Lapierre involved early and often.

The JYD defense, which did a phenomenal job shutting down Receiver Gabe D’Amico-Mazza, as they held the KGP leader in post-season in catches and touchdowns to two grabs for 11 yards and no trips to the endzone. Not only will they need to limit him again, but they must also find a way to eliminate the big plays of Quaysie Gordon-Maule, who had three receptions of over 20 yards, including two that went for TDs. That job will partly fall on the shoulders of underrated defenders Jean-Christophe Ferland and Charles Olivier Vachon.

Quarterback Jason Rossie has been the fuel that has ignited his team’s offense this post-season, with nine touchdown passes. He has continuously displayed leadership, creative play-calling, and the ability to make a play when his team needs it most. Despite his tremendous play so far, the veteran gunslinger will have to protect the ball against the aggressive KGP defense. So far during the playoffs, Rossie has thrown four interceptions. Giving extra possessions to Phil Cutler and his team is a recipe for disaster.

For KGP, they will need to continue the hot play of their offense. Despite being the lowest scoring team in the regular season with 228 points, they have put up 87 points over their last two games. Cutler will have to get rid of the ball quickly and accurately, as he will be hounded all game long by Rusher Hinsley Adams.

Another key will be getting a repeat performance out of their other Receivers in James Acker and Jonathan Garfinkle. Adding more help to the offense and intrigue to the game, will be the return of Dylan Garber. The Receiver who finished second on the team with 32 catches and five touchdowns, as well as a 40-yard TD in the Semi-Final win over Get Off Our D, missed the first meeting against JYD. 

KGP will also need to make sure that Charles-Olivier Lavigne does not steal the show for a third week in a row. The former All-Star almost single-handedly eliminated Here For The Beers in the Quarter-Finals, with 103 receiving yards, two touchdowns, great coverage on defense, and a 20-yard run to ice the game. One week later against Urgence Médic, Lavigne, had two interceptions against future Hall-of-Famer Jesse Dupuis, including one that came on the final play of the contest. Along with their QB, and timely plays from their other big-time players, Lavigne, has been a key component to the team’s underdog run post-season run? Can he help pull off another upset in the ultimate game?  

Prediction

I expect a close scoring game once again, as both Quarterbacks will start off by taking what either defense gives them, before letting it fly. The Junkyard Dogs have more playmakers, but KGP has the advantage of JYD not playing against Cutler.

Both teams have championship experience. I think whoever makes more the fewer mistakes will win. I think that will be KGP.

Final Score: KGP (30-28).

Division A

Khantraband versus Braves (Monday 10:20PM @Lachine)

*Braves won (38-33) Week 4

*Braves won (42-40) Week 10

* Braves won (48-44) Quarter-Finals

The Braves will try to go for the four-game sweep Monday night in Lachine. After beating Khantraband by a combined 11 points across three games, this will be the hardest victory to pull off.

Division A Quarterback of the Year Dan Lazzara has had an incredible season, leading all FPF QBs with a jaw-dropping 65 touchdown passes. He will be going head-to-head with Jonathan Maheu, the man who many feel has been best passer in FPF the last few seasons.

That showdown alone is reason enough to come down to Lachine and watch the game.

With lineups including but not limited to Mike Pierrecin, AJ Gomes, Georges Gariépy, Tyris Lebeau, Julien Paiement, David Centomo, Jason Courchesne, Domenico Manno, Jean-Daniel Chevalier, Tam Vilaydeth, Alex Pilon, and as well as Serge Pilon Jr., you can be sure that explosive plays, aggressive defense, tons of scoring, momentum turning drives, and even a brother versus brother showdown, will be just some of the other reasons why this will be a must-see game.

The Braves are a team that makes very few if any mistakes, and they will almost always feast on the ones you make. Khantraband knows this first-hand. With that being said, the defending Division A-B champions, are not the perfect team. Look no further than their (35-30) loss to the All-Stars in Week 8. In that contest, the Braves went 0 for 5 on conversion attempts including a shocking 0 for 4 when going for two, which is their specialty. Their opponents gave the Braves a taste of their own medicine, as they went 4 for 5 on their extra point tries.

In that game, the Braves usually stout long ball defense, gave up big plays of 20, 40, 33, and 20 yards to Patrick Jérome and Quaid Johnson, three of which went for touchdowns. Jérome, the 2014 Hall-of-Fame inductee, would finish the game with 8 receptions for 138 yards and two touchdowns.

Speaking of spectacular receiving numbers, while the Braves have the Receivers to put up those kinds of numbers, they are at their best when Maheu spreads the wealth, and forces opposing defenses to pick their poison.

For Khantraband, their offense revolves around their best Receivers, in Serge Pilon Jr. and AJ Gomes, as they both have the speed to tear the top off a defense.

Falling in love with the deep ball, however, would be a fatal flaw for Lazzara and the Khantraband offense, as they will be going up against a defense that has intercepted the HOF Quarterback five times this season. Some of those INTs have come on deep ball shots. In both games where he averaged at least 13 yards a pass, the QB was intercepted twice.

In the first meeting between both teams back in Week 4, he was only picked off once. Last week in their comeback miracle Hail Mary win at the buzzer game versus the All-Stars, he only threw one INT while averaging 9.2 yards a pass. The team and their Quarterback would be smart to attack the short and intermediate passing game with Domenico Manno and David Centomo

The Rusher matchup in this game will be worth watching too, as we will see Julien Paiement (Braves), square off with Isiah Allard (Khantraband). The former has secured his status as the best FPF has ever seen, while the latter has put himself in the top 5 of all-time category.

Both All-Stars could not be more different in stature and rushing technique, as Paiement uses speed and an unmatched ability to change direction, while Allard relies on his length and athleticism. If either defense wants to have a chance of slowing down either Quarterback, it will start at this position.

The mental hurdle that the Braves have represented to Khantraband is huge. If you take away the three regular losses, Khantraband, went (7-1) against everybody else, with their only other loss coming at the hands of Chernobyl – 21 (45-39) back in Week 5. Just like KGP’s victory over the Junkyard in the regular season, the loss by Khantraband should have an asterisk beside it, as Chernobyl – 21 had the services of current Concordia Stingers Wide Receiver Jeremy Murphy. While he was the main architect behind the Stingers’ 22-point fourth quarter comeback overtime win (36-33) against McGill last Friday at Molson Stadium (it was a GREAT game to call), back in Week 5, he registered a 33-yard touchdown reception on his only catch of the evening, along with two interceptions on defense, one of which he ran back for a TD.

Fortunately for Daniel Lazzara and his team, they won’t be facing Murphy anytime soon. Unfortunately for them, the challenge of finally beating the Braves will be a much tougher hill to climb.

Three Keys to victory

For Khantraband, like I mentioned above, it will come down to eliminating the turnovers. Five in three games against an elite team like this is just too many. Lazarra doesn’t need to be perfect, but he can not give his opponents extra possessions.

On both sides of the ball, Khantraband will have to try and use their speed with players like Tam Vilaydeth and Nicholas Gomes-Risso, to counteract the size advantage of the Braves.

Many people expected them to lose to the All-Stars last week. If it wasn’t for horrible endzone coverage, it would have come to fruition. Luckily for Khantraband, Receiver AJ Gomes beat their zone defense for the game-winning touchdown on the game’s final play. Khantraband needs to ride that momentum and use the us against the world mentality to knock off the favoured Braves.

For the Braves, to defend their title, they will need to continue their feisty and aggressive defense led by Mike Pierrecin. Jumping short routes, getting their hands on any deep ball that hangs in the air too long, and forcing Lazzara to make the perfect throw. In short, they need to do what they do.

On offense, the Braves must use their size and length in the redzone. They must put the smaller defenders of Khantraband in Tam Vilaydeth and Nicholas Gomes-Risso, in mismatches against Receivers like Georges Gariépy and Jean-Daniel Chevalier.

Championship experience. The Braves are not just the defending Division A/B champs, they also have a staggering advantage over their opponents in that department, with an edge of 33 compared to 15. They have a chance to increase the number to 36, if Julien Paiement can win his sixth trophy with KGP on Sunday night. If this game comes down to the wire as expected, the Braves can rely on their superior pedigree to guide them.

Prediction

I think it is just too hard to beat a team four times in a season. If there is one team that can do it, it is the Braves. Despite that, this is the time for Khantraband to show why they believe they are the best team in FPF. The mental hurdle that are the Braves has been the biggest mountain their opponents have yet to climb. I think they finally do it Monday night.

Final score: Khantraband (39-38).

That is it for the playoffs and this season. I had a blast writing for you guys. I was a little worried heading in as I have never written for Division A or B before, but all the kind words I have received throughout the course of the year has showed me that you guys like my work. Thank you, guys, and I hope to see you this winter.

Enjoy the Finals. I honestly believe we will be treated to two fantastic games. I will be in Lachine Sunday and Monday to do play-by-play for both contests.

If you can’t make it, the games will be posted on the FPF YouTube channel, so check them out.

Good luck to all four teams.

Thanks for taking the time to read the articles, I appreciate it!

Take care,

Brent

If you loved the article, hated it, or simply felt like there was something I left out, please feel free to contact me at [email protected]