The last two standing: Championship preview

After 13 long weeks of great football, we are finally here; FPF championship weekend. I don’t know about you guys, but I feel like the year went by in a flash.

As I said in the first article of the season, there was a lot of change in the air this season. We saw 11 new teams in Division 6. We saw yours truly make his long awaited return to the FPF media family, and to top it all off, we are going to see a new champion crowned tomorrow afternoon.

We also had the luxury of seeing some really good football this year, along with some breathtaking plays. Form Kyle McGuigan’s one handed Odell Beckham Jr-esque TD catch vs The Minge, to Simon Laporte’s 5 sack performance against TMNB, to Jonathan Grizzley leaping up over two Beast Mode defenders to make a TD circus catch that served in as the nail in the coffin in his team’s Quarter-Final matchup against Beast Mode, D6 has been delivering the goods all season long.

This season, we also witnessed the first ever game officiated by female officials only. Tara Mrakic and Roxanne Baily did a fantastic job this season as they made FPF history. Their ability to call the game down the middle, stand up for their calls, and on the rare occasion that they do make a mistake, admit to it, put up with the whining and complaining that comes with the position, and prove that they belong on the field in a job and a sport that is dominated by men, makes them and what they do that much more impressive.

At the end of the day, not in any of the games that I played in, or watched this season, did I, any of my teammates, or anybody else playing in the games that I saw them officiate, say anything that made the fact that they are females stand out.

While some of the credit goes to head referee Leo Gervais and his ability to not only train, but to guide his refs, the majority of it goes to Roxanne and Tara.

Great job ladies, I hope to see the both of you this spring.

Before I get to tonight’s main event, let me first say congrats to Pardon My Swag and the Flagrant Fouls. You guys had AMAZING seasons. The fact that you guys combined for 1 regular season loss, speaks to just how good both teams really are. You guys fell just short in your ultimate goal, but you guys came closer than 18 other teams did.

Although it’s easier said than done (trust me on that) now is not the time to blow up your teams. I saw BOTH Conference Championship games last week, and I can honestly say both of you guys came literally within a play or two at the most of suiting up tonight in Brossard. While the sting of losing surely is still there, making minor changes if any will be the key to taking the final step.

Once again guys great season. Keep your heads up, and I hope I see you guys in the spring season.

Shifting focus to tonight’s contest, both Obamacare and Wax On Wax Off pulled off upsets to get to where they are. Both games were fantastic, and came within a play or two of turning the other way.

The game between Wax and Swag was a tight defensive game. For Wax, it came down to execution, mistakes by their opponent, and the superb play of Mr. Do It All Dangerous Danny D’Amour to knock off the number one seeded Pardon My Swag.

D’Amour, my pick for Category #2 WR and Two-Way Player of the Year had another fine defensive game. His pick of Swag QB Brad Evans just after halftime lead to a TD on the ensuing drive by Wax WR/DB Justin Santillo.

D’Amour actually added another INT earlier in the game when he picked off Evans on a 1 point conversion attempt after a TD throw from the Swag pivot to WR Michel Thouin. D’Amour ran the pick back to the house for single point that got his team one the board.

In a game where both teams had drives that stalled in their opponents’ redzone, each and every point was important.

The two-way threat wasn’t done there adding points for his team. On offense, D’Amour had 6 catches for 56 yards including two huge TDs in the first half on back of the endzone throws that some him leap over his defenders to pull down.

For Pardon My Swag, it was all about missed opportunities. A drop here, a bad throw there, a tipped ball that resulted in a pick, not seeing wide open WRs, or choosing to run at the wrong time, Brad Evans’ offense looked out of sync. Unfortunately for him and his team, it happened at the worst possible time.

My pick for game for last week’s game of the week did not disappoint. For Obamacare, their contest against the Conference A top seed Flagrant Fouls was a tale of two halves.

In the first stanza, Obamacare came out on fire offensively. They scored on their opening possession as dual threat QB Jeff Mcinnis put the purple and yellow ahead 6-0 on a TD pass to Mickey Morini.

The Flagrant Fouls as always, answered right back with a nice pass by QB Ross Olshansky to FPF All-Star WR/DB Matt Leblanc for a TD to tie the game up at 6 apiece.

After Double F failed to muster anything on offense on their next drive, Obamacare took over possession of the ball and made them pay as Mcinnis struck once again hitting Matthew Pisaturo for a TD at the front right corner pylon to give his team a 13-6 lead.

Perhaps feeling a little pressure since they were down by a score in the first half of their biggest game to date, Olshansky tried to force some throws downfield. Unfortunately for him, on one of those throws he overthrew a WR and the ball ended up in the hands of Obamacare Snapper and DB Kyle McGuigan.

Adding salt in the wound was the fact that McGuigan scored a TD for his team a few plays later to extend his team’s lead to 19-6 heading into halftime.

On the very first play of the second half, Olshansky rolled out and threw up a bomb that went off the fingertips of Mcinnis, and landed into the hands of WR Ryan Castiel. Castiel bobbled the ball a bit but managed to concentrate on it long enough to come up with the catch. TD Flagrant Fouls. The lead was cut to 1 TD just like that.

He momentum was short lived however as the aforementioned dynamic of Micinnis and McGuigan struck once again as the QB threw a beautiful deep corner route pass to his snapper that lunged for a made a spectacular catch. TD Obamacare. 26-12 lead.

Double got the ball back and marched all the way down field to get the ball at the Obamacare 1 yard line. After two incomplete passes, yellow and purple rusher Matthew Barsetti came through with a huge sack to that took the ball all the way back to his team’s 20 yard line. I’ve said all year that Olshansky just like Mcinnis loves to roll out. Both QBs also like drop back A LOT. For what seemed to be the first time this season, somebody finally made the Flagrant Fouls’ pivot pay for it.

On 4th down Double F weren’t able to get the ball in the endzone, so the ball went back to Obamacare.

With their backs against the wall, Double F needed to come up with a stop. After a short gain on first down, and HUGE Alex Evangelidis sack on second down, Obamacare faced a crucial 3rd and long. With McGuigan and Morini covered, and Pisaturo unable to really move after injuring his ankle at the beginning of the game, Mcinnis looked for WR Mike Ambro. The pass for #10 was incomplete, but there was a flag on the field. Pass interference on the defense. The Double F DB appeared to make contact with Ambro, but too many on the sideline and especially the Flagrant Fouls’ bench, the contact didn’t appear to be enough to knock him off his route or distract him from catching the ball. You can debate whether or not the penalty was the type of call that should be made in a playoff game all you want. It doesn’t change the fact that the call was made.

Moving on…Mcinnis went back to Ambro a few plays later for a 6 yard TD pass to make it 32-12 Obamacare.

After the P.I call and the subsequent TD, most teams would have folded like a chair. Not the Flagrant Fouls.

After a quick Matt Leblanc TD cut the lead to 32-18, the Flagrant Fouls forced Obamacare to punt. After a huge 30 yard run by Olshansky put his team in the redzone, the Double F pivot hit the aforementioned Evangelidis for a TD to get to within 6 points of tying the game up.

I will say 3 things about the Olshansky run. First, he is physical. Second, he is fast, especially for a guy his size. (He reminds me of a white, younger, and more muscular version of myself lol) Thirdly, I saw at least one yellow and purple defender make a business decision when they saw him running their way. I don’t blame you guys at all; I’m just saying what I saw.

After another Obamacare punt, Double F got the ball back AGAIN with 5 plays left. This time however, they were pinned back inside their own 10 yard line. That didn’t seem to matter to Olshansky as he did what he does best with is feet (you should know by now, but just in case…buying time for his WR to get open) After picking up an easy first down, Olshansky rolled out all the way to his endzone and threw across his body and hit Matt Leblanc on the hands with two beautifully thrown balls at the opposite endzone. Unfortunately for the All-Star WR and his team he dropped both balls. After another incomplete pass, and a bat down by Morini on the last play of the game, this thriller was over.

Obamacare 32-24, what a game.

Say what you want about the Flagrant Fouls, they fought back time and time again in the second half, and showed why they were the only team to go undefeated in the regular season. Obamacare was the better team, but Double F has nothing to hang their heads about.

Now on to tonight’s game…

Keys to victory

For Wax On Wax Off, they will need to be able to match Obamacare offensively. We all know the damage that Dangerous Danny DAmour can and most likely will do, but Wax will need big games out of Alex Grey and Normand Bellemare, as well as continued production out of Justin Santillo who has really stepped up his game in the post season, as he sits second on his team with 4 TDs.

On defense they will have to find a way to limit the damage done by Kyle McGuigan and Mickey Morini. Both receivers have combined to score 9 TDs so far this season. You can be sure both weapons will be seeing a lot of D’Amour and Grey tonight.

They will also have to find a way to slow down Mcinnis who has arguably been the best QB in D6 this post-season. Wax rusher Justin Matteo only has 1 sack so far in the playoffs. He will definitely have to double and maybe even triple that number in order for his team to get the W.

One thing the Flagrant Fouls didn’t do was take advantage of Obamacare’s short bench. Due to the suspension of Andrew Hopkins, and the ineligibility of other members on their squad from playing in the playoffs, the yellow and purple have only been suiting up 6 players since the second season began. Last week against Double F, Matthew Pisaturo had to leave the game for a few plays with an apparent ankle injury. When he came back into the game, for some bizarre reason, Olshansky and his offense didn’t target him despite the fact that he was noticeably limping the rest of the contest. Call it dirty if you want, but a win is a win. Let’s see if Wax will be as kind as the Flagrant Fouls.

For Obamacare, they need to continue doing what they’ve been doing on Offense. McGuigan, Morini, Ambro, and Pisaturo. They all have the speed to get past you deep, but they are also quick and good enough in their route running to beat you in the short game. When I’ve seen them play lately it’s almost like they make you pick your poison.

On the defensive end, Obamacare throughout the week and I’m sure tonight will without a doubt be zeroing in on Dangerous Danny D’Amour. As we’ve seen throughout the regular and post-season, the yellow and purple are a confident bunch. It will definitely take a lot more than confidence and trash talk however to shut down Wax’s number one WR.

The Barsetti vs Jordan Bellemare matchup will play a big factor in the game as well. As I’ve said time and time again, when Bellemare has time to throw, he can carve you up. He is also an underrated runner, and more importantly, he has played almost flawless this post-season throwing for 13 TDs, 2 INTs, and almost 500 yards. He does however still have a penchant for throwing those 50-50 balls (passes that will either end in a TD or INT) especially in the back of the end zone. So far those balls have come down on the TD side for Wax. Barsetti was finalist for rusher of the year this season. He picked up 2 sacks last week vs Flagrant Fouls, Bellemare should be on notice.

Now what you’ve all been waiting for…

Prediction: Obamacare and their momentum have been like a runaway freight train so far in the playoffs, while Wax On Wax Off have been world beaters from the second round on. Both teams are playing their best football at the exactly the right time.

While Wax has been proving me wrong since the Quarter-Finals, I find myself picking against them once again. The only reason is because the quality of team they’re up against tonight. Unlike the teams that they’ve faced so far in the second season, Obamacare isn’t a one or two trick pony that rely solely on 1 or 2 players for the majority, if not all of their scoring, and in some cases, their defensive plays as well. I’m sorry, but it’s true.

The yellow and purple play as a team and each player is as important to the success of the team as the next.

While I respect the heck out of Wax, and what they’ve accomplished, I think their run is over, and they just fall short.

Obamacare 28-24

Picks

Regular Season: 72-26

Last Week: 1-1

Playoffs: 10-4

That’s it for this week. I’ll be back next week to give you my re-cap of tonight’s D6 Champions game.

Once again, if you loved the article, hated it, or simply felt I left something out, don’t be shy. You can shoot me a tweet at @BADNEWS51, or do it the semi-old fashioned way and e-mail me at [email protected]

I’ll see you guys tonight!