Division C Finals: And Then There Were Two

After thirteen long weeks, and a lot of great football, let me be the first to say welcome to Division C FlagPlus Football Finals.

Tomorrow’s matchup, sees the Conference A champions in The Alpha-T’s, taking on the Conference B champs in Jagerbomb.

Perfect, with a (13-0) record this season, The Alpha-T’s, got to the championship game, with a convincing (39-21) victory of the Junkyard Dogs, Tuesday night in Brossard.

Leading the way for The Alpha-T’s offensively, was the combination of Wide Receivers Mathieu Houle, and Alexis Gaumont, along with Quarterback Jesse Dupuis, as the trio combined for four, of the five touchdowns that the QB would throw on the evening.

In my preview leading up to this game, I said that for the Junkyard Dogs to be successful, they would have to avoid the poor start that they got off to in the Week 4 meeting between both teams, that doomed JYD, and proved to be too much to overcome, as they lost (31-26).

It appears that the Junkyard Dogs, didn’t learn their lesson, as despite the 39 points put up by their offense, it was the TAT’s defense, that really shone at the Bell Sports Complex, from the game’s opening whistle.

 

On the very first play of the game, Julien Bellavance, intercepted Junkyard Dog QB Jason Rossie. Bellavance, ran it back to the house, to give his team the early lead, and more importantly all the momentum.

Just like in their first meeting, where The Alpha-T’s, had a 12-point lead at the break, on Tuesday, TAT’s, were up by even more this time around, as they led their opponents (21-7).

The second-half, was a little closer as the JYD offense, was able to put up 14 points, but their defense wasn’t able to stop Dupuis and company, as The Alpha-T’s, answered with 18 points of their own, proving once again, that in order to beat TAT’s, you must play a complete game.

All in all, The Alpha-T’s had a smart game plan. Although the TAT’s defense was shredded by JYD Wide Receiver Rory Semerjian, who had 9 catches for 113 yards, both game highs, and a TD, they pretty much held all of the team’s other WRs in check, as their second leading pass catcher, was Alexandre Noel, who finished the contest with 4 receptions for 23 yards.

 

Their aggressiveness on defensive side of the ball, led to 3 interceptions off of Rossie, which the TAT’s offense turned into touchdowns.

Aided by solid field position, the TAT’s offense had little problem scoring against their opponents, as they points on the board on every possesion.

 

After getting embarrassed in their Week 6 meeting with The Commission, (33-22), in a game where the final score didn’t reflect the outcome, Jagerbomb, came out on fire against TC, Tuesday night in Brossard.

After taking a page out of The Commission’s playbook, by scoring on the very first play of the game via a 40-yard touchdown from Quarterback Simon Duchesne, to Wide Receiver Jean-Felix Daloze, the Jagerbomb offense, got the ball right back a few plays later, when TC QB Jean-Félix Marquis, threw an ill-advised redzone interception to a wide open Cédric Nuckle.

 

Four plays later, after marching the field, Duchesne, hit WR Yannick Doston, for the team’s second TD of the game.

Less than 6 minutes into the contest, Jagerbomb, had jumped out to a (12-0) lead.

The Commission, had got back a little momentum, when they scored to cut the lead to one touchdown (12-7), but they gave it right back at the end of the first-half, when the Jagerbomb offense, scored once again, on a touchdown by Felix Fontaine-Larouche, that gave them a (18-7) lead at the break.

The Commission, who started with the ball in the second-half, looked to narrow the Jagerbomb lead, but Marquis, was intercepted once again by Nuckle, as the QB took a deep shot on TC’s opening drive into double coverage.

Jagerbomb, made their opponents pay, as Duchesne, hit Gabriel Moreau-Paquette, for a touchdown, to put the underdogs up (24-7).

Shockingly, the turnover and resulting touchdown, seemed to wake up The Commission, as they scored two straight TDs of their own, while their over-whelmed defense, was finally to get their first stop of the game, with a 4th down stop of their opponents just past midfield.
After the teams traded scores, Jagerbomb, had a (30-26) lead.

After a big first down, on a 4th and 1 run by Duchesne, he kept the ball in his team’s hands, with passes to Nuckle, Daloze, and Fontaine-Larouche, that also resulted in a new set of downs, Jagerbomb, looked to put the nail in the coffin.

After an incomplete pass, a dropped interception by The Commission defense, and a short gain to Moreau-Paquette, Jagerbomb, faced another crucial 4th down, at the TC 10-yard line, with one minute to five plays remaining.

A pass to the left flat, was batted down by Domenico Benevento, which caused a celebratory eruption on The Commission sideline. The was short-lived, as TC Rusher Zackary Alberts-Gill, was called for offside.

In all honestly the call was weak to say the least, as the veteran Rusher, and 2-time All-Star did not move from the rush bag, until the ball, was snapped. Nonetheless, the call was made giving Jagerbomb, a fresh set of downs.

Three plays later, Jagerbomb would score a touchdown, to extend their lead to (37-27), with 3 plays left. The Commission, played to the last whistle, as AJ Gomes, scored a TD to make the final score (37-33).

While the aforementioned flag, definitely played a part, full credit must go to Jagerbomb, who were simply the better team on Tuesday night. Their offensive game plan of mixing up the short and long passing game, had the TC defense guessing, all evening.

On the other side of the ball, the Jagerbomb defense, did a great job of capitalizing on the two huge mistakes by Marquis.

With The Commission now out of the way, there will be a new Division C champion this year.

 

(1) The Alpha-T’s versus (2) Jagerbomb

 

Previous Meeting: The Alpha-T’s (36-24) Week 9

 

In their Week 9 affair, it was a familiar formula, with The Alpha-T’s, taking advantage of their opponent’s slow start, as they intercepted Duchesne, three times, and jumped out to a dominant (20-6) halftime lead.

The Jagerbomb offense came alive in the second-half, as Duchesne, connected on touchdown passes to Felix Fontaine-Larouche, and Cédric Nuckle. They would even outscore The Alpha-T’s (18-16), but the horrible start was just too much for Jagerbomb to overcome.

The performances that stood out in the game for The Alpha-T’s, was Alexis Gaumont, who had a game-high 3 interceptions, and a TD on offense, and Emile Beaudoin, who led his team with 6 tackles, 2 touchdowns, as well as an INT.

Leading the way for Jagerbomb, was Cédric Nuckle, who finished the contest with 5 receptions for a team-high 99 yards, along with 2 INTs, and Felix Fontaine-Larouche, who found the endzone twice.

As has been the case throughout the majority of the season, a slow start, and turnovers, along with The Alpha-T’s ability to make teams pay for their mistakes, contributed to yet another TAT’s win.

For The Alpha-T’s to join the likes of Da Finest, who completed the perfect season, and win a title on more than one occasion, they will need to keep the Jagerbomb defense, guessing where the ball will go.

In their first meeting, Dupuis, connected on passes to all of his receivers. Armed with multiple weapons that he uses to attack opposing defenses, the collective approach taken by TAT’s, makes it hard for their opponents to stop the TAT’s offense, even when a player like Mathieu Houle, is held to one catch, as he was in the first meeting.

The Alpha-T’s, also must play an entire game. Although they have a zero in the loss column, with the exception of their (52-0) beat-down of the Vikings in the Divisional Round, they have been out-scored in the second-half of all of their other playoffs games.

For Jagerbomb, to pull off the major upset for the second week in a row, they will need to do the same. While their offense scored at will against The Commission, their defense in the second-half, gave up nearly 30 points (26). While they gifted TC their final TD with on the last play of the game, the fact remains, that they were outplayed in the second stanza, and were potentially a flag away from coughing up their three touchdown lead, as well as the game.

Just as important as playing a full 50 minutes (22 minutes + 5 untimed plays in each half), Jagerbomb, will need to play mistake-free, as they did on offense versus The Commission. Not only did Duchesne, not throw an interception, but he took exactly what the TC defense gave him and his receivers.

Finally, the Jagerbomb defense, must pressure Dupuis, get him to get rid of the ball quickly, and prevent him from creating plays with his legs.

In their last meeting Division C leading Rusher Jeremie Lavoie-Patry, held the mobile passer to a paltry 6 yards, and picked up a sack. To ensure victory tomorrow, he will need to increase the pressure, and if possible, the sack total.

Prediction: Jagerbomb (Upset Special)

 

Even if it wasn’t for all the marbles, I would still say that tomorrow’s game would be an entertaining one. The cocky Alpha-T’s, versus the underdog, them against the world Jagerbomb.

After winning all three of their playoff games by four points or less, Jagerbomb, has proven they can pull games out, even when their backs are against the wall, even when they are the underdogs.

Going up against an undefeated juggernaut in The Alpha-T’s, is no easy task, but there is no denying that TAT’s despite finishing with the best record, has caught a break here or there this year.

Scoring on every possesion, and not turning over the ball is how you beat The Alpha-T’s. Can Jagerbomb, pull it off? I think they can.

 

Well that’s it for me, and the Division C articles this season. I had a blast writing them for you guys. From a lot of the feedback I got throughout the year, it appears that most of you liked them too. I am far from perfect, so when I make mistakes, I am more than happy to be notified of it. To those that did, especially in my picks section, thank-you.

Even though Moe, tried to bust my balls on the podcast a few weeks back, I feel like I did a decent job at staying neutral with my articles, as it relates to writing about my team, The Commission. Yes, I will give you more details about their games, but as I told that ass clown, I am playing, and seeing the entire game, so why wouldn’t I? Either way, if you feel that I wasn’t objective, as I always say, if you hated the article, please let me know.

Good luck to both teams in tomorrow’s Finals. You guys earned it!

If you loved the article, hated it, or simply felt that I left something out, feel free to reach me on Twitter @BADNEWSB51 or by e-mail, at [email protected]

I hope you guys enjoy the Finals tomorrow, a lot of work goes into the broadcast.

I will be back writing for FPF in the Winter Season. Until then…

Cheers,

Brent