DSFL Week 13 & 14:
The playoffs are nearly here in the DSFL. The teams that are playing are firmly locked in, but the seeding is still up for grabs in the both the NFCN and SFCS as we go into the final 2 weeks.
In the SFC, the Tijuana Luchadores (10-2) control their own fate. They need only one win on the road against either the Myrtle Beach Buccaneers (8-4) or the Norfolk Seawolves (0-12), to guarantee home field advantage in both the SFC Conference final and the Ultimini. If the Luchadores lose both their games and Buccaneers also win against the Portland Pythons (8-4), Myrtle Beach will instead gain HFA due to their head to head record against Tijuana (3-1 in favour of Myrtle Beach).
Portland Pythons (8-4) occupy the top spot in the NFC, closely followed by the Minnesota Grey Ducks (7-5). Minnesota seem likely to move to a 9-5 record with the road match against Norfolk Seawolves (0-12) and the home Kansas City Coyotes game (3-9) still to play. Minnesota holds the tiebreaker over the Pythons due to their favourable head to head record (3-1) so if Minnesota do indeed get to 9 wins and Portland lose either of their remaining games on the road to the Coyotes or the Buccaneers, Portland will lose HFA.
The key matchup to watch which can settle both divisions is likely to be the week 14 game, Portland Pythons @ Myrtle Beach Buccaneers, so let’s focus on that:
In the previous game this season between these 2 teams, the Pythons put up 24 unanswered points in the second half to beat the Buccaneers 31-17 at home after initially falling behind 10-17. Jay Cue had a strong game against a Buccaneers defence full of playmakers, turning over the football only once but putting up 2 touchdowns. The rushing attack was unstoppable as well, Paco McTaco took 16 carries for over 100 yards, Rkansaw took 10 carries for over 80 yards, with the team combining for over 200 rushing yards as the Buccaneers couldn’t stop themselves being gashing on the ground. Led by their safety A.C. Payton, who recorded 4 tackles, 1 sack, 1 PD & 1 Int, the Pythons defence shut out the Buccaneers offence in the second half.
Much has changed since week 7. The Buccaneers are at home, there’s much more on the line, both teams have signed S21 players off the waiver wire who could potentially make an impact, so let’s take a look at key duels to watch out for;
Kacey Dream (CB-MB) vs Jah Bur’Berry (WR-POR)
This is a dream matchup for a neutral. The #1 CB in the league vs possibly the best WR in the league (#2 in yds, #2 in TD’s). Bur’Berry is not going to be able to outrun Dream, nor is he going to be able to outmuscle him at the catch point (Dream is 6’3” and 205 lbs to Bur’Berrys 6’2” and 205 lbs). He’s going to have to rely on crisp route running to generate separation and his strong hands in order to make plays for the Pythons. If Jay Cue wants to use his #1 weapon, he’ll have to be more accurate than usual and prevent Dream from adding to his 7 interceptions.
Siddhu Sarvepally & Ricardo Rose (RB-MB) vs Galf Wilf & Willie B. Hardagain (LB-POR)
Sarvepally and Rose have formed quite the tandem this season. Both are S20 players looked to get drafted next year but sharing the backfield workload hasn’t hurt their stock. Individually they’ve both eclipsed 1000 yards in the first 12 games, no other team can boast this. Both have done this in good average yards per carry (5.1 & 4.5) though they’re lacking any big plays that bust games open (both have their longest carry under 30 yards). Sarvepally is a classic speedster capable of making men miss whilst Rose is more of an all-purpose bruiser and the favoured back for goal-line situtations, leading the league in rushing touchdowns with 14 (Sarvepally has 7). They’ll come into this game with great form, last week dismantling the Norfolk Seawolves for over 200 yards between them and 2 Touchdowns each.
Portland will be hoping that Wilf and Hardagain will be the guys to slow them down. The Python linebackers both rank in the top 5 of tackles made this season (#2, 125, 1 TFL & #5, 95, 2 TFL). They’re likely to see Sarvepally and Rose run the ball at them north of 30 times so they’ll need to bring their A game. Wilf will be hoping to add to his tallies of forced fumbles (4) and recoveries (3), a category he already leads the league in whilst Hardagain will be hoping to move into the lead in Sacks this season (currently #4, 6 sacks).
If you want to know the answer to the question ’What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object?’, look no further than how these 4 guys perform.
Bonus: S21 rookie battle
Dax Frost (CB-MB) vs Raheem Okusi (WR-POR)
I’ve previously covered both these players breakout games and have them as #1 and #4 in my S21 initial rankings, both topping their position groups. Frost is a very similar player to Dream, a tall Man to man cornerback. He’ll be matched up with Okusi, who in the last 2 weeks has been WR2 for the Pythons and the 3rd choice target for Jay Cue behind Bur’Berry and the TE DeMarcus Strike (another player who could take over the game). Okusi is a lanky & speedy receiver, whether he has the ability to create separation from Frost is yet to be seen. Could these guys be the next Dream and Bur’Berry? I can’t wait to see this matchup again next year.
Prediction:
Myrtle Beach Buccaneers 27 – 21 Portland Pythons
This time the Buccaneers run all over the Pythons, taking a 2-score lead into halftime and killing the clock with their run game. Okusi scored a TD to bring the game within 1 possession in the 4th quarter but the Buccaneers see out the game successfully.
The playoffs are nearly here in the DSFL. The teams that are playing are firmly locked in, but the seeding is still up for grabs in the both the NFCN and SFCS as we go into the final 2 weeks.
In the SFC, the Tijuana Luchadores (10-2) control their own fate. They need only one win on the road against either the Myrtle Beach Buccaneers (8-4) or the Norfolk Seawolves (0-12), to guarantee home field advantage in both the SFC Conference final and the Ultimini. If the Luchadores lose both their games and Buccaneers also win against the Portland Pythons (8-4), Myrtle Beach will instead gain HFA due to their head to head record against Tijuana (3-1 in favour of Myrtle Beach).
Portland Pythons (8-4) occupy the top spot in the NFC, closely followed by the Minnesota Grey Ducks (7-5). Minnesota seem likely to move to a 9-5 record with the road match against Norfolk Seawolves (0-12) and the home Kansas City Coyotes game (3-9) still to play. Minnesota holds the tiebreaker over the Pythons due to their favourable head to head record (3-1) so if Minnesota do indeed get to 9 wins and Portland lose either of their remaining games on the road to the Coyotes or the Buccaneers, Portland will lose HFA.
The key matchup to watch which can settle both divisions is likely to be the week 14 game, Portland Pythons @ Myrtle Beach Buccaneers, so let’s focus on that:
In the previous game this season between these 2 teams, the Pythons put up 24 unanswered points in the second half to beat the Buccaneers 31-17 at home after initially falling behind 10-17. Jay Cue had a strong game against a Buccaneers defence full of playmakers, turning over the football only once but putting up 2 touchdowns. The rushing attack was unstoppable as well, Paco McTaco took 16 carries for over 100 yards, Rkansaw took 10 carries for over 80 yards, with the team combining for over 200 rushing yards as the Buccaneers couldn’t stop themselves being gashing on the ground. Led by their safety A.C. Payton, who recorded 4 tackles, 1 sack, 1 PD & 1 Int, the Pythons defence shut out the Buccaneers offence in the second half.
Much has changed since week 7. The Buccaneers are at home, there’s much more on the line, both teams have signed S21 players off the waiver wire who could potentially make an impact, so let’s take a look at key duels to watch out for;
Kacey Dream (CB-MB) vs Jah Bur’Berry (WR-POR)
This is a dream matchup for a neutral. The #1 CB in the league vs possibly the best WR in the league (#2 in yds, #2 in TD’s). Bur’Berry is not going to be able to outrun Dream, nor is he going to be able to outmuscle him at the catch point (Dream is 6’3” and 205 lbs to Bur’Berrys 6’2” and 205 lbs). He’s going to have to rely on crisp route running to generate separation and his strong hands in order to make plays for the Pythons. If Jay Cue wants to use his #1 weapon, he’ll have to be more accurate than usual and prevent Dream from adding to his 7 interceptions.
Siddhu Sarvepally & Ricardo Rose (RB-MB) vs Galf Wilf & Willie B. Hardagain (LB-POR)
Sarvepally and Rose have formed quite the tandem this season. Both are S20 players looked to get drafted next year but sharing the backfield workload hasn’t hurt their stock. Individually they’ve both eclipsed 1000 yards in the first 12 games, no other team can boast this. Both have done this in good average yards per carry (5.1 & 4.5) though they’re lacking any big plays that bust games open (both have their longest carry under 30 yards). Sarvepally is a classic speedster capable of making men miss whilst Rose is more of an all-purpose bruiser and the favoured back for goal-line situtations, leading the league in rushing touchdowns with 14 (Sarvepally has 7). They’ll come into this game with great form, last week dismantling the Norfolk Seawolves for over 200 yards between them and 2 Touchdowns each.
Portland will be hoping that Wilf and Hardagain will be the guys to slow them down. The Python linebackers both rank in the top 5 of tackles made this season (#2, 125, 1 TFL & #5, 95, 2 TFL). They’re likely to see Sarvepally and Rose run the ball at them north of 30 times so they’ll need to bring their A game. Wilf will be hoping to add to his tallies of forced fumbles (4) and recoveries (3), a category he already leads the league in whilst Hardagain will be hoping to move into the lead in Sacks this season (currently #4, 6 sacks).
If you want to know the answer to the question ’What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object?’, look no further than how these 4 guys perform.
Bonus: S21 rookie battle
Dax Frost (CB-MB) vs Raheem Okusi (WR-POR)
I’ve previously covered both these players breakout games and have them as #1 and #4 in my S21 initial rankings, both topping their position groups. Frost is a very similar player to Dream, a tall Man to man cornerback. He’ll be matched up with Okusi, who in the last 2 weeks has been WR2 for the Pythons and the 3rd choice target for Jay Cue behind Bur’Berry and the TE DeMarcus Strike (another player who could take over the game). Okusi is a lanky & speedy receiver, whether he has the ability to create separation from Frost is yet to be seen. Could these guys be the next Dream and Bur’Berry? I can’t wait to see this matchup again next year.
Prediction:
Myrtle Beach Buccaneers 27 – 21 Portland Pythons
This time the Buccaneers run all over the Pythons, taking a 2-score lead into halftime and killing the clock with their run game. Okusi scored a TD to bring the game within 1 possession in the 4th quarter but the Buccaneers see out the game successfully.
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