Devine, Seanor square for battle on, off field

CANTON, OHIO – In sports, there are often two different kinds of competitions. There’s what one sees on the field, court, diamond, whatever, and then there’s the game within the game. The latter of those will certainly be covered in this week’s 2018 TTFFL semifinal matchup between No. 1-seed Grant Seanor and sixth-seeded David Devine. Seanor, who enters the matchup following a well-earned bye week in last week’s opening round, is chasing a truly historic season. His 12 regular-season wins tied for the most in TTFFL history, and he’s no stranger to these big games. The TTFFL’s top seed is making his third consecutive appearance in the semifinals, falling short of a championship in both of his previous ventures to this stage. In 2016, he fell in the championship game to Casey Irwin, before he again suffered defeat in last season’s semifinals … to Casey Irwin. Seanor doesn’t have to worry about his old nemesis this time around, though. Instead, he’ll be challenging the league’s master technician, one who he’s already taken down twice (Week 6 and 12) this fall. And the talking has already begun, as Seanor looks to make it three in a row against the Young Bulls this week. “His team is bad, and it’s been bad all year, mostly,” Seanor said of Devine. “I’m confused with his confidence – just look at his team, it’s just not good. He can have all the confidence in the world, but he’s bad.” Seanor’s No. 1 seed isn’t new to him, either. He also was the top seed in last year’s playoffs and the No. 2 seed in 2016. Those rewards tend to happen when a franchise goes 32-7 in the last three regular seasons. His performance at the 2018 TTFFL Draft in Las Vegas was near flawless, as he needed just one trade all season to fill a void. Instead, Seanor made improvements through the waiver wire, adding running back Phillip Lindsay and tight end Jared Cook, two key contributors to his roster. The result was a group that faced little-to-no adversity all season, albeit before the season-ending injuries to wide receivers A.J. Green and Emmanuel Sanders. Seanor finished No. 1 in scoring and No. 12 in points allowed. “I drafted a great team, and I ended up doing very well in free agency,” Seanor said. “It also just shook out that I just didn’t really have a team to trade. You’re always looking to make a deal here or there, but I would have had to disrupt the entire nucleus of my team.” Devine (8-6), meanwhile, advanced to the semifinals following an easy victory over No. 3-seed Ryan Shaheen in last week’s quarterfinals. Shaheen mustered a cowardly 85.9 points, allowing the Young Bulls to whistle straight through the graveyard. However, Devine’s squad registered just 137 points itself, including six players who scored 14 points or fewer. In another matchup, Devine’s season may be over. That, though, hasn’t stopped his positive attitude. “I feel like there’s a lot left on our team that we haven’t shown yet, and I keep waiting for it to pop up,” Devine said. “I think we’re very capable. Last week was definitely underwhelming, but I still think it can happen at the right time.” The remedy? Devine says he needs his stars – quarterback Kirk Cousins, offensive player Baker Mayfield and running back Alvin Kamara – to pick up the pace. He’ll need his talented wide receiver trio to keep up their consistency, too. Those numbers aside, Devine will play in his record-setting 16th playoff game of the common era this week. What’s more, he’s entering his fourth semifinal in the last five years. So, it’s understandable why he thinks he can get the job done against mighty Seanor. Devine has already been subject to criticism from his semifinal opponent this week, which was nothing he didn’t expect. But no matter what anybody in the outside world says about his group, Devine continues to put faith in what he’s assembled. Still, he admits a victory this week would taste extra sweet. “He baits you, and I’ve fallen for it,” Devine said. “He’s good, he knows he’s good, and he’ll let you hear about it. There would just be nothing better than to send him home.” Seanor, unimpressed, has other ideas. “We’re looking forward to the finals,” he said. ‘Tis the season, and let the games begin.