Division A: Quarter-Finals Playoff Preview

After nearly three months of action, we have finally arrived at the real season. Welcome to the FlagPlus Football Division A playoffs.

This is the greatest time of the year. The regular season is the tune-up, and the playoffs are the main attraction.  The next three weeks will be full of action, excitement, heartbreak, and great football. Let’s buckle up and enjoy the ride.

Here is your Quarter-Finals playoff preview:

The Jamesons versus #NR

Previous Meeting: The Jamesons (41-38) Week 6

In the first matchup, The Jamesons’ James Drysdale had a standout performance with three touchdowns, including an interception off Quarterback Cory Pecker, that he returned for the score. The team was able to get the win as Marty Freedman scored a 19-yard TD with four plays remaining, For #NR, Rashawn Perry, had a phenomenal game as he led all players with four touchdowns, in what was an exciting back and forth game.

The Jamesons come into Monday’s game playing their best ball of the season, as they have won two straight, and four out of their last five overall. Quarterback Jeff Rosenblatt has been cooking, as his offense has scored at last 41 points during that span.

On the other side, #NR has been playing anything but their best ball of the year, as they come into the post-season on a six-game losing streak. Their last win was all the way back in Week 4, when they beat Bless Up (46-40) on May 28^th. Yeah, it’s been a while. Their offense has been the main culprit for their struggles, as they have failed to crack the 30-point plateau in five of those games. 

If #NR is looking for something to grasp onto, it is the fact that despite their slide and faltering offense, the one team who they surpassed 30 points against, and almost beat was The Jamesons. In that contest, #NR had more yards, better starting field position, and more redzone possessions than their opponents.

For #NR to pull off the upset in the rematch, they will have to avoid making the crucial mistakes that doomed them in the first meeting. The pick-six by Drysdale, and scoring on only five of six redzone appearances, can not happen. The team will also need to find a way to open the deep passing game, as The Jamesons did a great job of forcing Pecker to mainly settle for check down and intermediate passes to Snapper Ryan-Dobbs Garnett and Wide Receiver Rashawn Perry.

For The Jamesons to complete the sweep, they will need to continue the defensive gameplan that was so effective in eliminating the deep threat of the team’s top two Receivers in Kenny Baye and Jordan McLaren.

On offense, Jeff Rosenblatt will have to repeat his performance from the last meeting where he spread the ball around to six different Receivers. Anthony Brisebois was the biggest beneficiary that night, as he had seven catches for a game-high 110 yards, to go along with a touchdown.

#NR has a solid roster, with a lot of good pieces, but the combination of rust from some of their key players, and a lack of chemistry and execution from some members of the team having not played a lot together is what has held them back this season. The Jamesons don’t have those issues and are clearly the better team. The first meeting was close, but I think they will learn from their mistakes.

Prediction: The Jamesons (36-28)

Party Crashers versus Braves

Previous Meeting: Party Crashers (33-25) Week 7

The Party Crashers got the win at the end of June, as the Braves were able to get a touchdown with two plays remaining to shrink the Party Crashers’ lead to (31-25). After the TD, the Braves needed to go for an outside pass, but a bad snap at the worst possible time ended up going for a safety that essentially ended the game, sealing the win for P.C.

A victory over the Braves is usually a hard-fought accomplishment for any team, and the Party Crashers are no different. The one thing that wasn’t the same in that meeting, however, was that 9-time All-Star Quarterback Jonathan Maheu, missed the contest. Filling in for him was teammate and dual-threat QB J.D Chevalier, who filled in admirably throwing for 156 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception. When you take a closer look at the numbers, you will see that out of his 20 completions, no pass went longer than 24 yards, and no Receiver had more than 53 yards. This tells you, that the deep ball that is a staple of the team’s offense was virtually non-existent all game. 

For the Party Crashers, Frédéric Dupuis, had a strong outing going 15 of 23 for 218 yards, five TDs, and one INT. The veteran pivot got all his Receivers involved as the duo of Emile Taillefer and Louis-Philip Thibodeau had a pair of touchdowns, while teammates Kevin Laliberte, and Francois Hogue, and Vendrame received multiple targets.

A lot has been made this year about Jonathan Maheu, and the Braves not being as strong as they have been in the past. Last Sunday while I was scorekeeping in Brossard, I spoke to Marvin Steinberg and Quaysie Gordon-Maule, and the three of us all agreed that despite not being as dominant as we have seen them be in the past, this is the last team anyone wants face in the playoffs, especially in the first round.

The Party Crashers should have won the first meeting, as they took on a team without their starting Quarterback. Beating the Kansas City Chiefs is a lot easier to accomplish when they don’t have Patrick Mahomes in the lineup. The same is true for the Braves and their franchise QB. The fact that they only won the game by a touchdown speaks volumes.

History and championship pedigree matter, and the Braves have both in abundance. I think that along with the presence of Maheu will be enough to carry them to victory in this game.

Prediction: Braves (41-27)

Star City versus Allstars

Previous Meeting: Allstars (42-39) Week 9 and Allstars (54-40) Week 10

These two teams will square off for the third time in a row, in what is a rarity. We have seen teams play each other three times in the same season, as we just saw it this year in the NFL with the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles, but they didn’t go head-to-head in consecutive contests.

In the first two games, the Allstars’ Kevin Wyeth did Kevin Wyeth things, as he threw for seven touchdown passes. For Star City, who was without their own Hall-of-Fame Quarterback in Dan Lazzara, got solid contributions and steady play from the duo of Jarryd Taylor and Jeanslee Alexis, as they combined to throw for 180 yards and five touchdowns. The only mistake they made was that they each threw an interception to another HOF member in Theo Ojeaha.

The second meeting took place during a monsoon in Laval, that I had the pleasure of scorekeeping. Star City started off sloppy in that game, as they had some late arrivals and began the contest with five players. The first half ended with them trailing (26-14). The team woke up in the second stanza as they outscored the Allstars (28-26), but the bad start was too much to overcome.

For Star City to avoid the three-game sweep, and see their season come to an end, they will need to avoid the mistakes and sloppy start that killed them in the first two meetings. A key to doing that, will be the presence of AJ Gomes, who missed both meetings due to suspension. The HOF player on both sides of the ball can swing the momentum of a game at a moment’s notice. Having him in the lineup on offense will open things p for his teammates, while he will give the team’s defense their best ballhawk.

For the Allstars to get the win, they will need to keep operating as usual on offense like they did during the regular season, as the highest scoring team in Div. A, and the only one to surpass the 400-point mark, comes into the post-season averaging 43.4 points per game.

Playoff Kevin Wyeth is the most dangerous version of him you will meet. With that said however, the GOAT of FPF isn’t perfect, as he fell to Gomes in the Division 2 Finals last season. The Allstars are a deeper and better team than Vengeance was, and even though Star City has a several playmakers on defense, I don’t see them stopping the likes of Pat Jérome, Chris Milard, Matt Bond, Matt Kirouac, Rory Semerjian, and Nic Groppini enough times to get the win.

I think this will be the best game of the opening round, but there will be no upset special here.

Prediction: Allstars (48-35)

Royaume Luminaire versus KGP

Previous Meeting: Royaume Luminaire (54-18) Week 6

A (33-12) halftime lead ended up becoming a 36-point win for Royaume Luminaire. This game was a blowout, as the second half didn’t even need to be played.

Royaume Luminaire Quarterback Jesse Dupuis flirted with perfection, as he went 13 of 15 for 163 yards for six touchdowns and one interception. Every Receiver that caught a pass reached the endzone. His teammate Marc-André Lapointe delivered a masterclass, as he caught three TD passes, and threw for one as well.

The team’s defense suffocated KGP, as they generated two interceptions off QB Phil Cutler, one of which was run back to the house by Alexandre Poulin-Rioux. Sean Semerjian also had a big game on both sides of the ball, as he recorded a TD as a Receiver, and added an interception to go along with two sacks, as well as a pass deflection and a tackle.

For KGP, the first meeting is one where you erase the tape immediately. To make sure the same thing doesn’t happen in the rematch, they will need to clean up the turnovers. In addition to the two interceptions thrown by Cutler, the team went 2 for 6 on 4^th down attempts. That can’t happen again.

The team will also need their best players to step up. In the first meeting, Quaysie Gordon-Maule recorded one catch for seven yards. Jonathan Garfinkle, who always seems to save his best for KGP’s biggest games, was quiet, as he produced just two receptions for 11 yards. Both Mathieu Lepage and Dylan Garber reached the endzone, but they along with Gabe D’Amico-Mazza were held to less than 48 yards each.

For Royaume Luminaire to eliminate KGP, they will need to be as lethal and efficient on offense as last time. Keeping plays alive with his legs, and keeping defenses guessing is what Dupuis does best. The 54 points they put up was their highest total of the season, and it surpassed their points per game average of 37 PPG.

On defense, they must do what they did last time as well, and force members of the KGP offense not named Quaysie Gordon-Maule to beat them. Mixing in different looks pre and post snap and rolling coverage to the 6-time All-Star will help in that department.

Last week I wrote that despite their (7-3) record, Royaume Luminaire hadn’t really beat anyone impressive, as all their wins came against sub .500 teams. While that still holds true, knocking off a team in the playoffs is different. The stakes are higher, and desperation starts to set in as teams are fighting for their season.

I don’t think the rematch will be as one-sided as the first showdown, but I also don’t see KGP pulling off the upset either.

Prediction: Royaume Luminaire (38-25)

Picks

The Jamesons vs #NR – The Jamesons

Braves vs Party Crashers – Braves

Allstars vs Star City – Allstars

Royaume Luminaire vs KGP – Royaume Luminaire

Last Week: (0-2)

That is it for this week. Good luck to everyone in their games on Monday. Enjoy the weekend, and the Just For Laughs Festival! I went to the Nasty Show last night. Was it the best one I’ve seen? No. Donnell Rawlings was hilarious as usual, but the people I went with including myself, thought his set could’ve lasted about 5-10 minutes longer. Either way, it was great to get out and laugh, have fun, and grabs some drinks afterwards. As an added bonus, there were tons of gorgeous women at the show last night, so that always makes things even better!

If you liked the article, hated it, or simply felt like I left something out, please feel free to contact me at [email protected], or on the FPF Facebook page.