Division A & B: Championship Time; Finals Preview

After 10-week regular season games in eight weeks, and a playoff schedule that was just as condensed, we are finally here, the FlagPlus Football Spring Season Finals.

Congrats to the Allstars, Braves, Moretti Crime Family, and Silent Ticklers on advancing to the Division A and Division B championship games. A tip of the hat to Touch It Catch It, BYOB, Party Crashers, and The Apocalypse, for having successful seasons, making it to the final four in their respective divisions, and for providing us with some exciting football.

 The matchups are now set. For the Division B championship, it will be the Silent Ticklers going up against the Moretti Crime Family, and once again, we will see the Braves taking on the Allstars for the Division A title.

Before we get into the Finals preview and picks, let’s look at how all four teams got to this point.

The Moretti Crime Family advanced to the championship game with a (37-27) victory over BYOB. The contest pitted the speed and finesse of the former against the strength and aggression of the latter.

BYOB, wasted no time using that aggression, as Quarterback Mathieu René hit Receiver Mathieu Lepage, on a post route down the middle of the field for a 40-yard touchdown on the second play of the game.

The team tried to use the same aggressive style of play on defense to slow down the speed and agility of the MCF Receivers. The strategy didn’t work out as the misdirection, timing, and quick-passing of the MCF offense, broke down their opponents and put them at a disadvantage repeatedly throughout the game.

The MCF offense was most effective in the redzone, as Quarterback Joey Taylor’s designed rollouts to either side of the field bought time for his pass-catchers to get open and flood zones. Snapper Dom Benevento was the biggest beneficiary as well as the spark that helped this tactic work, as he was the number one option of his QB in the endzone, as three out of his game-high five touchdowns on the evening were scored in the redzone.

Finding themselves down (37-13) BYOB, was able to start a rally, as they scored two touchdowns, the first on a great catch on a 40-yard bomb by Receiver Ryan Perry, who made the grab while falling into the endzone. The second TD came on nine-yard catch by Ariel Librati, who had a strong game for the team on both sides of the ball.

Both scores pulled BYOB to within 10 points and gave the team momentum. Unfortunately, despite getting two sacks from Rusher Julien Paiement, and forcing a turnover on downs on the same series, the team couldn’t capitalize, as they turned the ball over themselves, as Zach Zwirn, intercepted René, essentially ending the game.

What makes the win by MCF all the more impressive, is the fact that they were able to pull it off without their best two-way player in Joel Malkin, as well as Snapper Gabriel Wiseman, the latter of who was out due to injury.

Their opponents for the Division B title, the Silent Ticklers, got there by blowing out Touch It Catch It (53-32). Quarterback Rochdi Benabdelkader showed why he is an FPF Hall of Famer, as he shredded the TICI defense for eight touchdowns. He was at his best looking off his targets, and both confusing as well as attacking the holes in the TICI defense.

The QB also did a great job keeping all his Receivers involved in the win, as all five of his pass-catchers recorded at least five touchdowns. Slot Receiver Andrew Blevings led the way with three, and he also had a team-high eight catches for 114 yards. The former Chateauguay Raider forced more than a few defenders to have to make a business decision when it came to tackling him.

The team’s defense also played a huge part in the win, as Adam Rosen, recorded two interceptions. The INTs turned the tide in the contest, as both turnovers led to points by the Silent Ticklers, two and one play later respectively.

The takeaways also led to the beginning of a mountain of frustration and a meltdown for Touch It Catch It, as the team questioned the decision-making of Fred Mallette, both as a Quarterback and as a defender. As the former, he missed, and at times ignored open targets, while electing to throw deep shots into coverage.

Lining up as a Defensive Back, and despite giving cushion, Mallette, routinely got burnt deep by Tysen Otis Copeland, who despite not getting stats for the game, ate the TICI’s lunch all game long, as he beat them in the long and short passing game, on the way to two touchdowns.

The team’s frustrations continued, as a bad snap that appeared to lead to a Dan Orlovsky style safety, more blown coverages, and bad tackling on defense just made things worse. Things got so bad, that sensing there was no comeback to be had by his team, Receiver Nicholas Groppini, who had practice later that night with his tackle football team, left the game with about ten minutes to go.

The Silent Ticklers would add some salt in the wound, as Blevings scored on a 34-yard touchdown on the last play of the game, where the majority of the TICI defense appeared to give up on the play.

The final score was a little deceiving, as Touch It Catch, got off to a hot start, and even held the lead twice during the first half. The loss also ruined a stellar performance by AJ Gomes, who despite playing with a severely injured pinkie, caught four passes for 101 yards and a game-high three touchdowns. The team just couldn’t overcome their numerous mistakes, as they dug themselves too big of a whole to climb out of.

(1) Silent Ticklers versus (5) Moretti Crime Family

Previous Meeting: Moretti Crime Family (40-33) Week 8

This was a fantastic game between two teams, as it went down to the wire. Receiver Rocco Christiano scored his second touchdown of the game with two plays remaining, and then intercepted Quarterback Jordan Panetta, on the game’s final play.

The contest had some big performances on both sides. First, let’s look at the Quarterbacks. For the Silent Ticklers, Jordan Panetta, who made four regular season starts due to the absence of Rochdi Benabdelkader, almost did enough to guide his team to victory, as he went 17 of 27 for 217 yards for five touchdowns and two interceptions. It’s pretty impressive when you’re second QB can come in and your offense doesn’t miss a beat. His counterpart in Joey Taylor, was simply phenomenal, as he had his best outing of the season as he finished the game going 23 of 25 for 241 yards, along with six TDs and one INT.

When looking at the Receivers, nobody had a bigger evening than Danny D’Amour, who was subbing for the Moretti Crime Family. He led all players with seven catches for 119 yards and a touchdown. The replacement WR was joined by teammates Joel Malkin and Rocco Christiano who both found the endzone twice, and Dom Benevento who added a major of his own. In all, the contest saw a total of eight Receivers score a TD. 

Leading the way for the Silent Ticklers, was Daniel Mancini, who made an impact with four receptions for 62 yards and two TDs. The veteran Receiver was joined in the TD club by Andrew Blevings, Vincent Dagenais, and Tysen Otis Copeland.

Although both teams combined to score 73 points, the defenses still made plays. Tysen Otis Copeland led his team in tackles with four, while also recording his team’s only interception, but it wasn’t enough, as Rocco Christiano, led all players with two takeaways.

For the Silent Ticklers to win the rematch, the team will need to use the same strategy they did versus Touch It Catch It, where their offense attacked all areas of the field and bait the defense while capitalizing on the holes that open up as a result.

On defense, the team will need to stay disciplined in their coverage, as they will not only need to give Rusher Mike Zenobi time to get to Taylor when he rolls out, but also on occasion like he did versus BYOB, be aware that he will throw the ball across his body and try to confuse the opposition by flooding areas of the field and throwing to the backside to the single Receiver. The team will also need to hold their position in the short game, as Dom Benevento, Justin Lerner, Gabriel Wiseman, and Brandon Aylward specialize at creating space in small spaces, and force Taylor to air it out more than he would prefer.

For MCF to win the trophy, they will need to make sure the offensive they brought to Loyola versus BYOB, shows up in Brossard Sunday night. They must keep their opponent’s defense off-balance with misdirection and take advantage of matchups. The return of the team’s best Receiver in Joel Malkin will allow them to do both things. His presence in the lineup gives the team a player who like his teammates has speed, but also brings size and extra toughness to the equation.

In the intermediate and deep passing game, Taylor, must protect the ball, and not throw as many 50-50 passes, as the Silent Tacklers defense has ballhawks in Adam Rosen, Daniel Mancini, and Tysen Otis Copeland.

On defense, MCF, must force the Silent Ticklers offense to become one-dimensional. To do that they must take away the short passing game, that starts with Blevings, who is the security blanket for his QB, as he serves the role of Fullback/Tight-End in the flats. That job will fall on MCF defensive play caller Eddy Lee, who also doubles as the hammer of the defense. This will be a matchup worth watching.

I fully expect the rematch to be a thriller. The fact that it is for the Division B championship, is just icing on the cake. The matchup also features two lethal offenses, as the Silent Ticklers ranked fifth in scoring with 325 points, while MCF finished first with 364.

I picked the Moretti Crime Family as my sleeper pick to win the championship at the beginning of their current six-game winning streak back in mid July. Despite that, I can’t help but think that the MCF won the first meeting by a touchdown with Danny D’Amour in their lineup, and against the Silent Ticklers backup QB. The former won’t be available this time around, while the latter might throw a ball or two, he won’t be the one making most of the throws. Also, picking against Rochdi Benabdelkader in a championship game isn’t smart especially when he is behind Snapper. He is also third all-time in FPF history with 14 titles. I am going with him and the number one seed in this one.

Final Score: Silent Ticklers (38-32)

(1) Allstars versus (2) Braves  

Previous Meeting:

Braves (42-33) Week 1

Allstars (43-38) Week 2

The unique regular season schedule that saw all five Division A teams play each other twice, had both squads square off in back-to-back weeks to kickoff the campaign. June 12th was their last meeting, and come championship Sunday, it will be 63 days since they last met.

Despite most correctly assuming these two teams would face off for the Division A title, neither side had an easy ride to the Finals.

For the Braves, they had to survive an exciting back and forth slugfest with the Party Crashers Wednesday night in Laval, that saw the former escape with a (34-33) win, as their defense stopped a 2-point conversion attempt by their opponents with five plays remaining.

The player of the game for the Braves was Jean-Daniel Chevalier, as he had a game-high three touchdowns on six catches for 90 yards. The FPF veteran also added an interception as a Defensive Back.

Joining Chevalier in making an impact for the Braves in the victory was Guillaume Beland, as the former McGill Redbird, had a game-high seven tackles to go along with five catches for 44 yards and a TD.

Quarterback Jonathan Maheu was able to overcome two interceptions, to throw for 240 yards and five TDs on 24 of 32 passing. The 7-time All-Star even caught a pass for seven-yards from William Trottier, who in-turn was on the receiving end of the game-winning TD pass from Maheu.

The loss was a heartbreaker for the Party Crashers, as they got a spectacular performance from Quarterback Frédéric Dupuis, who showed he belongs in the conversion about the elite passers in the league, as he was near-perfect going 19 of 23 for 176 yards and five TDs.

The Party Crashers also got standout performances from Raphael Dagenais, Anthony Brisebois, Emile Taillefer, and Louis-Philip Thibodeau, as they all scored touchdowns, and the last two also added interceptions as well.

The Allstars got to the final game of the season, with a (39-36) win over The Apocalypse, Monday night at Stade de Montreal.

Both Quarterbacks were solid in the game, as they combined for 12 touchdown passes. The GOAT Kevin Wyeth did as expected. He didn’t take a sack, avoided turnovers, and kept the defense guessing by delivering the ball to multiple receivers. He got big outings from Patrick Jérome (Can we now start calling him The Real Playoff P) and Chris Milard, as both Receivers recorded two touchdowns.

If you go off the numbers, Jeff Rosenblatt, had the better game, as he flirted with perfection, going 27 of 30 for 242 yards to go along with six touchdowns passes of his own. His Receivers delivered big plays as well, with James Ohayon registering seven catches for 92 yards and a touchdown, and his former Concordia Stinger teammate James Tyrell, recording four grabs for 21 yards, with a game-high three TDs. On a personal note, I met James’ dad Joe, Wednesday night at the McGill versus Florida State basketball game. My dad and Uncle grew up with him. I gave him and a mutual friend a lift back to their car after the game, the ride was a lot of laughs. He’s a good man.

You have to feel bad for Rosenblatt. You can’t really ask for any better than how he played, but he still ended up on the losing end. I remember standing on the sideline during his team’s Quarterfinal win over Mo Khan’s, More Problems, and before they won the game, I heard him say to someone, something along the lines of, that he is used to his teams having their hearts broken at the end of playoff games. Unfortunately, for the veteran, that rang true once again.  

As we saw in both regular season meetings, both games went down to the wire, and were decided by less than touchdown. That is only fitting, as the same thing occurred when the Allstars and Braves squared off for the Winter Season Division 1 championship, that saw the Allstars come away with a (49-48) win on a touchdown by HOF’er Jacques Void, and then a defense stand, that saw them stop their opponents from completing a 2-point conversion attempt on the final play of the game, after a TD by Receiver Alex Pilon.

I have no doubt that this third and final meeting will be fantastic. Without question, both teams are the best in FPF, so it only makes sense that they are doing battle for the most prestigious trophy in the league.

For the Braves to win the game, they will need to protect the ball. Against the Party Crashers Jo Maheu, was intercepted twice, but PC, only came away with one touchdown. This is the Allstars they are playing against. You can’t give away possessions, and you have to assume that they will score every time they force a turnover.

Another key to victory for the Braves, is that they must play a complete game. If you go back to their championship loss to the Allstars, The Braves, were in complete control of the game, until the dying minutes of the first half, that saw a (26-12) lead evaporate in three plays, curtesy of a touchdown by Quaid Johnson, an interception by Pat Jérome, a holding penalty against Alex Pilon on the return, and a TD by Jérome on the final play before the break, flip the score to (26-24), and steal all the momentum from the Braves, who never really got it back.

For the Allstars to win back-to-back championships, Quarterback Kevin Wyeth, will have to do what he has done throughout the playoffs, and get all his Receivers involved. Tony Lalla, Quaid Johnson, Matt Kirouac, Jacques Void, Chris Milard, Paul Lapierre, and Patrick Jérome. Look for advantages, exploit them, and keep the Braves on their heels, because they are an aggressive defense that tries to force takeaways.

On the other side of the ball, the Allstars will have to take away the deep ball by eliminating big plays to Chevalier and Trottier. They also must force the Braves to settle for dink and dunk plays and make them march the field each drive.  

The Braves have lost the last two Finals they appeared in. This team is hungry for an FPF title, and views any and all slights as motivation. Here is one more. I think the Allstars from top to bottom have more depth, too many weapons, and are the better team. I think they emerge victorious.

Final Score: Allstars (42-40)

Football is the greatest sport in the world. You learn a lot about yourself through the game. It gives you a lot back as well. Unfortunately, it will also break your heart from time to time. A play here, or a bounce there, and you go from winning to losing and vice versa. As is always the case, somebody has to win, and someone has to lose. That is the nature of sports, and of course championship games.

Picks (Favorites in bold)

Braves vs Allstars – Allstars

Moretti Crime Family vs Silent Ticklers – Silent Ticklers

Last Week: (3-1)

Regular Season: (39-19-3)

Playoffs: (5-4)

Upset Special: (8-7-1)

This year was my first playing fulltime since the 2020 Covid season. I had a blast getting back to football, seeing some old friends, and making a few new ones too. There is nothing like playoff football. I experienced the high of winning three do-or-die games to get in the playoffs and scoring what I thought was the game-winning TD once getting there, to suffering the heartbreak of losing the same game with three plays remaining. I love the game, and I wouldn’t change it for anything. My team will be back and better from the experience, and so will I.

Before I sign off, I just want to say thank-you for reading my articles, and especially for all the kind words I have received throughout the season. We write them for you guys. Whether or not you are playing, come drop by Brossard, and watch what should be two amazing games tomorrow night. If not, thanks again, and I will see you in January.

That is it for this week, and the 2022 FPF Summer Season. Good luck to everybody tomorrow. Have a great weekend!

If you liked, loved, or hated the article, or simply feel that I left something out, do not hesitate to reach out to me at [email protected], or reach me on Instagram @brent_b51