Division D Wild Card Weekend

Division D-1 Wild Card Round

 

Conference A

Bird Gang (3) vs. Team Ethnik (6)

Previous Meeting: Bird Gang won 32-18

In a repeat matchup from just a few weeks ago, Team Ethnik will try and prove that they can win a tough game without their MVP Charles Verreault. Since he’s been out of the lineup, Benoit Lawlor just hasn’t quite looked the same and sometimes gets caught throwing 50/50 balls to his other players that haven’t been going his way. Jean-Christophe Ferland has been a huge boost for them on both sides of the ball but it looks like he came just 1 game short to be able to join them in the playoffs.

For Bird Gang, it looks like we might see Anthony Lazzara behind center, something that both Bird Gang and Team Ethnik are used to. He didn’t play his best last meeting, but had the deep ball working well and scored 4 touchdowns on only 7 completions for the win. If that is the case, I expect big games from Daniel Lazzara for Bird Gang and Simon Dufort to step up again for Team Ethnik.

The key for Team Ethnik will be to play a similar style defence as last time and take away Anthony’s first read, which they are good at. If they can avoid getting beat deep too often, Lawlor is a quarterback that can attack at any time and shouldn’t have issues scoring points. If he manages to not throw an interception then I think that Team Ethnik can muster an upset. It won’t be easy against Bird Gang’s defense as they have been giving up fewer than 20 points per game all season and they’ll be in championship mode now.

While I think it will be closer than last game, I still think that Bird Gang have the edge.

Prediction: Bird Gang win 26 – 20

 

Hurricane SZN (4) vs. Unknown Talent (5)

Previous Meeting: Hurricane SZN won 19-14

It’s really tough to do an analysis when you’re not sure who will show up for either team, but we ultimately have to assume that each side will be at full strength. I think that bodes well for Unknown Talent in this situation as they have shown how dynamic they can be when everybody is there including Nicholas Groppini, Mathew Simard and Raffaele Morelli. Either way, they’ll be up against a tough opponent who now has Quaysie Gordon-Maule good to go for the playoffs and the Parent brothers to throw to. On both sides of the ball that trio will be extremely tough to play against regardless of who plays QB.

If you asked me half way through the season how this matchup would go, I would think that this would be no contest and Unknown Talent would run away with this one. 10 games into the season now and I’m starting to lean the other way. Hurricane SZN has been really catching their stride with their new playmaker and have been extremely tough to beat lately. Unknown Talent on the other hand have been in an opposite trajectory and I think it’s due to not having a consistent roster down the stretch which has really affected their chemistry. Can they find magic in the bottle and go on an unbelievable playoff run? Maybe.

The key to Unknown Talent’s success will be Groppini’s ability to rush the QB and force tough throws. Hurricane SZN just has way too much talent for you to give them time and space to make plays. Unknown Talent will also have to get creative and find better ways to put points on the board against a defense run by Andel Thomas-Gordon and he has the pieces to do whatever he wants.

As much as I have been praising Unknown Talent, I think that Hurricane SZN are peaking at the right time.

Prediction: Hurricane SZN win 25 – 15

 

Conference B

 

Super Saiyans (3) vs. Random White Dudes (6)

Previous Meeting: Super Saiyans won 42-25

I think it was Peeze who said it best – “But aren’t the Super Saiyans also a bunch of random white dudes?” Well, yes they are. The big difference is that the Saiyans have been around for a little bit longer and have built a little bit stronger of a chemistry that has come out a few times this season, including in their previous matchup. Jordan Allard had probably his best game of the season the first time they met and there’s no reason he can’t do it again. The only thing in his way? Himself.

The Super Saiyans are anxious to shake the fact that they are often a team that crumbles in the playoffs and the only way for people like myself to stop mentioning it would be to go out and dominate just like they are capable of. They’ll have to avoid playmakers like Danny D’Amour and Ryan Vanslet who is maybe the second best rusher in the division only to Gianni Johnston. If Jordan can get the ball out quick and take advantage of the sheer size of the guys on his roster, the Saiyans should be successful.

The Random White dudes need to find a way to take away that advantage and how does one do that? They will need to come up with a solid game plan to outsmart the Saiyans and use the speed of D’Amour and Vanslet to stretch the field and sustain long drives. I’m not saying that Buck needs to throw deep, quite the opposite actually. They’ll want to bait him and get him into longer yardage situations because that’s when the Saiyans can really turn it on. Buck will need to eat a lot of clock and keep the Saiyans offense off the field if the Random White Dudes want a chance to play spoiler.

Prediction: Super Saiyans win 33 – 26

 

Les Centaures (4) vs. LOB (5)

Previous Meeting: LOB won 40-18

Ah, that awesome instance where the analysis is almost done for me because these two teams literally played each other last week. Let’s take advantage and have a look at what happened.

Both teams were at full strength so we can eliminate that excuse for either side right off the bat. The difference in this game was Les Centaures inability to slow down Cory Johnson and he could basically do everything he wanted with the ball. He completed at least 3 passes to 4 different receivers, touchdowns to 3 of them, and threw for more than 10 yards per completion. Somebody on Les Centaures will have to step up if they want to avoid another beatdown.

The question is, can they do that? I think that Jason Rossie will have to put together a bend but not break style defense and get a good performance from whoever rushes. I think that using Blake Butler is a mistake as his size can be very useful in the secondary. While LOB can spread the ball around and they don’t really have one specific target, Les Centaures will have to slow down Francois Deslauriers to have a chance, who scored 3 touchdowns last week.

Offensively, Jordan Rossie should try to hold onto the ball and sustain longer drives, without ever getting caught in a 2nd or 3rd and long situation. Sacks will be deadly and interceptions even worse. I’d go as far as saying that any turnover whatsoever could be costly for Les Centaures. GM Kolethras knows how to put his teammates into the right spot and whether he’s rushing or playing middle linebacker, he’ll be somebody to keep an eye on.

Prediction: LOB win again, 32 – 19

 

Division D-2 Wild Card Round

 

Renegades (3) vs. Underducks (6)

Previous Meeting: Renegades won 25-24

Another game that will be a rematch from a few weeks ago, their game was close and this one should be no different. The Renegades have had a second chance at their season with Alexis Labonte at quarterback who played well enough to win in their previous meeting. If he manages to not throw any interceptions this time around I think that the Renegades should be able to move forward in the playoffs. He’ll need to keep the defense guessing and use all of his pieces again to gain tough yards on a very big defense.

The Underducks don’t need to change a lot, as they fell victim to poor game management and maybe a turnover too many. Mathieu Domon relied heavily on Renaud St-Laurent and he may need to do that again, however if he can get more people involved it will be tougher for the Renegades to adapt. Both quarterbacks can extend plays with their legs so the rusher will be key and I’d like to see more role players step up for both teams. We’ve seen guys like Kevin Gauthier and Gabriel Wiseman each have big games in the past and it wouldn’t surprise me to see either of them play unsung hero in this game.

This game will most likely come down to extra points again and each team will have to get creative on those one and done plays. Perhaps try going for two on occasion or even try out a throw back or something to give yourself more time and space in what otherwise will be a tight evenly matched game as we just saw. These games have the tendency to fall the other way when played a second time, so I think I like the Underducks chances.

Prediction: Underducks win 27-25 in OT

 

The U (4) vs. EZW (5)

Previous Meeting: The U won 58-38

In what was probably the highest scoring game of the season in D-2 and Evan Frank’s best game of the season, Frank threw for 300 yards and 9 touchdowns. Does anybody think that can happen again? Probably not. Will it still be a high scoring affair? Definitely.

We all know what both teams bring to the field each week and both have shown that they are extremely entertaining. Nikki Papich and Kyle Pedvis will look to do most of the damage for The U and should we see the good Evan Frank show up, they’ll be tough to stop. The x factors for the U will be Joseph Kano and Russell Schwartz who are more than capable to get Frank out of a jam if EZW successfully takes away Papich and Pedvis. There should be tons of holes in the EZW defense and it will be up to Frank to be accurate and find those open spaces.

For EZW, Jeremy White knows what he needs to do to win. No turnovers, don’t over feed Charles-Olivier Lavigne and use all of his receivers. As good as Lavigne can be, he’s even more deadly when the defense starts to forget about him a little bit and White can use him over the top or feed him in the middle of the field and he can force defenders to miss tackles. I also really think that they should try to mix things up defensively and care just as much about stopping the other team as they do about putting up points.

Whether all of the above comes true or not, we’re in for an exciting game. It’s hard to trust The U after the season they have had but then again, EZW’s defense has been really bad. I’ll take The U in another shootout.

Prediction: The U win 39 – 32

 

Conference B

 

Les Voyous (3) vs. Les OG’s (6)

Previous Meeting: Les OG’s won 32-19

Tough break for GLC after beating the Finessers, but still falling just short of the playoffs because of an outstanding win by Les OG’s against Les Voyous in their game last week. I have to say that I didn’t see that coming and thought Les Voyous would have an easier time. Goes to show you that in recreational football, anything can happen.

If we eliminate last week from memory, I would say that Les Voyous come in as the heavy favorite. They have had an outstanding season when Sebastien Dallaire has been throwing the ball and I’d like to just attribute last week to a little bit of rust. Does that mean that he will automatically come back this week and dominate? Not necessarily, but I think he has a chance to do just that.

Les OG’s are now riding high and may not have that same drive two weeks in a row. Last week was a playoff game and we saw them come together as a team and win. Benjamin Reid played excellent as their quarterback and was great at finding the open receiver and picking apart Les Voyous’ defense. Four different receivers had a touchdown and Les Voyous just didn’t have an answer.

This time around, though, I am predicting that Dallaire doesn’t throw an interception and gets his team back on track.

Prediction: Les Voyous win 26 – 19

 

Ballz Deep (4) vs. Dream Chaserz (5)

Previous Meeting: Ballz Deep won 24-20

This one should be a close game as they both have a good amount of talent and have shown flashes of brilliance throughout the season. The downfall is that both teams have also struggled at different times and it’s tough to assess which version of themselves will show up. While I think that Dream Chasers have a lot of talent, I like the experience of Ballz Deep here to come away with the win.

Ballz Deep has had 4 receivers play very well all season and they have a little bit more depth than Dream Chaserz. Matthew Peacock and Jonathan Weir have led the way and done a good job at creating separation and making big plays for their quarterback, Justin Weir. While they may not burn every team they play, they do a great job of sustaining longer drives, not giving the ball away a ton and just usually show more patience than their opponent

Dream Chaserz, led by Ben McMahon can be hit or miss. Players like Anthony Drysdale and Kevin Donnet can do a lot of damage, but if you take them away, McMahon has struggled somewhat. They don’t have a ton of size and have a lot more success on deep plays rather than drives with many plays and that might hurt them in the playoffs.

As I mentioned, I think the experience and game plan of Ballz Deep helps them advance in this one but it will be close like last time

Prediction: Ballz Deep win 27 – 21