Playing for Keeps: D2 quarters recaps and D1 opener previews

Recaps Div 2 Quarter Finals

Chenard suffers major injury, Braves 2.0 advance

Tipping off the evening, we had an offensive explosion between the red-hot Bad Boys and the front runner Braves 2.0. Defenses were left at home in this one, as both teams simply exchanged score for score all night, knowing that the first one to miss would likely be packing it in.

Both QBs spread the ball equitably among their star-studded receiving crews. The difference was in their approach at converts, as Bad Boys succeeded in all 5 of their ridiculous 5 first half touchdowns. The Braves went for two each time as is custom for them. They nailed only 2 of their 6 attempts, but none bigger than the final possession before the half.

Trailing by 9 with 1 play remaining, the Braves pulled two QBs back and sent 3 receivers downfield. Maheu pitched the ball back to Courchesne, who heaved a Hail Mary into end zone traffic. Chenard crashed in for the interception at the 1 yard line, but instead the ball skidded backwards off his fingertips and into the hands of the Braves receiver for the unbelievable score. They nailed the following two pointer to cut the deficit to 1 heading into the break, while starting with the ball on the other side. Talk about a team of destiny.

The Braves quickly scored to start the second half, as Maheu was a master of the deep pass on the night. Going a perfect 12 for 12 with 199 yards and 5 TDs, no matter what was to happen next he certainly played well enough to deserve the win on almost any night. The only issue was that the man playing across from him, Pat Chenard, was having an even more incredible game. Having thrown for 210 yards and 5 TDs in the first half, after throwing 7 TDs in the opening round, Chenard was playing out of his mind and ready to carry his team on yet another improbable finals run to beat everyone’s expectations.

After heaving the first pass incomplete on the next possession, he was looking to win some positive yards on second down. Reading left, with no one open and the rusher barreling in on him, he planted his foot in the ground at the final instant and tried to roll out right…that’s when the tendon snapped. He fell to the ground and didn’t move again until the ambulance came.

It’s always heart wrenching seeing such a grueling injury at a recreational game. These are the instances we fear the most. It’s easy to say that at the end of the day we go back to our families and careers, but try telling us that in the moment. We play hard and to the wire on each possession, searching for the glory and the thrill of the victory. None play the game harder or have had more glory than Chenard. A true competitor and champion, we now wish him a complete and speedy recovery, as he stares down a challenging opponent ahead in his recovery. Just like on the turf, I wouldn’t bet against him.

Down only 5 points with the second half just beginning, the Bad Boys made the classiest decision that I’ve seen in some time. With only 6 playoff eligible players remaining and no true QB, they elected to concede that game in support of their injured champion. The extended delay caused by the ambulance would have made it necessary for the next game to be postponed, had Bad Boys elected to play out the remaining 18 minutes. Rather than cause two eager teams to go home disappointed, they gave up their field time and left the field as class acts.

The Braves 2.0 played a statistically perfect offensive game to that point, but may have still left with a defeat due to the Bad Boy’s grit. We’ll never know what may have happened. But Braves 2.0 now advance to meet Terror Squad in the conference A finals.

 

Khantroversy outlast STL in slugfest

High intensity, thrilling game that lived up to the billing between two conference B heavyweights. Dan Lazzara set the tone on the opening drive, maneuvering through a few tense fourth down situations, before finishing off the score to a scorching AJ Gomes. It was to foreshadow the rest of the game, as the Lazzara-Gomes connection was unstoppable on this night. When he wasn’t pumping the ball to his passionate star, he was working the gritty routes to Jad Aridi and a visibly limber Rod Mashtoub.

Dylan Taylor played his game every bit as Lazzara, matching him stride for stride for the entirety of the night. He made quick work in his response to Khantroversy’s opening score, by springing Jamie Ojeaha on an intermediate seam which allowed the nimble WROY to dip the entire defense and take it to the house. Both Ojeaha brothers were the finishers for STL and made some highlight reel catches, especially Theo on a pair of tightly covered jump balls down the left wing for his scores.

On Khantroversy’s second drive they quickly approached the opposition’s red zone before stalling out to a deep sack by Terrence Adams. On fourth and 25 it looked like they would be yielding the early turnover advantage to their hyped up opponent. Dan took the drop, pump faked and aired out a dime to the back right corner of the end zone. AJ Gomes ran a picture perfect post-corner to get himself in position, before completely Mossing a helpless Julian Maclaren. Words don’t do it justice so see the catch below:

STL didn’t allow the emotional swing to throw them off-kilter, and promptly returned the favor on the following possession. Another pair of scores were exchanged before the game went into the half 19-18 Khantroversy. It was truly neck and neck.

The game’s major turning point occurred in the second half, following and Khan touchdown. Julian Maclaren appeared to say something to the refs on the convert, earning his team a 10 yard OC on their pursuing drive. Starting from their own 1 yard line, with Dylan straddling the back of the endzone, he took the snap and was forced to scramble when the Khan defenders pressed his initial reads. With the rusher barreling in on him, Dylan slipped while cutting and fell to the ground. Raffaele Morelli earned arguably his easiest sack of the season, as he just reached down and tagged the conceded QB for the safety.

Khantroversy took full advantage of their fortune, scoring again to give them a two score lead which they would nurse for the majority of the second half. STL would need to keep scoring every drive and hope for a desperate stop. It finally happened with under 5 minutes to go. Up a touchdown with the ball, Lazzara was deep in STL territory when he dipped the rusher suddenly the field opened up to him. Electing not to run, he patiently waited but none of his receivers shook free with the extra time. Finally with the rusher having recovered and now on his back, he heaved an ill-advised ball over the middle in dangerous territory. It flew over its intended receiver and was tightly secured by Theo for the turnover. STL were finally given their second life.

They quickly scored but couldn’t convert the extra, leaving them down a single point. The pressure was now mounting on Lazzara and Khantroversy, as the STL defense was swarming and they could not afford another miss. With ice in his veins on first down, Dan abandoned the cautious approach, and led AJ on a dart downfield in a 1 on 1 matchup with Theo. Theo appeared to misjudge the throw, as he undercut the route deep, allowing AJ to get over the top. AJ made an incredible sliding catch at full speed, somehow controlling his torqueing body enough to tag the turf in bounds before flying into the mesh. Again, better see it to believe it, so check it out below:

With little over a minute to go STL had one final chance in the game. Like they have all season they easily marched the field and punched in the score, no sweat, no frills. Down 1, they elected to go for 2 and the lead. Dylan pitched it over the Carm, who scanned the field quickly but was forced to throw it into coverage with a halfback chasing him down. Rod Mashtoub picked off the convert, essentially sealing the win for his team. Khan converted a single first down before calling the game, and booking their ticket to the conference finals on Sunday.  

 

YCSWU defense sizzles against Clocks

The Vince Nardone led unit roasted the Clockmakers on Monday night, keeping them off the scoreboard entirely in the first half. An exotic array of masked shoots had Ryan Kastner second guessing many of his reads, while Chris Milard’s blistering rush afforded him no time to get in rhythm.

A deep ball to an open Marco Masciotra would have put Clockmakers up on the first pass of the game, but the pass was just slightly underthrown, allowing a trailing Danny D’Amour to swat it out of the receiver’s hands. After the initial shot, YCSWU found their form and forced Clockmakers to rely on short slants the entire game. Forcing Clockmakers into several fourth and short scenarios throughout the game, the defense was able to come up with the stop on most of them.

With 2 plays remaining before the half, Justin Maclean and Chris Milard ran a deep cross, losing the defense and allowing Mclean to reel in the score. At 19-0 and with YCSWU claiming the ball out of the break, the game was all but sealed by the half.

YCSWU welcomed the return of Mclean from a 2 week injury with open arms, as he torched the Clockmakers secondary for 85 yards and 3 TDs on 5 catches. Marco Bertoldi continued his hot streak following his big game with Bearskins the night before, pulling in 64 yards with some clutch catches. He sealed the game mid way through the second half with a brilliant pick-6, shooting the middle off instincts and intercepting a check down before moseying into the end zone.

Clockmakers admirably called the game with 5 minutes remaining, since no one wanted to stay at the field any later than needed past midnight on a Monday night.

 

 

Division 1 Playoff Breakdown First Round

 

DK (4th) vs MTL Finest (5th)

Previous Encounter: 38-37 DK Week 4

How we got here

DK

Off: 371 (3/8)            Def: 327 (3/8)

They started the year off on the wrong foot, dropping the first 2 games against the young and upstart teams in the league. They looked a bit sluggish without their talented 2-Way star Nicolas Arsenault-Hum, who missed the first few games of the year recovering from injury. It was finally week 3 when they got going, with their backs against the wall against their future first round opponent. Rochdi had a big game, earning his first win against Finest and using in as a springboard for an All Star season. Using Serge Pilon Jr. as his primary weapon, the DK offense got to work, hammering D-Boys in week 6 before getting revenge on Monstars and Waste Yout in the following weeks. Now the question turns to their fallen defensive anchor. Chenard was a pillar on defense for this team and key leader on the sidelines. Questions now turn to how they will mitigate any potential emotional drop off caused by the injury, and how they plan to replace him on defense.

MTL Finest

Off: 362 (4/8)            Def: 380 (7/8)

There’s been a lot said of the Finest and their average record so far this season, so I’ll spare the origin story here. The fact is, the offense has sprung to life down the stretch. Averaging 40 points on offense over the final 4 games, they come in as the most feared underdog in the history of the league. JC Morin-Phaneuf was a revelation this season, lighting up the scoreboard each game he was present. Between he and Pat Jerome, they certainly posses the firepower to let Kevin Wyeth cook in the playoffs. The defense may have had one of its worst seasons ever, but with a trio of Garrett Taylor, Jermaine Parrish-Lewis and Kishon Taylor you can expect them to be flying into passing lanes come Wednesday night.

What to expect

All sings pointed to this being DKs game to lose earlier in the week. Between the two Pilons and Hum, there seems to be just too much speed for the Finest defense to contain. That may still be the case, but my concern now turns to their own defense with the loss of Chenard. Assuming Alex Pilon steps in for Chenard, DK will now have a pair of swarming acrobats on their defense, but will be yielding considerable size to the large Finest receiving corps. Kevin Wyeth knows how to play above the rim, and between Morin, Jerome and Moore there will always be a height mismatch on the field. Speed versus size will make this a scintillating encounter. Both teams are legends in this league. Both teams are trying to play their best football while their bodies still allow. DK believes it’s their time to dethrone the Finest. Rochdi knows that Wyeth will never relent. I think there’s more pressure on Rochdi here to perform, giving Kevin a chance to sit back and sling it.

Prediction: Give me the Finest here for another round.  39-38 MTL Finest

 

 

D-Boys (3rd) vs Waste Yout (6th)

Previous Encounter: 40-25 D-Boys Week 9

How we got here

D-Boys

Off: 312 (7/8)            Def: 293 (2/8)

Starting off 1-4 was a discouraging debut to the season. The scheduling drama was a major concern, but it masked even more pressing roster issues. They were short-handed for the first half of the year, until some key midseason acquisitions allowed them to mend the gap. Finally getting full and rounding into shape down the stretch, we saw a sizzling D-Boys gear up for their best football towards the playoffs.

Similar to DK they really got their season jumpstarted with a win over the Finest. The offense had a forgettable season, but the defense was extra stout in its place. The good news is that they’ve shown some positive signs on offense down the stretch. If you wash out the final gimmie game against Got-Fat, they’re averaging over 36 points per game in the second half. Pair that with the second best defense in the division and a historically dominant playoff team, and you’ve got a championship caliber team playing their best football when it matters most. With a full roster heading into the second season, no one should be foolish enough to write these guys out.

Waste Yout

Off: 323 (5/8)            Def: 359 (5/8)

The opposite of D-Boys, they started the season with a pair of impressive wins against major contenders, but then embarked on a humbling 5 game losing streak. Somewhat surprisingly, they manage to roll out and even shallower bench their opponent this week. With only 7 playoff eligible players, they’ll need to preserve their energy on offense if they want to keep their QB from being forced out there on defense. The offense can roll though, as 5 of their receivers posted at least 25 catches on the season.

They got into the playoff with some clutch play down the stretch, needing to win 2 of their final 3 games to qualify. They’ve been playing playoff football for a few weeks now, and Dan and AJ are coming off a fabulous performance in their div 2 game on Monday. Can they rise to the task and match fire with a confident team that’s certain to press them from the beginning?

What to expect

With all of his horses back for the first time in weeks, expect Masciotra to come in confident and surging. There should be a lot of deep routes, pushing the Waste Yout defense in deep coverage. This hasn’t been a great defensive team this year, but they haven’t been bad either. Waste Yout should be able to muster at least 1 stop in the game, but they’ll need minimum 2 if they hope to win.

The reason Waste Yout’s defense needs to step up is because the D-Boys defense will be swarming. Dan has the weapons to test them, but he’ll pick his spots. He’ll need to balance the urge to control the clock with short routes, with the need to take his stabs when they present themselves. I like the fact that he’s thrown 2 games in Div 2 in the past week, while Marco has been resting his shoulder. We should see the best of both these premier gunslingers.

Prediction: Dan knocks D-Boys on their heels with an early lead, but the savvy veterans claw their way back and steal the win. 32-28 D-Boys

 

That’s it for this one. The playoffs frenzy is in full swing, so check back throughout the week for regular updates of the scintillating action. If you’re craving more content please check out the Calling the Audible podcast featuring Moe Khan, Peeze and Simon, it’s a healthy dose of absurdity to get you through the week. Thanks for taking the time to read this, and make sure to check back soon to find out how the latest playoff action shook out!