Wow! It seems almost unbelievable but the end of the 2015 regular season is upon us. The good news has to be that the real fun starts next week with playoffs kicking off, it’s been a great season and the postseason promises to be even better. Last week I went 3-1 for the second straight week to bring the season mark to 22-7. Not bad considering my start to the season and for the final time in the 2015 regular season, below are my picks. Enjoy the weekend!
LES PHÉNIX D’ANDRÉ-GRASSET (4-4) @ LES NOMADES DE MONTMORENCY (3-5)
THE MATCH UP: André-Grasset have won their last two, overtaking les Nomades for sole possession of fifth place in the process. Momo, once ranked in the “Power 5”, have suffered three straight blowouts and need to stop the bleeding.
ANDRÉ-GRASSET PLAYERS TO WATCH: RB Samuel Makwanda, OL Jean-Maxime Desrosier, REC François Rocheleau, LB Bruno-Philippe Desfossés-Simard, LB Louis Cavanagh, DE Philippe Lemieux-Cardinal, DE Benoit Marion, DB Bruno Lagacé
MONTMORENCY PLAYERS TO WATCH: #CFC100 QB Eric Parr, REC Félix Laflamme, #CFC100 REC Bruno Labelle, RB Kevin Dubois, DB Raphaël Ntumba-Muntu
WHY ANDRÉ-GRASSET MIGHT WIN: Les Phénix have been hitting their stride and could be the dark horse in the upcoming playoffs. Grasset’s defense has been playing well all season and should be able to hold Momo to a modest day offensively.
WHY MONTMORENCY MIGHT WIN: Desperation can sometimes be the best motivator. After knocking off Lévis-Lauzon in week four to improve to 3-1, Montmorency looked like they might be among the D1 elite. Since then they have lost five straight and need a win to guarantee a playoff spot. Although they can still get in with a loss, teams that are on six game losing streaks tend not to do well in the postseason.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN: Les Nomades have struggled to put points on the board this year and Grasset specializes in keeping points off the board. For the second straight week Montmorency faces dominating defense and for the sixth straight week, they lose.
FINAL SCORE: ANDRÉ-GRASSET 35 MONTMORENCY 13
#2 LE NOTRE DAME DU COLLEGE NOTRE DAME-DE-FOY (CNDF) (6-2) @ #3 LES FAUCONS DE LÉVIS-LAUZON (6-2)
THE MATCH UP: Was it hangover from suffering their first loss or did Lennoxville expose something? Three weeks ago CNDF were prepping to host the Cougars in a battle for first and went in as the favourite. How things have changed. CNDF fell again last week 23-19 to Vieux Montréal, and now risk tumbling to third in this battle for second.
Early on in 2015 there were questions as to whether les Faucons had the defense to be truly considered a contender. In the last few weeks however, the answer been a resounding yes and with each week, Lévis-Lauzon look more and more dangerous.
CNDF PLAYERS TO WATCH: REC Jérémie Sauvageau, REC Alexandre Gailloux, QB David Pelletier, RB Alexis Côté, RB Luca Perrier, LB Yvan Hakizimana, DB Christophe Bouchard, LB Alexandre Paré, LB Jean-Philippe Hudon
LÉVIS-LAUZON PLAYERS TO WATCH: DB Jean-Philippe Lévesque, LB Raphaël Faucher, DB Guillaume D’Anjou, REC Antoine Mailhot, REC Jonathan Breton-Robert, RB Vincent Breton-Robert #CFC100 OL Samuel Lefebvre, OL François Côté
WHY CNDF MIGHT WIN: If CNDF are healthy, they are still among the elite, boasting a formidable defense and second-to-none ground game.
WHY LÉVIS-LAUZON MIGHT WIN: Les Faucons can score on anyone and defensively they can follow the blueprint provided by Lennoxville and Vieux.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN: This is a very tough one to call, everything tells me CNDF will make a statement here, but guess what….I’m taking les Faucons. Lévis-Lauzon will move the ball, as they always do but the difference will be the Faucons defense.
FINAL SCORE: LÉVIS-LAUZON 29 CNDF 24
#1 CHAMPLAIN-LÉNNOXVILLE COUGARS (8-0) @ #4 LES SPARTIATES DU VIEUX MONTRÉAL (5-3)
THE MATCH UP: The Cougars are the team to beat in the upcoming postseason and have been dominant in all aspects of the game. On the other side of the ball, this is not the same Vieux Montréal team as early on. A win in this one and they still have a shot finishing as high as third place, an unlikely scenario four weeks ago.
LÉNNOXVILLE PLAYERS TO WATCH: #CFC100 QB Mike Arruda, #CFC100 REC Marc Antoine-Pivin, DB Khadeem Pierre, #CFC100 DE Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund, LB Samuel Brodrique, RB Guillaume Conraud-Ares, RB Philippe Lessard-Vézina, DL Cheikhe Sidy Sow, #CFC100 DB Adam Auclair, LB Alain Cimankinda
VIEUX MONTRÉAL PLAYERS TO WATCH: REC Joël Soucy, QB Frédéric Paquette-Perrault, RB Dynell Pierre, LB Enock Makonzo, LB Umar Temoor,
WHY LÉNNOXVILLE MIGHT WIN: They are the best team in D1. Plain and simple.
WHY VIEUX MONTRÉAL MIGHT WIN: Vieux is on a roll and their defense has been lights out.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN: I am going to go out on a limb and pick Vieux. I would expect with first locked up and a guaranteed bye week, the Cougars star players won’t see a lot of action. My caveat in this one is if Lennoxville leaves their starters in, they win. But I don’t think they will and les Spartiates are strong enough to pounce on the opening.
FINAL SCORE: VIEUX MONTRÉAL 29 CHAMPLAIN-LENNOXVILLE 26
LES ÉLANS DE F-X GARNEAU (3-5) @ LES TITANS DE LIMOILOU (2-6)
THE MATCH UP: The Élans/ Titans battle is a story of two teams headed in totally opposite directions. After starting the season 0-3, Les Élans have taken the league by surprise going 3-2 down the stretch and look like they may be a dangerous out in the postseason. Les Titans were the early season darlings and after knocking off the defending champs in week four, looked like a true playoff contender in their inaugural division one season. Everything seems to have gone south after their 41-14 loss to CNDF and les Titans are currently on a 4-game losing skid.
F-X GARNEAU PLAYERS TO WATCH: QB William Blais, REC Mathieu Soucy, REC Mathieu Blanchette, RB Olivier Forgues, LB Philippe Ouellet
LIMOILOU PLAYERS TO WATCH: REC Mathieu Robitaille, REC Gabriel St. Pierre, DB Hugo Lord, Simon Rowley-Bernard, LB Julien Matte-Lajoie, LB Louis-Philippe Bélanger
WHY GARNEAU MIGHT WIN: Thomas Blouin can reek havoc on a team’s passing game, evidenced by his league leading 9 sacks. If Garneau can disrupt the pass game, history indicates Limoilou will turn it over.
WHY LIMOILOU MIGHT WIN: Receivers Mathieu Robitaille and Gabriel St. Pierre are the real deal and can take over a game. Against Garneau’s less than stellar defense both should have big days and make life miserable for the Garneau secondary.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN: Like I said, two teams, different directions. Garneau gets a tight road win.
FINAL SCORE: GARNEAU 24 LIMOILOU 22
Last Week’s Record: 3-1 Season Record: 22-7
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CFC40 NFL/CFL DRAFT RANKINGS (FINAL EDITION)
