Well folks, it’s that time of the year again. The final games of the 24th season of the ISFL regular season have been played, and as we look ahead to the playoffs, it also means that it’s time to talk about our season awards!
In this article I’m going to go over my picks for four of the major individual season awards – Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year, and Offensive and Defensive Rookies of the Year.
Offensive Player of the Year
It’s no secret that parity has been taking the ISFL by storm the last couple of years. We’re seeing more teams head towards running back by committee, and a heavier focus on stopping opposing offenses. With that being said, we still had a number of outstanding offensive performances by players in Season 24. You could honestly pick any of the first players on this short list and make a strong case for them winning this award.
Pat’s Winner
Dexter Banks II | QB | Sarasota Sailfish @TropicaliaCC
Season stats: 339/629 | 53.9% | 5033 Pass Yds | 32 TD | 19 INT | 84.7 Pass Rating
114 Rush | 619 Yds | 3 TD
Sarasota surprised a lot of people this season by fighting their way to the second seed in the NSFC playoffs behind the Colorado Yeti. For the first half of the season, Sarasota looked like the best team in the league, and Banks II was a big reason for it. His 5,033 passing yards were over 800 more than the next highest total for the season, and his 32 touchdowns paced the entire league. Even more impressive is that Sarasota was one of two teams in the entire league to not have a single rusher eclipse 700 yards for the season (Arizona was the other), and Banks was less than 20 yards from leading the Sailfish in rushing, also.
Runners-up
Tatsu Nakamura | RB | Orange County Otters @qWest
Season stats: 299 Rush | 1233 Yds | 12 Rushing TD | 37 Rec | 224 Rec Yds | 1 Rec TD
After a sophomore season in which he led the league in rushing, many experts out there wondered if Nakamura would have another great season in the tank, or if Season 23 was a fluke. Well, Tatsu went out in Season 24 and proved that last year was anything but an aberration. Not only did the Otters Running Back get his second straight rushing title, but he also went ahead and led the ISFL in rushing touchdowns, too! To put Nakamura’s rushing numbers into perspective, the Otters finished in the bottom half of rushing as a team on the season, and Nakamura accounted for nearly 63% of the team’s rushing yards.
Mako Mendoca | RB | Austin Copperheads @Mooty99
Season stats: 259 Rush | 1018 Yds | 8 Rushing TD | 63 Rec | 762 Rec Yds | 3 Rec TD
People might disagree with this one, but the Season 16 product had one of the best performances by an offensive player this season. Mendoca’s 1048 rushing yards were good enough for sixth-best on the season, and 8 rushing TD were tied for fifth most on the season. Where Mendoca really set himself apart this season however, was in the receiving game, where his 762 yards in the air were almost 200 more than any other running back this season.
Wolfie McDummy | QB | Colorado Yeti @infinitempg
Season stats: 340/544 | 62.5% | 4002 Pass Yds | 31 TD | 9 INT (3.4 TD:INT) |344 Rush Yds | 5 TD
After announcing that Season 25 would be the last of his career, everyone wondered if McDummy had enough left in the tank to lead the Yeti back to the playoffs. McDummy showed no signs of slowing down this year, leading the Yeti to not only the best record in the league (14-2) but also the top scoring offense, scoring at a clip of 28.4 points per game. He led the league in completion percentage, was second in passing scores, and led all QBs with a TD:INT ration over 3 (only five other QBs had ratios over 2 TD:INT). McDummy didn’t compile a lot of yards on the ground, but his 5 touchdowns were second-most for all QBs.
Nicholas Ayers | RB | Honolulu Hahalua @Faded
Season stats: 242 Rush | 993 Yds | 10 Rushing TD | 38 Rec | 421 Rec Yds | 5 Rec TD
While Ayers might be a virtual lock for Offensive Rookie of the Year, I have a feeling some of you out there might argue him being placed on this list, and I have to tell you that you’re completely wrong. All season, Ayers has been the biggest bright spot in what some might call a disappointing season for Honolulu. He led the league in total touchdowns and had over 1400 total yards rushing/receiving. While the Hahalua may have ended up missing out on the playoffs, Ayers, along with fellow rookie, QB Luke Skywalker, give their fans something to be excited about in the near future. I fully expect to see Ayers on these lists for years to come.
Defensive Player of the Year
Before I get into my winner and honorable mentions for DPOTY, I have to say that cutting this list down to five players was almost impossible. There were SO many remarkable seasons put in many defensive players, that you could probably draw a name from a hat of 20 and feel confident in choosing that player for DPOTY. In the end, I had to pick someone, and there’s a good chance that no one will like my choices. C’est la vie.
Pat’s Winner
Derred de Ville | LB | Baltimore Hawks @Exilizer
Season stats: 117 Tackles | 2 TFL | 13 Sacks | 2 FF | 2 INT | 29 PD
Let’s just get this out of the way: Baltimore was not a good football team in Season 24. They tied for the worst record in the league, has the second-worst point differential, and finished the season with an amazing 10 game losing streak. Yes, their defense was… well, not great either as a unit, surrendering the second-most points in the league, as well as the most total yards, second most passing yards, and most rushing yards.
So, you’re probably going to ask, “hey Pat, how can a player from the worst defense in football win Defensive Player of the Year?” and I’ll respond, “I don’t know, disembodied voice! I guess I should stop putting two shots of whiskey in my coffee in the morning!”
As bad as Baltimore’s defense was this season, I don’t think you can place any of the blame for it on de Ville. He was a playmaker at all levels of the field this past season and did what he could to keep the Hawks’ defense from being historically bad. He was second in the league in sacks with 13. His 2 forced fumbles tied with a number of players for second in the league. He made plays in the run game as evidence by his 117 tackles. He was also a playmaker in pass defense, chipping in two of his team’s 11 interceptions this year, and he also led all players with 29 passes defended.
Defensive Player of the Year is an individual award, and I think you’d be hard pressed to find an individual who had a better defensive season than Mr. de Ville.
Runners-up
Thor Kirkby | FS | Colorado Yeti @Acsolap
Season stats: 75 tackles | 12 sacks | 2 FF | 1 FR | 3 INT | 6 PD | 1 Def TD | 3 Safeties
You could make the argument that Kirkby deserves to be DPOTY over de Ville, and honestly, I don’t know if I could argue that you’re wrong. He was a force all season for the Yeti, and was part of the most dominant secondary (and overall defense) in the league. Kirkby was a playmaker all over the field this year, as the Yeti moved him around and allowed him to go make plays, as evidenced by his stat line. To borrow from basketball talking heads, the Colorado FS was a stat-sheet-stuffer this season. He deserves high praise just for having THREE SAFETIES to his name this year. That’s just ridiculous.
Big Edd | DT | Sarasota Sailfish @Big Edd
Season stats: 68 tackles | 3 TFL | 13 sacks | 2 FF | 1 FR
Sometimes to be considered for an individual award, not only do you have to look at how a player did in relation to all other players in terms of numbers, but also how they performed compared to other players at the same position. The Sarasota DT, Edd, paced all Defensive Tackles in almost every category, and his 68 tackles were 10 more than second place in that category for his position. His 13 sacks were tied for second-most in the league and tied for the most by a Defensive Tackle. Sarasota went on to have the second-best record in the league this year, and Big Edd was a major reason for that.
Brandon Booker | CB | Philadelphia Liberty @Memento Mori
Season stats: 73 tackles | 1 TFL | 3 sacks | 5 INT | 10 PD | 2 FF | 2 Def TD
Philadelphia’s season was by most measures a disappointment. One aspect of the year that the Liberty can be very pleased with and excited about moving forward, is the play of their young Cornerback Brandon Booker. The third year corner was very impressive last year, his second in the league, and many experts were wondering if his sophomore season was a flash in the pan, or if we were witnessing the berth of the next great ISFL CB. If season three is any indication, we might have one of the best to play the position on our hands here. Once again, Booker led the league with two defensive touchdowns, and his five interceptions were tied for second-most in the league. Philadelphia may have laid an egg this year, but I’m excited to see what happens in Season 25 for this young star.
Literallyjust A. Hexagon | FS | New Orleans Second Line @JPach
Season stats: 125 tackles | 2 TFL | 3 INT | 7 PD | 1 FF
Last season, Hexagon was seen as a one-dimensional player (blasphemous, considering he has SIX SIDES), as he managed to rack up high tackle numbers and just about nothing else. Coming into Season 24, a lot of experts were looking to see if the second year Safety could round out his game. Hexagon showed that his time in the off-season paid off, as he not only continued to be a tackling machine, ending the season with the most tackles by a Free Safety, but also showed a huge leap in his ability as a play maker in the passing game, managing to intercept opposing QBs 3 times on the season. New Orleans fans can rest easy knowing they have Hexagon patrolling center field for them.
Offensive Rookie of the Year
This season, the race for Offensive Rookie of the Year was not a very close one, with Nicholas Ayers (spoilers) being the easy choice. Instead of doing a large write-up on the presumptive winner – since he got a nice blurb in the OPOTY section – I’m going to spend more time talking about the other candidates for this award. Season 24 might have had a clear-cut favorite, but it also had a lot of great seasons from budding stars.
Pat’s Winner
Nicholas Ayers | RB | Honolulu Hahalua
Season stats: 242 Rush | 993 Yds | 10 Rushing TD | 38 Rec | 421 Rec Yds | 5 Rec TD
If you want to see just how great of a rookie season the Hahalua running back had, just scroll up and look at his entry for Offensive Player of the Year. This award is Ayers’ to take home.
Runners-up
Ben Slothlisberger | QB | New Orleans Second Line @slothfacekilla
Season stats: 288/514 | 3605 Yards | 22 TD | 8 INT | 85.8 Passer Rating
One of the most talked about storylines coming into Season 24 of the ISFL was the new face under center for the Second Line, the Tijuana prospect Ben Slothlisberger. Many experts were curious to see what would happen to the Season 23 playoff team after handing the reins of the offense over to a rookie QB.
The answer was soon learned to be: only good things. The Second Line matched the same amount of wins as they did in Season 23, and made the playoffs again in Season 24. Their points per game stayed relatively flat, going from 22.8 PPG in S23 down to 21 PPG in S24, while their yards per game increased from 349 YPG up to 357. Where New Orleans saw a major improvement on offense, however, was in their ball security. In Season 23 they threw a total of 14 INT, while in S24, Slothlisberger only threw 8 INT.
With a lot of living legends set to retire soon from the ISFL, many fans have been wondering who will carry the torch for the young QBs out there. If Season 24 is any indication, Ben Slothlisberger is ready for the challenge.
Kai Sakura | WR | Yellowknife Wraiths @DarknessRising
Season stats: 68 Rec | 1103 Yards | 16.2 YPC | 7 TD
Coming into Season 24, one thing the experts could agree on was that Yellowknife needed to get younger at the Wide Receiver position. The Wraiths called up two pass catchers this season, and no one was sure if either of them would be able to produce at a high level.
All questions seemed to go away right away after the season opener, where Sakura took advantage of limited looks, turning in a performance of 5 catches for 45 yards and two scores against the Philadelphia Liberty. The Season 23 prospect proved to have a strong connection with the Wraiths’ young QB Colby Jack, as Sakura led the team in receptions, yards, and receiving touchdowns.
Mai Fukushu | RB | Baltimore Hawks @Jiggly_333
Season stats: 192 carries | 744 yards | 6 TD | 7 Rec | 59 rec yards
Another promising young back, Fukushu was called up in their first year of eligibility by a Hawks squad that was in desperate need of bodies in the backfield. What may have looked to be a panicked reaction turned out to be a very smart football move, as Fukushu took advantage of splitting carries with veteran Darrel Williams, and ended up leading all rookies in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns. Baltimore should be returning both Williams and Fukushu in Season 25, barring any blockbuster trades, and that should make any Hawks fan very excited, as the team is expected to lean heavily on running the ball next year with the departures of WRs Nick Kaepercolin and Asher Quinn.
Luke Skywalker | QB | Honolulu Hahalua @muse316
Season stats: 273/475 | 3077 yards | 19 TD | 8 INT | 83.3 Passer Rating
Our last honorable mention is the other rookie starting QB we had this season, Honolulu’s Luke Skywalker. After their 7-9 season in S23, Honolulu knew they needed to improve on the offensive side of the ball. We’ve already spoken at length about RB Nicholas Ayers, but Skywalker needs his due, too. Sure, his numbers might not jump off the page at you, but Honolulu needed someone to come in and manage the game while their dynamic due of Ayers and Kane-Maika’I did the heavy lifting. Skywalker proved to be much more than just a game manager, as his presence increased the team’s passing attack from one where that had as good of chance of throwing a turnover (13 TD : 11 INT) in S23 to one that you had to watch out for in S24.
Defensive Rookie of the Year
Season 24 in the ISFL was a bit of an old man’s game on offense, as most of the top teams had established veterans filling their ranks at skill positions. Outside of the five on my short list for Rookie of the Year, there weren’t many first-year players who got to see significant playing time or production. That is not the case on the other side of the ball, where we saw many rookies step onto the field and start producing from day one.
Pat’s Winner
Greedy Sly | SS | Colorado Yeti @Sylphreni
Season stats: 132 tackles | 2 TFL | 2 INT | 10 PD | 1 FF | 1 FR
What can be said about the young, rangy rookie for the Yeti? He was his team’s leading tackler this season with a total of 132 stops, which was 25 more than any other player on his team, and good enough for fourth highest of all players. Sly also chipped in 2 tackles for loss, and even supplied the Yeti two interceptions in the passing game. Known more in the DSFL for his playmaking ability than his pure tackling, no one expected him to step in and make such noise right away.
I mentioned in the lead-in that there were a number of great rookie performances on the defensive side of the ball this season, and while that’s true, it doesn’t mean that one performance wasn’t heads and shoulders above the rest. Sly should be an absolutely lock for Defensive Rookie of the Year.
Runners-up
Philip Stein | FS | San Jose Sabercats @IHateBobNutting
Season stats: 63 tackles | 3 sacks | 5 INT | 6 PD | 1 FF | 1 FR | 1 Def TD
After a disappointing year in Season 23, one thing was certain for San Jose – they had to get better on defense. In S23 the Sabercats gave up a league-worst 25.6 PPG and surrendered over 131 yards per game on the ground. They decided one of their best chances to help out that side of the ball was to call up the promising Safety, Stein. San Jose was rewarded for their faith, as the defense jumped from dead last in points allowed up to fifth best in Season 24, as their improved their record from 5-11 to 9-7 and were rewarded a first round bye in the ISFL Playoffs.
Stein’s tackling and sack numbers were not comparable to a lot players at his position, but he showed that he was going to be a force in pass defense, as his five interceptions were good for second best in the league. Armed with a young core that is improving ahead of schedule, and two first round draft picks in this season’s draft, we might be looking at the start of a dynasty in San Jose.
Lesean Paris Crooks | CB | Baltimore Hawks @The_Kidd
Season stats: 116 tackles | 2 sacks | 4 INT | 12 PD | 2 FF | 1 FR
Another young star in the making for Baltimore, Crooks turned in nothing short of a fantastic season in the secondary for the Hawks. His 116 tackles were good for fourth most at the position, while his four interceptions were good enough for sixth best in the entire league. While Crooks put up very good numbers this season, he does get dinged a little bit just because the Hawks had such a putrid year all together. That is to say nothing of this young player, as he was one of the few bright spots for them on the year.
Carl Wheezer | DT | Orange County Otters @LGMForever
Season stats: 40 tackles | 8 TFL | 6 sacks | 1 FR
Our first big fella on the list, Wheezer was a strong addition on the interior of Orange County’s defensive line this season, a unit that led the league in defensive scoring, total yards allowed, and passing yards allowed. Wheezer got a little overshined by his teammates on defense this year, as the Otters’ were stacked on defense this past season, but that’s not to take away from the very impressive year put in by their young Defensive Tackle. His eight tackles for loss were the most by any DT this season, and he looks to be an anchor for the Otters’ defense moving forward.
Arik Eller | DE | Baltimore Hawks @Ace
Season stats: 38 tackles | 18 TFL | 3 sacks
Our last player to make the short list for DROTY, Eller is yet another promising young player for Baltimore whose stellar play and bright future help soften the blow dealt by their overall poor season as a team. Eller made a home in opposing offenses’ backfields this year, where is 18 tackles for loss were good for third best in the entire ISFL. If Baltimore can keep the young players that I’ve mentioned on this list on their roster and keep them earning, I see a strong future ahead for them.
Final thoughts
Once again, I’m sure that there a number of players that are going to feel snubbed by my list, and hell, I have a good feeling my choices aren’t even going to be talked about by the awards committee. If you have comments or gripes with my rankings, please, let me know about it in the comments below!
Thanks for reading!
I'm a big old dookie head and forgot to put special teamers in this article. So, I'm going to plug a really great article by @Baron1898
You can see the write-up here: ISFL Special Teams Breakdown
In this article I’m going to go over my picks for four of the major individual season awards – Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year, and Offensive and Defensive Rookies of the Year.
Offensive Player of the Year
It’s no secret that parity has been taking the ISFL by storm the last couple of years. We’re seeing more teams head towards running back by committee, and a heavier focus on stopping opposing offenses. With that being said, we still had a number of outstanding offensive performances by players in Season 24. You could honestly pick any of the first players on this short list and make a strong case for them winning this award.
Pat’s Winner
Dexter Banks II | QB | Sarasota Sailfish @TropicaliaCC
Season stats: 339/629 | 53.9% | 5033 Pass Yds | 32 TD | 19 INT | 84.7 Pass Rating
114 Rush | 619 Yds | 3 TD
Sarasota surprised a lot of people this season by fighting their way to the second seed in the NSFC playoffs behind the Colorado Yeti. For the first half of the season, Sarasota looked like the best team in the league, and Banks II was a big reason for it. His 5,033 passing yards were over 800 more than the next highest total for the season, and his 32 touchdowns paced the entire league. Even more impressive is that Sarasota was one of two teams in the entire league to not have a single rusher eclipse 700 yards for the season (Arizona was the other), and Banks was less than 20 yards from leading the Sailfish in rushing, also.
Runners-up
Tatsu Nakamura | RB | Orange County Otters @qWest
Season stats: 299 Rush | 1233 Yds | 12 Rushing TD | 37 Rec | 224 Rec Yds | 1 Rec TD
After a sophomore season in which he led the league in rushing, many experts out there wondered if Nakamura would have another great season in the tank, or if Season 23 was a fluke. Well, Tatsu went out in Season 24 and proved that last year was anything but an aberration. Not only did the Otters Running Back get his second straight rushing title, but he also went ahead and led the ISFL in rushing touchdowns, too! To put Nakamura’s rushing numbers into perspective, the Otters finished in the bottom half of rushing as a team on the season, and Nakamura accounted for nearly 63% of the team’s rushing yards.
Mako Mendoca | RB | Austin Copperheads @Mooty99
Season stats: 259 Rush | 1018 Yds | 8 Rushing TD | 63 Rec | 762 Rec Yds | 3 Rec TD
People might disagree with this one, but the Season 16 product had one of the best performances by an offensive player this season. Mendoca’s 1048 rushing yards were good enough for sixth-best on the season, and 8 rushing TD were tied for fifth most on the season. Where Mendoca really set himself apart this season however, was in the receiving game, where his 762 yards in the air were almost 200 more than any other running back this season.
Wolfie McDummy | QB | Colorado Yeti @infinitempg
Season stats: 340/544 | 62.5% | 4002 Pass Yds | 31 TD | 9 INT (3.4 TD:INT) |344 Rush Yds | 5 TD
After announcing that Season 25 would be the last of his career, everyone wondered if McDummy had enough left in the tank to lead the Yeti back to the playoffs. McDummy showed no signs of slowing down this year, leading the Yeti to not only the best record in the league (14-2) but also the top scoring offense, scoring at a clip of 28.4 points per game. He led the league in completion percentage, was second in passing scores, and led all QBs with a TD:INT ration over 3 (only five other QBs had ratios over 2 TD:INT). McDummy didn’t compile a lot of yards on the ground, but his 5 touchdowns were second-most for all QBs.
Nicholas Ayers | RB | Honolulu Hahalua @Faded
Season stats: 242 Rush | 993 Yds | 10 Rushing TD | 38 Rec | 421 Rec Yds | 5 Rec TD
While Ayers might be a virtual lock for Offensive Rookie of the Year, I have a feeling some of you out there might argue him being placed on this list, and I have to tell you that you’re completely wrong. All season, Ayers has been the biggest bright spot in what some might call a disappointing season for Honolulu. He led the league in total touchdowns and had over 1400 total yards rushing/receiving. While the Hahalua may have ended up missing out on the playoffs, Ayers, along with fellow rookie, QB Luke Skywalker, give their fans something to be excited about in the near future. I fully expect to see Ayers on these lists for years to come.
Defensive Player of the Year
Before I get into my winner and honorable mentions for DPOTY, I have to say that cutting this list down to five players was almost impossible. There were SO many remarkable seasons put in many defensive players, that you could probably draw a name from a hat of 20 and feel confident in choosing that player for DPOTY. In the end, I had to pick someone, and there’s a good chance that no one will like my choices. C’est la vie.
Pat’s Winner
Derred de Ville | LB | Baltimore Hawks @Exilizer
Season stats: 117 Tackles | 2 TFL | 13 Sacks | 2 FF | 2 INT | 29 PD
Let’s just get this out of the way: Baltimore was not a good football team in Season 24. They tied for the worst record in the league, has the second-worst point differential, and finished the season with an amazing 10 game losing streak. Yes, their defense was… well, not great either as a unit, surrendering the second-most points in the league, as well as the most total yards, second most passing yards, and most rushing yards.
So, you’re probably going to ask, “hey Pat, how can a player from the worst defense in football win Defensive Player of the Year?” and I’ll respond, “I don’t know, disembodied voice! I guess I should stop putting two shots of whiskey in my coffee in the morning!”
As bad as Baltimore’s defense was this season, I don’t think you can place any of the blame for it on de Ville. He was a playmaker at all levels of the field this past season and did what he could to keep the Hawks’ defense from being historically bad. He was second in the league in sacks with 13. His 2 forced fumbles tied with a number of players for second in the league. He made plays in the run game as evidence by his 117 tackles. He was also a playmaker in pass defense, chipping in two of his team’s 11 interceptions this year, and he also led all players with 29 passes defended.
Defensive Player of the Year is an individual award, and I think you’d be hard pressed to find an individual who had a better defensive season than Mr. de Ville.
Runners-up
Thor Kirkby | FS | Colorado Yeti @Acsolap
Season stats: 75 tackles | 12 sacks | 2 FF | 1 FR | 3 INT | 6 PD | 1 Def TD | 3 Safeties
You could make the argument that Kirkby deserves to be DPOTY over de Ville, and honestly, I don’t know if I could argue that you’re wrong. He was a force all season for the Yeti, and was part of the most dominant secondary (and overall defense) in the league. Kirkby was a playmaker all over the field this year, as the Yeti moved him around and allowed him to go make plays, as evidenced by his stat line. To borrow from basketball talking heads, the Colorado FS was a stat-sheet-stuffer this season. He deserves high praise just for having THREE SAFETIES to his name this year. That’s just ridiculous.
Big Edd | DT | Sarasota Sailfish @Big Edd
Season stats: 68 tackles | 3 TFL | 13 sacks | 2 FF | 1 FR
Sometimes to be considered for an individual award, not only do you have to look at how a player did in relation to all other players in terms of numbers, but also how they performed compared to other players at the same position. The Sarasota DT, Edd, paced all Defensive Tackles in almost every category, and his 68 tackles were 10 more than second place in that category for his position. His 13 sacks were tied for second-most in the league and tied for the most by a Defensive Tackle. Sarasota went on to have the second-best record in the league this year, and Big Edd was a major reason for that.
Brandon Booker | CB | Philadelphia Liberty @Memento Mori
Season stats: 73 tackles | 1 TFL | 3 sacks | 5 INT | 10 PD | 2 FF | 2 Def TD
Philadelphia’s season was by most measures a disappointment. One aspect of the year that the Liberty can be very pleased with and excited about moving forward, is the play of their young Cornerback Brandon Booker. The third year corner was very impressive last year, his second in the league, and many experts were wondering if his sophomore season was a flash in the pan, or if we were witnessing the berth of the next great ISFL CB. If season three is any indication, we might have one of the best to play the position on our hands here. Once again, Booker led the league with two defensive touchdowns, and his five interceptions were tied for second-most in the league. Philadelphia may have laid an egg this year, but I’m excited to see what happens in Season 25 for this young star.
Literallyjust A. Hexagon | FS | New Orleans Second Line @JPach
Season stats: 125 tackles | 2 TFL | 3 INT | 7 PD | 1 FF
Last season, Hexagon was seen as a one-dimensional player (blasphemous, considering he has SIX SIDES), as he managed to rack up high tackle numbers and just about nothing else. Coming into Season 24, a lot of experts were looking to see if the second year Safety could round out his game. Hexagon showed that his time in the off-season paid off, as he not only continued to be a tackling machine, ending the season with the most tackles by a Free Safety, but also showed a huge leap in his ability as a play maker in the passing game, managing to intercept opposing QBs 3 times on the season. New Orleans fans can rest easy knowing they have Hexagon patrolling center field for them.
Offensive Rookie of the Year
This season, the race for Offensive Rookie of the Year was not a very close one, with Nicholas Ayers (spoilers) being the easy choice. Instead of doing a large write-up on the presumptive winner – since he got a nice blurb in the OPOTY section – I’m going to spend more time talking about the other candidates for this award. Season 24 might have had a clear-cut favorite, but it also had a lot of great seasons from budding stars.
Pat’s Winner
Nicholas Ayers | RB | Honolulu Hahalua
Season stats: 242 Rush | 993 Yds | 10 Rushing TD | 38 Rec | 421 Rec Yds | 5 Rec TD
If you want to see just how great of a rookie season the Hahalua running back had, just scroll up and look at his entry for Offensive Player of the Year. This award is Ayers’ to take home.
Runners-up
Ben Slothlisberger | QB | New Orleans Second Line @slothfacekilla
Season stats: 288/514 | 3605 Yards | 22 TD | 8 INT | 85.8 Passer Rating
One of the most talked about storylines coming into Season 24 of the ISFL was the new face under center for the Second Line, the Tijuana prospect Ben Slothlisberger. Many experts were curious to see what would happen to the Season 23 playoff team after handing the reins of the offense over to a rookie QB.
The answer was soon learned to be: only good things. The Second Line matched the same amount of wins as they did in Season 23, and made the playoffs again in Season 24. Their points per game stayed relatively flat, going from 22.8 PPG in S23 down to 21 PPG in S24, while their yards per game increased from 349 YPG up to 357. Where New Orleans saw a major improvement on offense, however, was in their ball security. In Season 23 they threw a total of 14 INT, while in S24, Slothlisberger only threw 8 INT.
With a lot of living legends set to retire soon from the ISFL, many fans have been wondering who will carry the torch for the young QBs out there. If Season 24 is any indication, Ben Slothlisberger is ready for the challenge.
Kai Sakura | WR | Yellowknife Wraiths @DarknessRising
Season stats: 68 Rec | 1103 Yards | 16.2 YPC | 7 TD
Coming into Season 24, one thing the experts could agree on was that Yellowknife needed to get younger at the Wide Receiver position. The Wraiths called up two pass catchers this season, and no one was sure if either of them would be able to produce at a high level.
All questions seemed to go away right away after the season opener, where Sakura took advantage of limited looks, turning in a performance of 5 catches for 45 yards and two scores against the Philadelphia Liberty. The Season 23 prospect proved to have a strong connection with the Wraiths’ young QB Colby Jack, as Sakura led the team in receptions, yards, and receiving touchdowns.
Mai Fukushu | RB | Baltimore Hawks @Jiggly_333
Season stats: 192 carries | 744 yards | 6 TD | 7 Rec | 59 rec yards
Another promising young back, Fukushu was called up in their first year of eligibility by a Hawks squad that was in desperate need of bodies in the backfield. What may have looked to be a panicked reaction turned out to be a very smart football move, as Fukushu took advantage of splitting carries with veteran Darrel Williams, and ended up leading all rookies in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns. Baltimore should be returning both Williams and Fukushu in Season 25, barring any blockbuster trades, and that should make any Hawks fan very excited, as the team is expected to lean heavily on running the ball next year with the departures of WRs Nick Kaepercolin and Asher Quinn.
Luke Skywalker | QB | Honolulu Hahalua @muse316
Season stats: 273/475 | 3077 yards | 19 TD | 8 INT | 83.3 Passer Rating
Our last honorable mention is the other rookie starting QB we had this season, Honolulu’s Luke Skywalker. After their 7-9 season in S23, Honolulu knew they needed to improve on the offensive side of the ball. We’ve already spoken at length about RB Nicholas Ayers, but Skywalker needs his due, too. Sure, his numbers might not jump off the page at you, but Honolulu needed someone to come in and manage the game while their dynamic due of Ayers and Kane-Maika’I did the heavy lifting. Skywalker proved to be much more than just a game manager, as his presence increased the team’s passing attack from one where that had as good of chance of throwing a turnover (13 TD : 11 INT) in S23 to one that you had to watch out for in S24.
Defensive Rookie of the Year
Season 24 in the ISFL was a bit of an old man’s game on offense, as most of the top teams had established veterans filling their ranks at skill positions. Outside of the five on my short list for Rookie of the Year, there weren’t many first-year players who got to see significant playing time or production. That is not the case on the other side of the ball, where we saw many rookies step onto the field and start producing from day one.
Pat’s Winner
Greedy Sly | SS | Colorado Yeti @Sylphreni
Season stats: 132 tackles | 2 TFL | 2 INT | 10 PD | 1 FF | 1 FR
What can be said about the young, rangy rookie for the Yeti? He was his team’s leading tackler this season with a total of 132 stops, which was 25 more than any other player on his team, and good enough for fourth highest of all players. Sly also chipped in 2 tackles for loss, and even supplied the Yeti two interceptions in the passing game. Known more in the DSFL for his playmaking ability than his pure tackling, no one expected him to step in and make such noise right away.
I mentioned in the lead-in that there were a number of great rookie performances on the defensive side of the ball this season, and while that’s true, it doesn’t mean that one performance wasn’t heads and shoulders above the rest. Sly should be an absolutely lock for Defensive Rookie of the Year.
Runners-up
Philip Stein | FS | San Jose Sabercats @IHateBobNutting
Season stats: 63 tackles | 3 sacks | 5 INT | 6 PD | 1 FF | 1 FR | 1 Def TD
After a disappointing year in Season 23, one thing was certain for San Jose – they had to get better on defense. In S23 the Sabercats gave up a league-worst 25.6 PPG and surrendered over 131 yards per game on the ground. They decided one of their best chances to help out that side of the ball was to call up the promising Safety, Stein. San Jose was rewarded for their faith, as the defense jumped from dead last in points allowed up to fifth best in Season 24, as their improved their record from 5-11 to 9-7 and were rewarded a first round bye in the ISFL Playoffs.
Stein’s tackling and sack numbers were not comparable to a lot players at his position, but he showed that he was going to be a force in pass defense, as his five interceptions were good for second best in the league. Armed with a young core that is improving ahead of schedule, and two first round draft picks in this season’s draft, we might be looking at the start of a dynasty in San Jose.
Lesean Paris Crooks | CB | Baltimore Hawks @The_Kidd
Season stats: 116 tackles | 2 sacks | 4 INT | 12 PD | 2 FF | 1 FR
Another young star in the making for Baltimore, Crooks turned in nothing short of a fantastic season in the secondary for the Hawks. His 116 tackles were good for fourth most at the position, while his four interceptions were good enough for sixth best in the entire league. While Crooks put up very good numbers this season, he does get dinged a little bit just because the Hawks had such a putrid year all together. That is to say nothing of this young player, as he was one of the few bright spots for them on the year.
Carl Wheezer | DT | Orange County Otters @LGMForever
Season stats: 40 tackles | 8 TFL | 6 sacks | 1 FR
Our first big fella on the list, Wheezer was a strong addition on the interior of Orange County’s defensive line this season, a unit that led the league in defensive scoring, total yards allowed, and passing yards allowed. Wheezer got a little overshined by his teammates on defense this year, as the Otters’ were stacked on defense this past season, but that’s not to take away from the very impressive year put in by their young Defensive Tackle. His eight tackles for loss were the most by any DT this season, and he looks to be an anchor for the Otters’ defense moving forward.
Arik Eller | DE | Baltimore Hawks @Ace
Season stats: 38 tackles | 18 TFL | 3 sacks
Our last player to make the short list for DROTY, Eller is yet another promising young player for Baltimore whose stellar play and bright future help soften the blow dealt by their overall poor season as a team. Eller made a home in opposing offenses’ backfields this year, where is 18 tackles for loss were good for third best in the entire ISFL. If Baltimore can keep the young players that I’ve mentioned on this list on their roster and keep them earning, I see a strong future ahead for them.
Final thoughts
Once again, I’m sure that there a number of players that are going to feel snubbed by my list, and hell, I have a good feeling my choices aren’t even going to be talked about by the awards committee. If you have comments or gripes with my rankings, please, let me know about it in the comments below!
Thanks for reading!
I'm a big old dookie head and forgot to put special teamers in this article. So, I'm going to plug a really great article by @Baron1898
You can see the write-up here: ISFL Special Teams Breakdown
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