The regular season is officially in the books, and Seeding Weekend delivered exactly what the Eastern Touch Football League needed heading into the playoffs: statement performances, a few surprises, and plenty of questions about which teams are truly ready to make a championship run.
With playoff positioning on the line, four games were on the schedule — although one ended in a forfeit — and the results helped establish the bracket for the postseason.
Here’s how the day unfolded.
Game 1 — 9:00 AM
If Team Scoop was hoping to pull off a seeding-weekend upset, they were going to need to overcome a significant obstacle: their starting quarterback, Scoop Mallen, was unavailable, and the team was unable to secure a legitimate backup.
The result was an uphill battle from the opening whistle.
Team Scoop struggled to sustain drives throughout the morning, with their offense unable to consistently move the football. Their only two touchdowns came from Tristan Smith and Chris Miller, one of which came on special teams.
At one point, Team Toi finally allowed the league’s cameraman to step in at quarterback for Team Scoop — wearing sandals, cargo shorts, and throwing someone else’s ball — and somehow, that drive resulted in Scoop’s only offensive score of the game.
But while the quarterback situation clearly played a major role, it would be unfair to suggest Team Toi simply benefited from a weakened opponent.
Toi Simon may have put together his best passing performance of the season.
Simon was in complete control throughout the game, consistently finding open receivers and delivering throws with impressive accuracy. With the exception of one conversion attempt, seemingly every ball was a dime. More importantly, Simon was reading the field exceptionally well and consistently making the right decisions with the football.
The result was a dominant offensive performance from Team Toi and a convincing 44-13 victory.
Team Toi Stats
- Jordon Campbell: 3 TDs
- Aaron Karamath: 2 TDs, 1 1-point conversion
- Kayrus Sam: 1 TD, 1 INT
- Domenic Fata: 1 TD, 1 INT
- Presh Singarajah: 1 1-point conversion
- Krishan Kuganesan: 1 INT
Team Scoop Stats
- Tristan Smith: 1 TD
- Chris Miller: 1 TD, 1 1-point conversion
ETFL Takeaway: Team Toi enters the playoffs with momentum, while Team Scoop will have to regroup quickly. Thankfully, Chad “Scoop” Mallen will return under center for playoffs.
Game 2 — 10:30 AM
Team Toi 1 — Team Jeff 0
Forfeit
The second game of the day never made it past the starting line.
Team Jeff was unable to field a team and forfeited the game, giving Team Toi another victory and officially closing out the seeding portion of the schedule.
No individual statistics were recorded.
ETFL Takeaway: It wasn’t the way anyone wanted the game decided, but the result still mattered in the final playoff positioning.
Game 3 — 12:00 PM
Backup quarterbacks became a recurring theme throughout Seeding Weekend, and Team Heaney found itself in a similar situation.
Starting quarterback Andrew Heaney was unavailable, leaving touch football legend Travis Hill to take the reins.
There are few players in the league with Hill’s experience, but even a veteran can have difficulty stepping into a new offense this late in the season. Hill and his receivers simply weren’t on the same page early, and those communication issues immediately put Team Heaney behind.
Unfortunately for Heaney, Team Clarke was playing some of its best football of the season.
With their full roster available and the team seemingly hitting its stride at exactly the right time, Clarke took advantage of every early opportunity. They established control quickly, built a comfortable lead, and never gave Heaney much of an opportunity to climb back into the game.
Quarterback Germaine Clarke was outstanding.
Clarke delivered what was arguably his best individual quarterback performance of the season, throwing five touchdowns and completing all five of his 1-point conversion attempts. He also added a sack defensively, contributing on both sides of the ball.
The 35-12 victory sends Team Clarke into the playoffs with perhaps its strongest performance of the season at exactly the right time.
Team Clarke Stats
- Connor Tamblyn: 2 TDs, 1 1-point conversion
- Luca Cairns Celebre: 2 TDs, 2 1-point conversions
- Sheldon Maxham: 1 TD, 1 1-point conversion
- Germaine Clarke: 1 sack
Team Heaney Stats
- Joe MacDonald: 2 TDs
ETFL Takeaway: Don’t sleep on Team Clarke. They have been steadily improving throughout the season, and their timing couldn’t be better. A complete roster, an in-form quarterback and a dominant seeding-weekend performance make Clarke one of the more intriguing teams heading into the playoffs.
Game 4 — 1:30 PM
The final game of the regular season was billed as a rematch of the Week 5 showdown between Team Pacas and Team Glavic.
It didn’t exactly play out like the first meeting.
Team Glavic was without starting quarterback Marko Glavic, with his brother Sasha Glavic stepping into the quarterback role. Sasha has been a starting quarterback in the league before, but it has been several seasons since he last took on the role.
Against an undefeated Team Pacas, however, consistency was going to be essential.
Glavic struggled to string together sustained drives, while Pacas continued to do what they have done all season: execute.
Quarterback Rob Pacas put together another impressive performance, throwing six touchdowns to five different receivers and spreading the football around throughout the game.
There was no let-up from the league’s top team.
Pacas controlled the game from start to finish, finishing the regular season with another convincing victory and, more importantly, an undefeated record.
At this point, the question isn’t whether Team Pacas can win games. It’s whether anyone in the league can figure out how to stop them.
Team Pacas Stats
- Patrick Rainbow: 2 TDs
- Anthony Barrett: 1 TD, 1 1-point conversion
- Alex McClyment: 1 TD
- Ryan Dale: 1 TD, 1 1-point conversion, 1 INT
- Chris Fealy: 1 TD
- Grae Hayes: 1 1-point conversion
Team Glavic Stats
- Frank Wilson: 1 TD, 1 2-point conversion
- Dylan Hutcheson: 1 TD
- Sasha Glavic: 1 sack
ETFL Takeaway: Team Pacas is officially the team to beat. They finish the regular season undefeated, have consistently produced big offensive numbers, and now enter the playoffs carrying significant momentum. Every remaining team knows exactly what stands between them and a championship: Team Pacas.
The Playoff Picture
And just like that, the regular season is over.
What began with seven teams has now been narrowed down to a playoff field where every game carries significantly more weight. Some teams enter the postseason rolling, while others will need to quickly correct the issues exposed during Seeding Weekend.
Team Pacas remains the clear front-runner after completing an undefeated regular season.
Team Clarke may be the biggest riser of the weekend after dominating Team Heaney.
Team Toi also enters the playoffs with confidence after handling Team Scoop and benefiting from the Team Jeff forfeit.
Meanwhile, the quarterback situations surrounding Scoop, Heaney and Glavic demonstrated just how important depth can be once the playoffs arrive. In a single-elimination environment, one missing player — particularly at quarterback — can completely change the complexion of a game.
The regular season may be finished, but the real season starts now.
ETFL 
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