*S23 Spooky Awards

shadyshoelace · 06-16-2020, 11:48 PM

Hello NSFL! Back again with another edition of the Yellowknife Wraiths Spooky Awards. Thanks to everyone who took the time to vote - without further ado, here are the winners:

Offensive Player of the Year
Mathias Hanyadi @CLG Rampage

Also receiving votes:
Cooter Bigsby @timeconsumer
Nate Swift @Bigred1580

Hanyadi was an easy choice for this award after coming away with his second career NSFL OPotY and RBotY awards. In a season that saw his backup Acura Skyline also nominated for awards and Cooter win MVP, he still put up monster numbers for a Wraiths offense that finished at the top of the league in total yards, rushing yards, and total points. Bigsby may have seen his volume drop from his peak seasons, but he registered the best TD:INT ratio of his career (29:8) en route to league QBotY honors. Swift missed WRotY on a heartbreaking tiebreaker after putting up the most touchdowns of his career and his sixth straight 1,000 yard season.

Defensive Player of the Year
Maurice Virtanen @BaconBrother

Also receiving votes:
Danny Grithead @Trautner
Giannis Kroustis @`AirCrou`
Mervin Leonard @hihihi_62

A hotly contested award due to the abundance of talent on the Wraiths defense that allowed the fewest points in the league, Virtanen finished second in the league in sacks while earning a LBotY nomination. Grithead’s stats didn’t jump off the page, but in Week 9 he overtook Austin Roenick for the all-time career tackles record, which certainly deserves recognition. Kroustis took home DTotY after leading the league in sacks for his second straight double-digit sack season, while Leonard led the league in interceptions along with scoring the team’s only defensive touchdown en route to DBotY honors.

Team MVP
Cooter Bigsby

Also receiving votes:
Mathias Hanyadi
Maurice Virtanen

Ultimately points are what win you football games, and Cooter put them on the scoreboard in bunches this season and takes home the team MVP trophy to put next to his second NSFL MVP award. Not much to say about Hanyadi and Virtanen that hasn’t already been said, and they’ll continue to be leaders of this team for seasons to come.

Most Improved Player
Douglas Quaid @HENDRIX 2.0

Also receiving votes:
Mervin Leonard
Giannis Kroustis
Acura Skyline @Skyline

It was tough to find players who significantly improved from S21 because so many players were stellar last season as well, but Quaid really stepped up as the team’s MLB after Yellowknife legend Alex Selich’s departure for sunny Honolulu. He went from 52 to 110 tackles. Acura Skyline is the other new name on this list after putting up amazing numbers in his rookie year. More on him to come.

Rookie of the Year
Acura Skyline

Also receiving votes:
James Cho @cho1325

All four Wraiths rookies – Skyline, Cho, Johnny Hellzapoppin, and Patrik Money – had great starts to their careers, but it Skyline took home league ORotY honors after leading the league in rushing TDs and putting up two of the best performances of the season in weeks 12 and 13. Cho put up 20 combined tackles for loss and sacks in an incredibly impressive rookie season, outperforming his veteran counterpart Nero Alexander on the defensive line.

Performance of the Year
Acura Skyline - Week 12

Also receiving votes:
Acura Skyline - Week 13
Mervin Leonard - Week 11
James Cho - Week 5

Which is better, 203 total yards and 3 TDs on 4 YPC or 154 yards and 4 TDs on 5.6 YPC? Skyline earned a league OPERotY nomination for the former, but it’s the latter that caught his teammates’ attention. Leonard’s week 11 saw him record the only touchdown catch of Butchers QB Franky LaFleur’s career – unfortunately, they were on opposing sides. He added to the stat sheet by forcing and recovering a fumble that led to seven points for the Wraiths. Cho had a monster game by NSFL standards in week 5, shutting down Fuzzy Dotson and Sam Torenson with 9 tackles, 3 TFL, and a sack.

Playoff MVP
Mathias Hanyadi

Also receiving votes:
Danny Grithead
Dougie Smalls @iseedoug

As is tradition, a stellar season ended in heartbreak for the Wraiths. Unfortunately, the 34-10 win over Philly never officially happened, so this award was decided solely on the 17-16 loss to Colorado. In a game where the passing unit struggled to take flight, Hanyadi put up 119 yards on 5.4 YPC to try to drag the team to the Ultimus game. Grithead recorded 13 tackles, 2 TFL, and a PD while helping to hold the Yeti offense to a meager 308 total yards, while Smalls scored 10 of the team’s 16 points while the offense stalled.

Future NSFL MVP
Acura Skyline

Also receiving votes:
James Cho
Maurice Virtanen
Colby Jack @flyeaglesfly29

Skyline took the league by storm over the season’s last few weeks and should form a deadly tandem with Hanyadi for years. Cho and Virtanen have an uphill battle ahead of them as defensive players, but both look to be staples in the positional award and DPotY battles over the course of their careers. And of course, it’s a QB league so we can’t forget QB of the future Colby Jack, who narrowly missed out on DSFL QBotY honors with the London Royals. When Cooter finally hangs up his cleats and sees his jersey lifted to the rafters, Jack will be ready to lead the team.

Most Dedicated Member
@Colabear

Also receiving votes:
@shadyshoelace
Bigred1580
murtsi

Colabear didn’t just take on the demanding job of NSFL streamer – he single-handedly increased the production value of our streams tenfold with his graphics and voiceover. He was nominated for league MDM, and in this GM’s totally unbiased opinion should have taken home the hardware. Bigred and Murtsi are staples around the locker room and the league for all they do to keep the team motivated and hyped for gameday!

Locker Room MVP
Bigred1580

Also receiving votes:
shadyshoelace
murtsi
AirCrou
@PMoney
Colabear

Once again, a super contested race that demonstrates the depth of great users we have in Yellowknife. Everyone in the league knows what a wholesome and supportive teammate and friend BR is, and this award is well-deserved for always being there for a friendly conversation or gameday chat, along with his great dog pics. Murtsi and AC are staples of the locker room and continue to bring their unique brands of banter to the locker room, chilling the team out and firing them up, respectively. Meanwhile, PMoney and Cola brought great youth energy to the locker room this season and I’m excited to have them around for years to come! So many more people that could have been named in this section as well. It’s a great LR, y’all.

Other special shoutouts went to Trautner for his years of service as he rides off into the sunset with his new NSFL record and to @C9Van for killing it on the OL and in the LR.

So there you have it! The S22 edition of the Yellowknife Spooky Awards. Thanks for reading, and thanks to everyone who has made this team so much fun to GM. You’re the reason we all spend so much time thinking about this silly little dot game, now let’s get it in S23!!!

YKW