Here we have it, my last article of the spring season. I’m glad we all made it through healthy and that the city or province didn’t put us all back in lockdown, because that would have really sucked. We really didn’t want another delay like we had in the winter season.
This past week we crowned our 4 division champions. We had a few players that have won multiple titles, but we also had a bunch of new players claiming their first title.
Division 1
Henchmen vs Gros Coqs (27-25)
I will point out that Henchmen didn’t have a QB this week and were forced to ask Jon if he would throw for them and I know that Jon was forced to ask all the other captains if he was allowed to throw and we all said yes, figuring that what is he really going to do against a much stronger Gros Coqs team. Both teams played about the same all game, when I was looking over the stats I noticed that eight minutes through the second half Gros Coqs were up two scores and it looked as if they were going to be heading to the finals. That’s when things took a turn for the worse for them. Normally the way Jon plays that would have been enough to pull it off. Henchmen stepped up their game and short plays started to become big plays and they were able to get back in the game and even take the lead. With seven minutes left the game had completely flipped and Henchmen now had the lead and were fighting to hold onto it. Gros Coqs kept trying and just couldn’t get it done. On the last play of the game Gros Coqs were in scoring distance and it looked as if they were going to win on the last play, then Dahic picked the ball off and the game was over. Henchmen were heading to the finals where they would meet the winner between Outlaws and Holy Trollers.
Outlaws vs Trollers (20-19)
I played in this one and I found it to be very boring play with not much really happening (ed’s note: Playoffs, baby!). The Trollers were shorthanded, and that’s not an excuse, we still played our asses off. This was a game that whoever had the ball last was going to win. The Trollers were not able to stop the combination of Smuda and Noah, and Steve just kept hitting them every time he needed a play to be made. There were two huge plays in the game that both happened on what turned out to be the last drive. The first play was the one the Trollers needed to happen for a chance to take the lead. Steve steps back to throw the ball and doesn’t see Josh standing between him and Smuda on the sideline and it looked like it was an easy pick, but it wasn’t as it went off both of Josh’s hands and up in the air to land right in Smuda’s hands and it was a first down for them. On that same drive right at the end the Trollers were forced to use their timeouts to save some time and hope to get a shot at winning. First down, Vince runs for four yards, timeout by Trollers. Second and third down were incomplete passes and timeouts by the Trollers. On fourth down it looked as if the stop was about to happen, but then Steve hits Svetna right on the sideline for the first down and the win.
Outlaws vs Henchmen (53-18)
This was not the final matchup many expected to see, but once it was locked in many expected this outcome. I know I did. In the first half the Outlaws were unstoppable and could not make any mistakes. Jon was once again throwing for Henchmen and it wasn’t pretty for him. I will say that even before the game he had mentioned that his elbow was bothering him, it was the same one that he hurt last week and he might not have been a good choice to throw a fourth game that day. He went out and stunk it up and then Kris had to take over. Kris fared better under center, but by that point the Outlaws were playing a soft defense and only needed the clock to reach zero before claiming their third title in a row. I wish we had a close game like we did in the first round, but far too often the finals is not as good a game as the semis. Maybe next season.
Division 2
OG Panthers vs Nice TDs (0-38)
I really didn’t expect to see this game turn out this way. I had spoken to a few players during the week and they all felt that Nice TDs were done and mentioned that Kris isn’t the same player he was before the leg injury and that they were going to be one and done. That might have been the case, but no one told Kris and he drove the Nice TDs to score on every drive they had. OG Panthers weren’t even able to punch it in once. I was really hoping to see a good game, but I missed out on this one. This game was one that the OG Panthers defense let them down. No sacks, no picks, and they couldn’t get off the field on fourth down on multiple occasions.
Old School vs Centurions (0-41)
This game got ugly really fast. Centurions were way too strong for Old School. The defense for Centurions showed why they are considered elite in the division, they managed four picks and three were by Simon-Pierre Laferrière. Not only did Simon kill it on defense, but he showed that he was a weapon on offense as well by scoring twice and adding a two-point convert. I just don’t know how you get into the playoffs and then manage to put up zero points, it’s supposed to be the best of the best. With all the trouble of scheduling the Wildcard round it played out as if it never happened.
Nice TDs vs Joey’s Haters (31-20)
This should have been an easy game for Joey’s Haters, but they ran into a Nice TDs team that weren’t going to be stopped on this day (ed’s note: Spoilers, but not?). I was going to mention that Max had another playoff melt down again, but then he let me know he was hurt and couldn’t move very well. I just wonder if Joey’s Haters came in thinking they were going to walk away with an easy win. Max was off all day missing guys that were wide open and that would have gone for easy scores. Kris had a near perfect day and Andrew, Nicholas, and Brian stepped up big on offense and Greg did a fantastic job pressuring Max all day and even walked away with two sacks. One of those sacks put Joey’s Haters in a fourth and long. Max, who was throwing into the wind, threw it to the sideline for Josh who was out of bounds even before he caught the ball. The Haters were upset that the play didn’t go their way and after that Nice TDs went down and scored to go up eleven and that was too much for Joey’s Haters to come back from.
Centurions vs Petits Phoques (34-31)
At least we had one game that came down to the end. In a game that your defense looked dominant in, how could you lose? Petits Phoques got a pick 6 from Bresse and five sacks from Noah and looked great doing it, but it was the defense from Centurions that ended up winning the game. At halftime the Centurions were down ten points and needed a spark to get them going. I don’t know for sure, but in the second half did Petits Phoques take their foot off the gas and couldn’t get going again when they needed to? I heard from multiple people that after Centurions scored with under 20 seconds left that Dom threw a pick on third down. What baffles me about that is why didn’t Petit Phoques just end the game (ed’s note: they could not end it. Centurions had timeouts and would have been able to get the ball back with time left on anything but a first down) and if they couldn’t because Centurions had timeouts left, why didn’t Dom just run, throw it away then run again that would have been enough for the game to be over (ed’s note: it would not have been. They needed one first down to end it). Instead Xavier picks Dom off and two plays later Raphaël scores what is the game winning TD and off to the finals the Centurions go.
Centurions vs Nice TDs (43-14)
Last year the Centurions lost in the finals and this season they were out to find out what winning was like. Early on in the season they looked like they were going to breeze through everyone then they hit a rough patch in the schedule and they looked like an average team. Nice TDs had been enjoying a nice run up to the finals, but then the clock hit midnight and they went from being the belle of the ball to being the team picking up confetti after the winning team is done celebrating. This was another finals that didn’t live up to the hype. Everyone wants to see the best take on the best for the title and not a complete blow out. I was going to say that Nice TDs were playing their third game of the day, but it was also the same for Centurions. Yes, a lot of the guys on Nice TDs play on multiple teams, but no one forced them to, so being exhausted is not an excuse for laying an egg. Everyone on Nice TDs played below what they should have in the championship game, how can you not get pumped up and ready to go when the game was going on? Congratulations to Centurions on winning their first title of what could become many.
Division 3
Sriracha All Stars vs Ninja Turtles (32-12)
Any other week this would have been a huge upset, but when you’re missing half your roster it’s not such an upset. This was by far the best game Josh has played all season and there was no better time for it. He was smart with his ball placement and used his experience to run when they left him a lane to do so. Sriracha jumped out to a 20-6 lead at half and knowing what they were up against they kept pushing to keep the momentum going. Second half was just like the first half and the Ninja Turtles scored half way through it, but that was all they could muster up. Sriracha was able to get into the end zone twice after that and then the final buzzer went and the upset was complete.
Iron Wolves vs Mustard Tigers (43-14)
How the f**tr**suck did this happen? Well, let me tell you. I figured that Mustard Tigers were way better than this and normally they are. Maybe they came in over confident. Maybe Jon used last week to figure out a few things. To me it seemed after Jon won his first game he was set on getting two teams to the finals. What sticks out to me was the defense from both teams. Iron Wolves were able to force a bunch of punts and change of possessions on downs, which they hadn’t done in a while and I wasn’t expecting to see. On the other hand Mustard Tigers weren’t able to do any of that plus they didn’t get any picks which is rare for them. Jon was nearly unstoppable this week and the only time they didn’t score was on their last possession which they punted with 20 seconds left. Mustard Tigers didn’t look hungry this week and it didn’t seem like they wanted to repeat as champions.
Sriracha All Stars vs Iron Wolves (13-32)
Even before the game I was congratulating Jon on his championship. They have the better team, better QB, and even a better roster. Then the game started and boy did I ever look stupid. Sriracha jumped out to a 13-0 lead and it looked like they were going to run away with it. Sriracha had a few big plays early in the game and as it went on those plays disappeared by drops and by an adjustment on the defense. I know that Josh feels they lost the game early in the game on a fourth down where Iron Wolves double rushed and Catherine “Ribeye” Boucher batted it away like Dikembe Mutombo and all she was missing was the finger shake. That is also when the game started to change and Iron Wolves couldn’t be stopped after that. Another big slap in the face to Sriracha was the fact they allowed Iron Wolves to double up and by that I mean score right before half and since Iron Wolves were starting the second half with the ball they did it again to start the half and it also gave them the lead after that was it, game over. Iron Wolves are your Spring 2020 champs.
Division 4
Les Beautes vs Citadins (33-6)
This was a game that would have gone the other way had Citadins had their roster show up and not away for the long weekend. Simon had a good game throwing 4 TDs and only 1 pick, but the big difference in this game was Les Beautes defense. Manon killed it racking up 3 sacks and getting into Carol-Ann’s face all day long forcing her to throw off balance and make poor reads which lead to 3 picks with 2 by Thomas and 1 by Nicolas. This game didn’t start the way it should have and instead of the 9 o’clock start time it started half hour later at 9:30 due to a miscommunication. It didn’t bother Les Beautes though and it gave them extra time to warm up. It was hard for Carol-Ann not having any of her regular big targets out there this week. At halftime this was still a game where Simon went off and led his team to multiple scores as they did whatever they wanted as they walked into the finals.
Thunder Buddies vs Sofa King Good (13-6)
This was a defensive game, sort of. There were lots of struggles on offense for both teams. What really stuck out to me in this game was the smiling and laughing when balls were being dropped by Sofa King Good, this is not how you’re supposed to act when you’re playing for a chance for the title (ed’s note: no having fun!). It looked like Sofa King Good’s strategy was to go after Steve, but that didn’t help as Steve made every tackle that was in front of him. On the offensive side of the ball, Thunder Buddies were very conservative with the ball and not taking many chances. Even when Terry took off running it was more out of necessity since guys weren’t getting open. Sofa King Good did a great job of converging around Terry when he did take off running. This was a boring game that seemed to go on forever with very little excitement (ed’s note: PLAYOFFS, BABY!).
Les Beautes vs Thunder Buddies (13-24)
I saw that Simon had made a comment somewhere on Facebook about the finals being Les Beautes vs Thunder Buddies and it looks like he was right. I am very disappointed in the performances from both QBs. You two threw 7 picks and just over 200 yards passing. This was the finals and you guys needed to do better. You could tell all game that Terry was off his passing game and he needed to rely his on legs. Last game Manon was on point racking up sacks and stirring snuggles up, but this game she wasn’t able to do much to stop Terry. Other than Thomas, no one on Les Beautes stepped up and made any sort of impact. I don’t know why Simon didn’t try and get Brian more involved in the offense, I know I would have (ed’s note: I’m pretty sure he was injured coming into the game and then injured again during the game). Les Beautes had a 1 point lead at the half which they didn’t hold on to for long once the second half started. Thunder Buddies started with the ball and marched down and scored taking the lead. Then it seemed as if Terry took a page out of Steve’s playbook and slowed the game down and just marched the field eating up the clock along the way. Then, all of a sudden the game was over and Thunder Buddies were crowned your division 4 champions.
Playoff MVP
Since I’ll be picking my playoff MVP and normally the QBs get all the credit, let’s see who gets it and see if a QB even makes my list.
Division 1
This was an easy pick for me to make. I played the Outlaws on their way to another title and if it wasn’t for this guy they would have been watching the finals from the sideline. Jonathan Svetna in the first game and it was his defense that stood out, oh, and that toe tap on fourth down that sealed up the first game. In the finials all he did was score 4 TDs and add another pick to his total.
Division 2
With Centurions playing 3 games on Saturday and different guys balling out in each game I went with the one player that helped get them over the hump and onto the championship trophy and that player is Gabriel Archambault. Gabriel was new to the team and you can see that his impact was huge. In the 3 games he threw 16 TDs to just 3 picks. When you put up numbers like this in the playoffs there is no way his team wins without him.
Division 3
This was a tough choice for me to make. I was going to go with the QB, but then after looking at the stats and when the plays were made, I had to go with Alec Myles. In the first game he showed off his offensive skills and then in the second game he busted out the defense that sealed the games for them. (ed’s note: despite him not picking me, I can’t agree more with Kevin’s choice. Alec was on fire all day).
Division 4
I had to pick someone from Thunder Buddies of course and I had a few players to choose from. I came up with one player that without them their team would have lost and we would have had a different champion. So, I went with Steve. In the first game he was a tackling machine who came up with huge flags on every third and fourth down that was anywhere near him. I’m also sure that in the second game he was the one who was letting Terry know to slow the game down. You would have seen Terry’s name here, but there were just too many interceptions thrown and as a QB I’d like to see more passing yards than rushing yards.
Final Thoughts
We made it through the heat of the summer and now we are entering the fall season where it will be cooler and have more rain. I think if we can get most weeks like this past weekend then we will all be happy. Right now, I’m sitting at home on vacation when I should be getting hammered in Vegas and betting on black, but I’m here saving money and getting ready to throw for the first time in a few years. I’m pumped for the season to start and can’t wait to meet my new teammates as we come together and try to win it all. This season is the leagues largest number of teams in the fall. We have 29 teams right now with a potential 30th to fill us to capacity. I hope in time that these teams in lower divisions get better and stick around and move up to the higher divisions. It’s week one and we all want to go out and play our asses off, but let’s not forget that this is a game and we are all out to have some fun. Play hard, have fun, and stay safe. Good luck to everyone this week and can’t wait to see a few of the new teams.
