Curtiss Dokey (So.-Manitowoc, Wis.) and Byron Dean won their quarterfinal matchups Thursday night for the Lakeland University Esports team to advance to the quarterfinals of the New England Collegiate Conference Madden playoffs.

The top seed Dokey advanced via a forfeit from teammate McNemon Vincent (Sr.-Vernon Hills, Ill.) while Dean topped Otis Watts (Jr.-Chicago, Ill.) in the 4-vs.-5 matchup. The two will now square off in a semifinal Monday night.

Dean and Watts competed in the last game of the night, and in their first game Dean scored a touchdown in each quarter and amassed a 21-0 lead before Watts got on the scoreboard late in the fourth quarter to cut his deficit to 21-7. Dean added a pair of unanswered touchdowns in the final two minutes and claimed the 34-7 victory to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series.

"We want to create problems for the other team, and that's what Byron did for Otis," said Lakeland Head Esports Coach Ahman Green. "He created issues where he was hard running the ball with Derrick Henry but also creating turnovers or getting those tough situations to try and convert the ball."

Strong defense continued into game two as both players struggled to score. Single field goals in the first and second quarters gave Dean a 6-0 halftime lead. After a scoreless third quarter, Dean scored a touchdown on an eleven-yard run on the first play of the fourth quarter to take a 12-0 lead. Dean decided to go for two but was picked off by Watts, who returned it 100 yards for a defensive two-point conversion that put the score at 12-2. The rest of the fourth quarter featured three interceptions between the two teams as neither could find the end zone, securing a 12-2 game two victory and a 2-0 series sweep.

Turnovers were costly for Watts as he threw a total of seven interceptions across the two games (four in the first and three in the second). Green attributed the turnovers to the two players' familiarity with each other. "It's tough when you're playing against guys you practice against and they kind of know the mindset of how we play," he said.

The semifinal matchup will be especially interesting as not only are Dokey and Dean teammates, but they are roommates, as well. The two Muskies will play each other at 5:00 p.m. next Monday, November 16, with a trip to the finals on the line.

Fans can watch Dean's playoff victory and hear more from Coach Green's postgame interview on the NECC's Esports Twitch channel by clicking here: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/800845077.

AHMAN GREEN POST-GAME INTERVIEW

On how players have done so far:
Green: For all the players, they've done an outstanding job, for even the guys that just missed the playoffs from Isaiah and Vincent as well, but for the guys that are in the playoffs man, they made each other better. Along with myself coaching them up in the practices watching game film, breaking down different game plans and ideas, showing them new mechanics or different mechanics or mechanics they didn't even know with the joystick in their hands, and just plotting out how to get through a game, how to overcome an interception, how to keep that mindset no matter what happens to keep playing forward, try to get a victory. Don't let those bad plays bring you down and just looking forward to the next play and live to the next play, taking a sack or throwing the ball away and not trying to force it somewhere in a tough situation where you only have one receiver, so being smart with the ball and being smart on defense, reading those routes when you have that middle linebacker or strong safety make sure you're reading those routes off the ball so you have a pretty good idea where the quarterback wants to throw it.

On Otis Watts:
Green: Yeah, he's not feeling good. Otis sometimes gets in a game and makes mistakes and he has to dig himself out of a hole. But it's tough when you're playing against guys you practice against and they kind of know the mindset of how we play. We want to create problems for the other team, and that's what Byron did for Otis, he created issues where he was hard running the ball with Derrick Henry but also creating turnovers or getting those tough situations to try and convert the ball.

On challenges of COVID and getting players where they are:
Green: Quite a bit, not just with the Madden players but all my games, I was able to manage nine titles this fall season for my first year. From the Valorant team to the Rocket League team to the Rainbow Six and Fortnite players it was tough because at times it was guys and young ladies on our team trying to figure out when we can come to the facility, if we can have access to it. Now we don't have access so we had it prior to a week ago, now it's just making sure we still get those reps in because we have Madden players still playing and we have Fortnite players still playing, so it's getting those team captains to collaborate to reach out to the players, because I'm reaching out, too, but more of us reach out to one other to organize getting together and having practices virtually together online and that's the beauty of Esports but the hard part of making sure everybody connects and is on the right page.

On the semifinal matchup:
Green: And they're roommates, so they know each other very well. It's like watching my kids play games against each other. I'm happy and mad at the same time. I'm watching one play and like he knows not to do that, he knows what Byron does and vice versa. Like I said, they're roommates so they've known each other longer than they've known me, so they know each other very well and I've known them for the past four or five months since training camp. It's more like a parent watching kids playing games against each other and I want to make sure they both have fun. There's gonna be a loser at the end which is going to suck, but I know it's going to be one heck of a game between the two. Very proud of them.

On celebrating the win:
Green: The job is not done, because that's how we talk in practice. We always kept the mindset that no matter who we play against, we're going to play them tough, we're gonna make sure we analyze the play-by-play while that first drive is going on if we're on offense or defense. If we're on offense, we're looking at what defenses they're running against us, if it's a man-to-man, if they're blitzing heavy or if they're staying back in the zone or vice versa if we're on defense and what routes they're running, what formations they're running out of. [Carroll University's Danny McGee] is a Chiefs guy a lot so we saw him doing a lot of one-shots with Tyreke Hill, so we pay attention to that. McGee does an awesome job of getting in a rhythm, and he gets in a rhythm where you get out of rhythm, you don't know what's coming your way, so you just have to be alert when that certain formation pops up and you see Tyreke on the outside, you make sure that you have your safety deep because if not, he could beat you over the top.

On how much the team practices:
Green: Pretty much every day. Outside of Mondays which is competition day, but Tuesday through Friday and Saturday and Sunday on their own, I know they're getting at least 3-5 matches a day. We did that because when we saw how the schedule was – it was the best of three every Monday – so we said we'll play the best of three every night and then break down film if we have time to and talk about the matches every time a match ends.