PIT Football’s Winter season had a record 152 teams register across 30 divisions. While not all championship games were able to be played this season, we did crown most of them in some of the most-entertaining finals in recent memory!
Coed Division 1
Sofa Kings 1 Connor McDavids 1 (game postponed)
The top two coed teams in the province were set to do battle for the fourth consecutive season in the Coed Division 1 final. The Connor McDavids had won the previous three titles, but coming into this match the Sofa Kings were undefeated, including a legendary 47-46 victory over the McDavids in Week #1.
Unfortunately, this highly anticipated rematch was put on hold. We will eagerly await the next time these two coed juggernauts face off against each other.
Coed Division 2
Down to Football 40 Medical Whiskey 19
Down to Football went winless during the regular season, but with four of their five losses by less than a touchdown their record was a bit deceiving. Down to Football won when it counted, knocking off the previously-undefeated Mr. Rodgers Moustache in the semis — another curse of the undefeated! — and then avenging their one-point regular season loss to Medical Whiskey in the finals.
When you get into the playoffs it is a whole new ball game, especially when you don’t have to deal with the undefeated curse that plagues the PIT!
Coed Division 3
Flea Flickers 19 Bill Arnotts 12
The Flea Flickers and the Bill Arnotts (formerly Nice for Coming) met in their second-consecutive coed division 3 final. In the Fall Season the Bill Arnotts won a nail biter and in the Winter season the Flea Flickers returned the favour. Peter Reimer had 18 points for the Flickers, while the Bill’s countered with the 12 points of Misan Odidison.
Two very good coed teams, who are both very good sports and ambassadors for the league. Hopefully, we will be back on the field soon so that these two teams can renew their very friendly rivalry.
Coed Division 4
PteradacDILLOS 33 Curry Jacks 18
A record 17 coed teams necessitated the creation of a coed Division 4, and these two finalists put on a show!
Former league MVP Ramey Goetz led the PteradacDillos with three touchdowns and a convert, but Charanpal Dhaliwal replied with three touchdowns of his own for the Curry Jacks. Jessica Similar also had a touchdown and a convert for the Dillos, while Cory Warren held down the fort on defence with two interceptions.
A great first season for both teams who should be forces in the coed division for years to come.
Canadian Flag Football League (Women’s)
The Kellys 30 Maples Marauders 0
In our second-ever girls flag football championship, the Kellys continued their winning ways by defeating the
Maples Marauders. The Kelly’s had just come off winning the Football Manitoba High School Girls indoor championship and will add a bit more hardware to the mantle after this one.
Led by Kate Watson, who broke the women’s season touchdown pass record, this team is now heading to the Nationals in Charlottetown later this summer to represent Manitoba against Canada’s best!
The Maples Marauders Girls team was comprised of a bunch of under-agers and we fully expect them to come back next year and be one of the favourites!
Canadian Flag Football League (Mens)
Canada’s Most Wanted 39 Team Manitoba 32
The last two flag football national champions met in a game which might include the two best teams currently in Canada.
The reigning champs pulled out the victory with two touchdowns in the final minutes to claim the title. Canada’s Most Wanted will try to defend their national title in Ottawa later this summer. Ideally, they can bring a third-straight National title back to PIT Football when the take on the rest of Canada in the CFFL championship.
Division 1
Knights 40 Polk High 39
It is not surprising that the Division 1 final might have provided the most-entertaining game of championship night!
Polk High, which has been forever the bridesmaid, was attempting to win their first Division 1 championship in their final game together as a team. They looked primed to do so, up 14 points with just three minutes left. But a quick touchdown and a convert by the Knights, then an untimely interception by Polk High, gave the Knights life. The veteran Knights team, led by touch football Hall of Famer Jim Bell, promptly drove the field with time running out to score. Down by one point, the call was to go for two and the win and win they did.
Elation for the Knights, heartbreak for Polk High.
Division 2
Los Rebeldes 40 LW United 39
Los Rebeldes won the Division 2 championship in a barnburner that almost mirrored the Division 1 final.
LW United pulled to within a point with under three minutes remaining, but on the ensuing kickoff Kevin Thompson took the kick back for a touchdown to put Los Rebeldes up by seven. LW drove to score with no time remaining and went for two for the win (the correct call). However, in this game the defence came up big and Los Rebeldes were the champs.
Not bad for a team which had complained they couldn’t compete in Division 2 prior to the season starting, but our division aligners tend to know best!
Division 3
Ducks 19 Kings 12
The undefeated curse continues. It is amazing how many times a team that goes undefeated during the regular season then gets tripped up in the finals in PIT Football.
The parity among our teams is so great that it is very difficult to defeat the same team twice in a season. The Kings, who were the royalty of the division all season long, carried their undefeated record into the final which featured two high-scoring teams.
Legendary Alabama coach Bear Bryant was correct when he said, “Offences win games, but defences win championships.” Both defences played lights out and while the Kings jumped out to an early lead the Ducks were able to chip away at it and ultimately scored the winner late to win their third Division 3 title.
Division 4
The Jeffery 32 Warriors 13
The Jeffery were led by Jean-Guy Mercier, who is one of only two quarterbacks to throw for over 1,500 touchdown passes, and he was the difference maker in adding five more TD passes to his career totals.
Game MVP Tyler Johnson had three touchdown receptions and added an interception on defence. The Jeffery defence kept the high-scoring offence of the Warriors at bay with three interceptions and plenty of quarterback pressures, helping the Jeffery avenge their regular season loss suffered at the hands of the Warriors.
Division 5
Big Truss 32 Big Baller Brand 12
In the battle of the “Bigs”, Big Truss put Big Baller Brand into bankruptcy.
Big Truss was literally too big, too fast, and too young for Big Baller Brand who was the “elder statesmen” of Division 5. Big Truss quarterback Neil Walton hit three different receivers, including two each to Jeff Shaw and Brendan Johnson in the lopsided affair.
Big Baller Brand will hopefully be back with a vengeance — and their senior-citizen discount cards — next season.
Division 6
Missed Calls 31 Yolksters 18
Missed Calls has been to the show multiple times before but have never been able to hoist the championship belt. That is until now!
An incredible finish to the season for Missed Calls as they started 0-4, but in the final game of the regular season they knocked off eventual Division 5 champions Big Truss in a barn burner. Missed Calls never looked back after that victory, ultimately winning their first championship while avenging their regular season loss against the Yolksters.
Missed Calls is stacked with talent and the league is on notice now that they have gotten over the championship hump!
Division 7
Alcobolics 1 Assassins Legends 1 (game postponed)
The Alcobolics were attempting to complete a very rare undefeated season. And while no team could defeat them in the regular season, they were defeated by a global pandemic. This game would have been a battle of the top team in Division 7 versus on of the top teams in Manitoba touch football history, but unless we can steal the Infinity Gauntlet, there will be no timeline in which these two teams will settle the Division 7 championship.
Division 8
Flying Squirrels 41 3xPIT Champs 32
A crazy game of back-and-forth football in which the Flying Squirrels would methodically drive down the field and score, then 3xPIT champs would throw a one-play touchdown.
This strategy played out repeatedly with the Flying Squirrels holding what seemed to be a 58-minute to two-minute advantage in time of possession. We are pretty sure 3xPIT champion QB Nick Lajoie threw only seven passes the whole game — and five of them went for touchdowns (an insane QB rating)!
Despite the total domination in time of possession, this game came down to the final play, when QB Jon Franklin hit Carson Mallette for the game winner. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut occasionally.
Division 9
Gym Class Heroes 39 North Bay Elites 27
In a battle of two-halves, North Bay had a 27-19 lead at halftime and looked to be cruising to victory. However, the Gym Class Heroes scored 20 unanswered points in the second half to leave the crowd stunned.
Matt Lofendale threw three second-half touchdowns — one to Keith Horaska and two to Josh Hazelhurst, who also added a key interception to stymie the potent North Bay offence and provide a hero’s welcome to Gym Class.
Division 10
Hanging with Hernandez 34 Rouge Gods 24
Even the deities the Rouge Gods couldn’t escape the undefeated curse as their perfect season ended in despair.
Hernandez was led by the five touchdown passes of Domenic Horvath, with two each thrown to Joseph Funk-Clements and Eric Adams. The Dominator also had three sacks as his quarterback pressures were one of the reasons that the Rouge Gods scored a season low 24 points, while the Hernandez’s had their second highest scoring game of the season. That’s is a recipe for how an undefeated season ends in a hurry.
Division 11
Awesome Luck 46 Danger Zone 19
There is always an exception to a rule, or in this case, an exception to a curse!
Awesome Luck defied the football gods by defeating Danger Zone and completing the perfect season. This juggernaut team was built by General Manager mastermind Chris Beattie, who had some key offseason acquisitions make some big plays.
Sean Godard threw a remarkable seven touchdown passes to five different receivers en route to the game MVP and the win.
Awesome Luck will test their awesomeness and luck in a higher division next season.
Division 12
Gotham Knights 30 North Bay 0
North Bay was on fire in the Fall Season, winning multiple championships and in the process made the city of North Bay the touch football capital of Canada.
Unfortunately, the score was evened in the Winter as the North Bay franchises couldn’t duplicate their efforts. The Gotham Knights led this one from start to finish as Brent Fabris continued his transition to quarterback, winning his second championship of the night after throwing four touchdowns to four different receivers.
Winter MVP Jason Cassie showed why he was the voted the best, as he ended the game with three interceptions, a Pick-6, and a touchdown reception. All in a night’s work for Mr. Cassie!
Division 13
D3F 40 Reliance Renegades 39 (overtime)
A good old fashion overtime shootout! Arminder Warha threw his name into the ring as one of the top up-and-coming quarterbacks in the league after setting the all-star game record with six touchdown passes. He followed that up with a six-touchdown championship game performance in a game which saw D3F tie up the game with only seconds remaining. In overtime, only one convert was scored as Mr. Red Zone hit Kyle Smith for the winner in a thriller.
Division 14
Kelvin Air Show 37 Hot-Ice 8
Only two-points separated first from last place in this division, so when Hot-Ice knocked off the first-place team it wasn’t a huge upset. However, their quest for a championship was ended abruptly by the Air Show from Kelvin.
Kelvin QB Eric Matthews threw six touchdowns and had two interceptions on his way to win both the championship and the game MVP. In addition to the impressive offensive numbers, Kelvin’s defence also had themselves quite a game, combining for three sacks and four interceptions to deny Hot-Ice their first PIT Football championship.
Division 15
Pirates of North Bay 46 Tightest Ends 42
The highest-scoring game of the night saw these two teams drop 88 points between them in an offensive barn burner.
Nine different players scored touchdowns, the quarterbacks combined for 12 touchdown passes, while the defences had no takeaways during the game. For the Pirates, Abbas Butt and Chris Blagden scored double-digit points, as did Sam Rudy and Dante Albi for Tightest Ends.
If you are a fan of high-scoring games, this was the one to watch! At least the city of North Bay can throw one parade this Winter.
Division 16
TD Twisters 26 TD Lovers 20
In a great battle, TD the Twisters outlasted the Lovers in yet another game that came down to the wire.
The TD Twisters won their second-straight Division 16 title and will be moving up the divisional hierarchy after another great season. Twister QB Connor Gilhuly threw four touchdown passes, two to both Carson Mallette and Keith Horaska. Reid Pang kept the game close all night with a formidable five sacks for the TD Lovers, but it was not enough on this night to end the Twisters repeat championship performance.
Division 17
Sad Sacks 24 Suckskatchew1 13
Both the Sad Sacks and Suckskatchew1 upset the top seeds in the division and would battle it out in the Division 17 championship game.
In their inaugural season, the Sad Sacks had to win their final game of the regular season just to scrape into the playoffs, but then went on a tear once their ticket was punched. Chester Wojciechowski threw four touchdowns to three different receivers for the Sad Sacks, while Tim Jones replied by throwing two touchdowns for Suckskatchew1.
That wasn’t enough on this night, however, as the largest crowd of championship night cheered on the Sad Sacks to their improbable victory.
Division 18
Bleue’s Clueless 1 No Sacs 1 (game postponed)
In a battle of two teams with a combined one loss the entire season, this had all the hallmarks of an incredible game. No Sacs had the top scoring offence, while Bleue’s Clueless employed the top defence in the division. The best versus the best. Unfortunately, this game would be postponed by social distancing.
Upon resumption of the league we hope that these two teams will battle for supremacy of the division.
Division 19
Trigger Happy Bunnies 38 Mayhem 6
Mayhem was looking to cap off a perfect season, but instead they were capped by the Trigger-Happy Bunnies.
Jason Cassie ran wild, scoring 18 points for the Bunnies as he captured his second championship of the night, while up-and-comer Desi Marinelli threw five touchdown passes. The curse is real, teams looking for the perfect season generally only receive Mayhem in return.
Congrats to the Bunnies who have been on quite a tear since their summer season championship.
Division 20
Maples Alumni 25 Athletes Foot 12
The Maples Alumni captured their first ever PIT Football championship after taking care of their Athletes Foot.
Athletes Foot had previously eliminated the perfect season of the top seed in the semi-finals, but the offence could not get into a rhythm as Maples brought their Tinactin. Maples travelled into enemy territory in the South, but they travelled with a defence that would combine for three interceptions and two sacks. The collective efforts of Draygan Pilgrim (four touchdown passes) and Harper Brown (13 points) were too much for Athletes Foot on this night as the North reigned supreme.
Division 21
Waverley Warriors 32 Crusty Crusaders 13
The Waverley Warriors won their fourth PIT title and did so as the bottom seed entering the playoffs!
Led by Kory “Eli Manning” Stagg, the Warriors knocked off the top seed by just a score in the semifinals, and then took it to the defending champion Crusty Crusaders in the final. Mr. Manning-Stagg threw five touchdowns, three to Corey Brown as the Warriors marched to victory.
Patrick Monchamp of the Crusty Ones tried to keep Kor-Eli in check with his three sacks, but it was not enough to stop the siege this day. This Division had incredible parity all season with multiple games decided by the last drive or overtime. So, no surprises that a fourth seed would come out victorious!
Division 22
Suckskatchewan Seniors 33 That One Brown Guy 0
The Seniors were another team that has been a bridesmaid too many times to count. Always in the finals, always coming up short. That is until the Winter season, when the Seniors finally got a chance to drink from the championship trophy.
Former u20 National Flag Football Champion Drake Lesperance threw for three touchdowns and ran for two more, as the Senior “youth movement” appears to have paid off. That One Brown Guy were the defending champions, but it was Senior’s Day in the PIT as Suckskatchewan ride off into their retirement years with the championship belt!
The PIT Football league is the official touch football league of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. PIT Football would like to congratulate the Winnipeg Football Club on bringing the Grey Cup back to Winnipeg and for helping us grow the game of touch football in the province!
Highlights from our playoff games can be found here: https://www.instagram.com/p/B9fPkXRgo5s/
Registration for the Spring and Summer leagues are temporarily postponed. Keep posted to find out more about upcoming seasons and to stay in touch with all that is rec football in the province by following @PITFootball on Instagram and Twitter or checking in on or website www.pitfootball.com
