Zero Guarantees: Season 14 Quarterfinals Part Two

Jett Zero, Ray Bentley
Banner Image by Andy Hamilton

What an exciting round of Wildcard and Quarterfinal games from this weekend! After splitting from the community’s picks on the second day of games, Zero Guarantees has now taken a commanding (and perfect!) lead in postseason picks. Now with the final slate of Quarterfinal games upon us this evening, we’ve got another dual set of spotless sooth-sayings to lead us into it. It’s do-or-die, win-or-go-home time, and only one team can reign supreme. Read on to find out who will remain in the dance for the Semi-Finals – and beyond!

	#8 Chicago Wildcats 20 #1 Atlanta Swarm 27 Wednesday, April 15 \| 7:30pm EST [FTF] Quarterfinals continue Wednesday as the SFL community finally gets to see the 1st place Atlanta Swarm in full playoff mode. MVP candidate and impending retiree QB Marcus Dunhill looks to lead his top ranked franchise to the promised land, but first he must push through the feisty Chicago Wildcats. Atlanta is a perfect 6-0 at home this season while posting strong numbers all around; Chicago has not been as successful on the road. The Wildcats are an even 3-3 on the road this season, while one of their two home losses came at the hands of the Swarm back in Week 8. That 6-3 snooze fest saw zero touchdowns, three FG’s, and six turnovers between the two clubs, including no scoring by either team after halfway through the 2nd quarter. Perhaps Chicago’s defense can step up again to slow down the rolling Swarm offensive triumvirate of Dunhill, RB BDG Hollewood, and WR Siege Falco. Being able to hold one of the best offenses of Season 14 (27.5 PPG) to only 6 points should be considered a win. Unfortunately in the playoffs, almost won’t be enough. Expect to see another healthy dose of Wildcat’s running back Ash Odom all evening as they look to overpower Atlanta’s front seven and the ability to control the clock early. Otherwise it will be a long night at the Hive.
	#7 Queen City Corsairs 28 #2 Baltimore Vultures 38 Wednesday, April 15 \| 9:30pm EST [FTF] And so we come to the last of our six quarterfinal games, the tilt between the Queen City Corsairs and the Baltimore Vultures. Both teams have had interesting pathways to the postseason, with each team posting losses to non-playoff teams while also notching impressive wins (the Corsairs 10-46 shellacking of the Chicago Wildcats; Baltimore's handing the Atlanta Swarm their first of two losses of the season). What's a prognosticator to do?! Each team is sitting at 8-4 for the season, but are spaced five seeds (and one entire playoff round) apart - there's a start. While each team dropped a game to Denver (the only non-playoff team Queen City has lost to this season), the Vulture's win column has the overall more impressive resume comparatively. Offensively, Corsair quarterback AJ Caswell has 200 more yards over the Baltimore's Mike Dazzo, but Dazzo has more completions in less attempts, as well as 2 more touchdowns. As far as run game? Queen City has been operating an interesting backfield, without a star running back but with Jett Zero operating as their fullback. Interesting as it may be, it has only resulted in four trips to the endzone for Mr. Zero, whereas his Vultures counterpart, running back T-Roy Gaines, has 10 more trips on him, and almost double the yardage. Defensively, both teams employ a star player with over 100 total tackles to their name - Avry King, linebacker for Queen City, has 106, while Tony Willis, strong safety for the Vultures, has 109. Technically, though, the Corsairs have the defensive edge over Baltimore, allowing 4 less points a game. With their top-ten run defense, they can very well make life a little harder for Gaines. Looking at Special Teams has Baltimore, once again, taking the lead though - with a kick return touchdown for Giovanni Bolt against none for Queen City's James Manzi (retired) and Kappa Jones. So how does it all translate on-field? The first half of the game will be a close, well-contested affair... before the Vultures fly away in the second half with a win and a trip to the Semi-Finals.