An epic fight in D1 between the Iron Wolves and the Outlaws saw the Wolves take home the trophy with a 53-40 win and MVP Josh Levine scoring 5 TDs and getting an INT on defense.
Congratulations to our champions and thank you to everyone for an amazing fall season!
Predictions
It’s 4 a.m., and I had a few minutes on break, so I figured I’d tell you who’s winning it all this weekend. Last week, with only 11 games to pick from, I got 6 right, or 54%. I know that’s not amazing, but anywhere else in Canada, that’s a passing grade. Here are my picks for the finals, in bold as always.
· D1: Iron Wolves vs. Outlaws
· D2: Nice TDs vs. Respect
· D3: Ducks vs. CIA
· D4: Blue Badgers vs. Witching Hour
· D5: Jungle Squad vs. Slicks
· Women’s: Tigres vs. Steeleuses
There you have it, my picks for the Fall 2024 finals. Games start Saturday from 10:30 and should be over by 3 at the latest. With only three time slots, it’s a quick day, and you’ll get your football fix before the season ends—at least until January.
Final Thoughts
I’m not sure about the rest of you, but with my Saturdays free now, I’m not sure what I’ll do with myself. Oh wait, I know—I’ll be working, at least until Christmas. Speaking of Christmas, is it too soon to put up decorations? I prefer to wait until after U.S. Thanksgiving (the second-best day of the year, after the Super Bowl). It’s been a long 26 weeks, and I’m looking forward to some rest and relaxation. This weekend we have the finals, but on top of that, we’re having the league get-together on Sunday at Champs, as we have the past few years. I won’t be there since I’ll be in bed, but everyone else should go. You won’t see some of these folks for a few months. If you haven’t signed up to play this winter, you’d better do it soon before spots fill up. Even though this is the season’s last week and everyone playing is chasing a championship, please don’t forget that we’re all here to have fun, so go out, enjoy yourselves, and have a blast. See you Saturday!
I know my article is late this week, and there are multiple reasons why, mostly due to me getting used to my new schedule at work. Now, I’m having to write this at home instead of at the office. When the season first started, I hated getting up at 5 a.m. to get everything organized for those first few weeks. But now, getting up and out of the house at 2 a.m. seems absolutely flibberflab and out of this world! I wish I could still sleep in until 5 a.m. This past weekend was great for football, but this upcoming weekend isn’t looking quite the same. It’s calling for rain overnight on Friday, continuing into Saturday morning. Let’s hope for the best; no one wants to play the finals in the rain and snow. I can tell you it’s a real woofle, makes for bad games, and as a ref, fan, and sometimes player, I don’t want to see that.
Recap
D1
Sorry folks, I missed your games. Maybe I’ll catch the finals this weekend.
D2 Double Dippers vs. Respect (26-48)
I won’t fib and tell you I thought this was going to be a good game. I figured Steve was on his way to another final. But once the game started, all bets were off. Starting with the ball, Dave took Double Dippers down the field, hitting Simon for a 3-yard TD. Steve then got his first crack at it, moved the ball, but couldn’t respond, handing it back to Double Dippers. With the chance to go up two scores, they could only manage one first down before Dave threw four straight incomplete passes. After failing on his first drive, Steve scored on his next three possessions, giving Respect a 20-6 lead at halftime. Respect started the second half with the ball, seemingly putting the final nail in Double Dippers’ season. But no one told Double Dippers that! They came out on fire on defense, with back-to-back pick-6s from Simon and Eric, tying it up at 20-20. With both teams trading scores afterward, it looked like the team with the last possession would win. But Dilan wasn’t a fan of that idea, so his defense stepped up, stopping Double Dippers on 4th and 1 and snagging two interceptions from Edouard.
D3, D4, D5
Sorry folks, I missed your games. Maybe I’ll catch the finals this weekend.
Women’s Déesses du Drapeau vs Steeleuses (6-32)
Branda took care of the ball, limiting mistakes this week, throwing four TDs and only one pick, while completing 62.5% of her passes for 149 yards. Mélissa-Anne Xavier stood out in this game, catching all five passes thrown her way, turning them into 50 yards and a TD. I could go on about how great their offense is—with five different players catching TD passes—but it’s their defense that makes them stand out. Déesses du Drapeau are a solid team, and Viviane is one of the best QBs in the division, but she couldn’t do much against that defense. Viviane was sacked three times by Harmonie and intercepted twice by Monica. When you play defense like that and protect the ball, you’re bound to win a lot, which is why Steeleuses went undefeated and are likely the favorites to win it all.
That’s all I have this week for recaps. I’m sure Terry and Willie will fill you in on everything else in the podcast.
Studs & Duds
Being exhausted from working overnight and running late with my article, I’ll get right to it and tell you who really frolicked and who flopped like a flounder (ed’s note: these ChatGPT edits are amazing!). Here are my picks.
Studs
· D1: Jonathan Lyristis – 11 catches, 67 yards, 1 TD. On defense, he had 3 sacks.
· D2: Benjamin Lepetit – 4 sacks, limiting Terry to 2.23 yards per carry.
· D3: Jason McAleer – picking Jon off three times. Anyone who does that is top-notch in my book, even if they cheer for the flabber-blasted Bears.
· D4: Oliver Quinn – 6 catches, 61 yards, 3 TDs.
· D5: Julien Shabazz – 6 tackles, 1 pick on defense, and on offense, 4 catches for 39 yards with 2 TDs.
· Women’s: Karen Rodriguez – 7 catches, 69 yards, 1 TD, and 3 picks on defense.
Duds
· D1: Andrew Grant – 4 catches for 21 yards and 1 TD isn’t cutting it. With a name like Flash, that yard-per-catch is more like molasses.
· D2: David Brisson – for throwing 3 picks.
· D3: Marvin Steingberg – 11 for 34 with 4 picks while averaging 4.5 yards per carry on 10 runs.
· D4: Gold – because of his 5 picks.
· D5: Luca Manolache – for running 9 times and managing only 6 yards.
· Women’s: Kayla Gauthier – it’s the playoffs, and throwing 6 picks won’t cut it.
Those are my picks for round two of the playoffs. Love them or hate them, I don’t really care! You can complain about my picks, but if you think you balled out, just remember it’s my opinion that counts here.
Predictions
Last week I did well in my picks and went 8-2. Its sad that it took me all the way until the playoffs to crack the 80% mark. Just like in sports, it’s not about how many games you win, all people remember is if you won the last game. Now for this weeks picks and like always they are in bold.
D1
A-Team vs Iron Wolves
D2
Double Dippers vs Respect
Nice TDs vs Thunder Buddies
D3
Iron Wolves vs CIA
Top Shooters vs Ducks
D4
F.A.T. Players vs Witching Hour
Action Squad vs Blue Badgers
D5
28-3 vs Slicks
Les Last Calls vs Jungle Squad
Women’s
Déesses du Drapeau vs Steeleuses
Majestic Divas vs Tigres
That is who I have winning and if I keep up with the 80% from last week it means I have 9 games right. Which 9 is up to you.
Final Thoughts
I had planned to put up my all-star list this week, but I have been super busy training a new person to do my job as I will be taking on a new position at work. I love my job, but after so many years I could use a change and this will free me up to take on coaching tackle football and giving back to the children.
I think it’s funny how in the summer I need to remind everyone to bring water and stay hydrated, but when it gets even a bit cold everyone has jackets and boots without being told. This just shows you that they would rather pass out from heat exhaustion and dehydration rather than be a bit cold.
This past weekend, Brossard and Laval capped off their seasons and now we need a championship between the two leagues. Southsiders and Villains, what a game this could be. Terry, Jon you need to make this happen. Wait, let me talk to the person really in charge. Willie, get this done.
We are in round 2 of the playoffs and it’s win and go to the finals or lose and wonder what could have been. We are still playing a game, so go out, have some fun, and try not to kill anyone. We all have places to be on Monday. See you on Saturday.
Welcome back, glad to see you survived the "cold" on Saturday! I know it wasn’t really that cold, but when you’re a former fluffball turned skinny (ed’s note: debatable), the cold feels harsher. The only person almost as smart as me in this league when it comes to prep has to be the Jazzman, with his tent and tarps—he had that setup as cozy as could be. I had planned to try some sideline reporting, catching big plays, getting player reactions, and maybe even grabbing a quick quote. But instead of that, I used my second time slot off to head home and grab my massive heater, which the few devoted fans really enjoyed.
The rest of the season will be played at Leber, where there are painted lines to make it easier for players to know yardage. Unfortunately, most of those lines are already faded, which could lead to players coming up short on fourth downs. I've played enough football with folks who have way more experience to know this will probably happen at least once or twice. If you joined me on Sunday at my KTFL game, you'd have seen it happen 2 or 3 times to the player I was covering. It’s that time of the year when we separate the big dogs from the pups.
Recaps
D1
No games were played in this division since only three teams made the playoffs.
D2
Bines vs Nice TDs (18-25)
The game was tied at 12 at halftime, with neither team really taking control. Both teams made mistakes that cost points in the first half. Guillaume connected with Andrew for a 29-yard TD a few plays into the second half, putting the pressure on JF to keep up. Bines couldn’t gain a first down and turned it over on downs, which Nice TDs used to go up by two scores. But when Guillaume’s pass was picked off by Thomas, it kept the game within reach. JF managed a few good plays but ultimately turned it over again. Guillaume then helped his team score and stretched the lead back to two scores. Down two with under 10 minutes left, JF took Bines on a 9-play, 45-yard scoring drive capped by a 2-yard TD to Julien. With four minutes left, all Nice TDs had to do was run out the clock—but Guillaume goofed on a fourth-and-1 play, leading to a punt after a penalty. With 1:04 left, Bines had time and timeouts. But after some first downs, Guillaume jumped one of JF's passes to seal the game.
D3
I missed these games while getting my heater—maybe I’ll get to see them next week!
D4
F.A.T. Players vs Slot Machines (50-39)
Vincent Martel was a beast, grabbing 3 TDs on 4 catches for 106 yards, plus he made 6 tackles and batted away a few passes. Leon and Sean’s chemistry is like a cheat code: Sean isn’t super fast, doesn’t run perfect routes, and his hands can be shaky, but every time Leon needed a play, Sean was there, catching the ball with two or three defenders draped over him. The Slot Machines defense, usually full of hustle, was a half-step short this game. Gio is a solid QB, but he missed a few throws, and his players had some drops. It’s tough to play catch-up the whole game, and that led to risky throws he didn’t want to make. After dominating D5 last season, this will be a learning season for Slot Machines, and I expect them back stronger.
D5
28-3 vs Phoenix (25-13)
Phoenix made it easy for 28-3 with all the mistakes. Nico had short fields most of the day, throwing 3 TDs without even getting 100 passing yards. Cody Dupont racked up 3 sacks, and his pressure led to one of the three picks Kevin threw. 28-3 played solid defense, keeping everything in front, with Mass snagging 10 tackles and a pick-six he stole right out of the receiver's hands. Near the end of the first half, Phoenix tied it up at 13, but after advancing near midfield, Scott intercepted to stop their drive. Nico couldn’t get far with the ball, and after a sack by Pierre-Luc, he had to punt. On the very next play, Mass got his pick-six. Phoenix later advanced to the red zone, but Kevin's four incomplete passes ended in another turnover. With time running out, Nico found William wide open for a TD on fourth-and-goal, sealing the win for 28-3.
Women’s
Ladies, no games this week, but you're back in action soon!
Studs & Duds
It’s playoffs time, so finding studs is easy, but picking the duds was harder because anyone who lost could be on the list. You might have had a great game up until the last play, and bam—you’re on my duds list. Think of that knucklehead on the Bears two weeks ago, or this week’s dingus who dropped the ball before the goal line—anything can get you on here.
Studs
D2 - Richard Perez, my man! If all he’d done was get that pick-1 that made the difference, he’d be on the list. But with three more picks? Just let the guy in!
D3 - Jonathan Evans, going 21-of-28 for 262 yards, 6 TDs, 3 1-point converts, and just 1 pick. No runs or defensive stats, and when that happens, his team wins more than they lose. That streak is still alive!
D4 - Vincent Martel: 4 catches for 106 yards, 3 TDs, and 6 tackles on defense—an all-around star.
D5 - Julien Shabazz: 3 catches, 3 TDs, 69 yards, and a defensive pick—stellar stats!
Duds
D2 - Jason Edwards: 1 catch, 13 yards, and 1 tackle. It’s the playoffs—I expected more!
D3 - Nigel Thomas: 4 catches for 80 yards and just 2 TDs. All season, this guy has been putting up 3 TDs and 100-plus yards. Playoffs hit, and these are the numbers?
D4 - Thomas Svoiski: 3 picks and more run attempts (11) than completions (12). You’re a QB, not an RB—throw the ball!
D5 - Ilias Tihani: 2 catches for 10 yards and only 1 tackle.
That’s who made my list—hold your head high or drop it low. Either way, it doesn’t bother me!
