MVP
RB Arthur Conner BUF
Conner had an unreal season this year leading the way in rushing touchdowns (17) by 3 touchdowns over the next RB. Conner was the engine of the Buffalo offense this season and helped the team to 6 straight wins over the middle part of the season.
QB Jean Matieau OTT
Matieau once again leads the league in passing touchdowns, however, this season Matieau was miles ahead of the rest with 24 passing touchdowns. In second was QB Connor O’Rourke with 16. Matieau and the Royals were a different beast this season and Matieau is at the centre of it all.
LB Scotty Williams WOR
Williams’ MVP bid comes from a late-season surge. On Worcester’s 4 game win streak to get them to the playoffs, Williams was a leader on the field taking over games. He would earn Defensive Player of the Week in each of the last 3 weeks of the season. That goes along with a league lead in tackles and forced fumbles (5).
Offensive Player of the Year
RB Arthur Conner BUF - 17 Rushing Touchdowns (1st), 1st in Rushing Yards
Conner was the rushing leader by far this season.
RB Laurent Brazeau ON - 14 Rushing Touchdowns (2nd), 3rd in Rushing Yards
Despite the disappointing finish, Brazeau was still very productive after a bit of a down year last year.
QB Jean Matieau OTT - 24 Passing Touchdowns (1st), 1st in Passing Yards
Matieau is the premiere QB and led the way for passing in the league this season.
WR Allen Atkins OTT - 11 Receiving Touchdowns (1st), 1st in Receiving Yards
Despite his age, Atkins remains the best receiver in the league and continues to prove it.
Defensive Player of the Year
LB Aengus Lynch ON - 2 Interceptions (1st in LB), 2nd in Tackles, 2 Forced Fumbles
Lynch had another strong season as he quickly becomes a regular top tier Linebacker
DB Lee Wolfe PRO - 6 Interceptions (1st), 1 Touchdown, 2nd in Knockdowns
Wolfe continues to be a menace for QBs this season and he remains the gold standard on the corner
LB Scotty Williams WOR - 5 Forced Fumbles (1st), 1st in Tackles
Williams, as stated before, was a force at the end of the season and has already proven that he is the best at what he does
DB Alexander Bradley WOR - 5 Interceptions (T-2nd), 1 Touchdown, 1st in Knockdowns
Bradley is slowly becoming the next Lee Wolfe, and the rest of the league is terrified by his talents.
Special Teams Player of the Year
K Thomas McFadden LI - 16 Field Goals (3rd), 20 Extra Points, 68 Points
The 3-time winner was back on top this season in helping the Raiders to their first playoff appearance.
K Nathaniel King ON - 15 Field Goals (T-4th), 24 Extra Points, 69 Points
King was one of the leaders in extra points this season, though no one would match Lafayette in Ottawa (35). King still was a strong kicker for the Tigers this season.
K Tevoris Francis WOR - 17 Field Goals (2nd), 18 Extra Points, 69 Points
Francis came up big in moments this season for the Athletics keeping them in some games especially late in the season.
Rookie of the Year
QB Lyle Painter LI - 13 Passing Touchdowns (5th), 4th in Passing Yards
Painter would seem like the easy choice with taking the 0-10 Raiders to the top of the New England division, and the 1st overall pick deserves the praise.
DB Quentin Xavier MTL - 4 Interceptions (T-4th), 2 Touchdowns
Xavier had a very strong season on a rough Rouge team. Had a pair of pick-6s showing the young DB has loads of talent
DL Calias McDonough PRO - 2 Forced Fumbles, 3 Sacks
McDonough was strong out of the gate but faded as the season went on due to a minor injury that kept him out of a game or two.
Coach of the Year
Bobby Hooper BUF - Record: 6-4
Hooper continues to be a strong coach for Buffalo leading them on a 6-game win streak from weeks 3 to 8.
Jimmy Sargent LI - Record: 6-3-1
Sargent was a huge part of the Raiders rise to the top of the New England Division and has quickly proven his leadership in the league.
Joseph Curry OTT - Record: 9-1
Curry continues to lead the Royals on an unreal tear as they went 9-1 this season which was a franchise-best.
Breakout Player of the Year
DB Slay Mitchell LI - 4 Interceptions (T-4th)
Mitchell always looked weak out of his draft class with some of the stars that went after him at 3, but the DB found some ground this season and jumped into the place he was expected to get to, back in 1952.
WR Chester Bennett OTT - 6 Receiving Touchdowns (T-4th)
Bennett had a rough rookie season, but in his second attempt, he became one of Matieau’s favourite targets and should be able to continue the path into the future.
QB Connor O’Rourke PRO - 16 Passing Touchdowns (2nd), 5th in Passing Yards
O’Rourke quickly proved that he had loads of talent and that he might have been a steal for the Gold Stars at 5th overall with the second most TDs this season.
1954 McCallister Cup Host
Richardson Stadium - Boston, MA - Capacity: 45,265 - Last Host: 1949
Once again the legendary stadium makes another bid to host the big game. The same argument applies from the last three seasons, the storied stadium has hosted many games and to see a neutral site game here could be special for the teams involved.
Buffalo Civic Stadium - Buffalo, NY - Capacity: 38,530 - Last Host: 1952
While it only has been a few seasons since Buffalo hosted the game, the city had one of the best atmospheres for the game and a return to Buffalo would certainly not be a bad idea for the league considering the fanbase that is there.
Mount Royal Stadium - Montreal, QC - Capacity: 46,500 - Last Host: 1951
Montreal hosted both the ‘50 and ‘51 games due to being in them, but they would love to host one as a neutral site. Mount Royals is one of the bigger stadiums and it would make for as good an atmosphere as Buffalo.
Worcester Stadium - Worcester, MA - Capacity: 38,600 - Last Host: -
Worcester will not stop their bid for the game at this point wanting to get the game when the stadium is at its peak and still new. With the Athletics being better, the fans have certainly grown in the city.
1955 NAAF Awards
Most Valuable Player - QB Jean Matieau OTT
Taking home his second MVP, Jean Matieau, once again proves that he is best in the game right now. Leading the league in Passing Touchdowns and Passing yards for the 4th straight season. Matieau ended up with 8 more TD passes than the next best in the league. He also led the monstrous Royals to a 9-1 finish and eventually their second straight title. Matieau is still 29 and far from finished making his mark on the NAAF.
Playoff MVP - QB Jean Matieau OTT
A dominant regular season would lead to a dominant playoff run for Matieau who would put up 6 passing touchdowns in the two playoff games and was unbeatable. Not to mention taking over the play-calling on the fly in the McCallister Cup.
Offensive Player of the Year - RB Arthur Conner BUF
Arthur Conner was the beating heart of the Buffalo defense this season. He was able to score 17 rushing touchdowns this season and lead the league in rushing yards. He was one of if not the biggest contributor to the team’s 6-game winning streak.
Defensive Player of the Year - LB Scotty Williams WOR
Scotty Williams has quickly become one of if not the best defensive players in the NAAF. He shows consistency week-in, week-out playing at the highest level. His 3-straight Defensive Player of the Week awards to finish the season amplifies that fact. Williams looks to be taking the role of Rouge LB Quinton Brewer as the top D-man in the NAAF. He already has earned rookie of the year and I am sure this won’t be his final DPOY award.
Special Teams Player of the Year - K Thomas McFadden LI
McFadden last took home the STPOY award in 1952 when the team was still in Hartford. A few years later and the 35-year-old is still one of the best kickers in the game. He helped the Raiders to their first playoff appearance and was able to win them the semi-final game over Worcester with a huge 44-yard kick.
Rookie of the Year - QB Lyle Painter LI
The first overall pick ran away with the award this season. A lot of it will have to do with the success of the Raiders. In his first season, Painter was able to jump into a tough starting role and help lead the team to the playoffs. His stats aren’t through the roof, but solid for a first-year starter and shows that Painter has lots of potential at only 22.
Coach of the Year - Jimmy Sargent LI
His first year as Head Coach could be looked at as a disaster. 0-10 is never something to be proud of, but a huge turnaround is certainly some to celebrate. Sargent was able to turn the team around from the 0-10 1954 season to a 6-3-1 season and a division title. Sargent looks to be a solid coach and hopefully, he can continue to stay in the hunt with this young team.
Breakout Player of the Year - QB Connor O’Rourke PRO
For the 3rd time in the 4 years of the award, a quarterback will be taking home the award. Jean Matieau and Riley Kiernan both preceded O’Rourke. O’Rourke had a great first season finishing second behind Matieau in passing touchdowns. He is the future of the Gold Stars and the fans of Providence are excited for him to continue his growth into a strong starting QB.
1955 NAAF All-Stars
Offense:
QB Jean Matieau OTT (3)
RB Arthur Conner BUF (2)
OL James Knowles OTT (7)
OL Adorat Blain OTT (1)
OL Ronnie Elliott BUF (1)
OL Casey York BUF (6)
OL Andrew Furrson BOS (6)
WR Allen Atkins OTT (7)
WR Wilbert Benjamin ON (1)
WR Peter Brooks PRO (5)
TE Jervonte Howell OTT (2)
Defense:
DL Olaf Viktorsson OTT (2)
DL Sean Bowen BUF (6)
DL Jonathan Brown BUF (6)
DL Zakary Turbide MTL (2)
LB Scotty Williams WOR (4)
LB Aengus Lynch ON (2)
LB Brent Harper BOS (1)
DB Lee Wolfe PRO (7)
DB Alexander Bradley WOR (2)
DB Slay Mitchell LI (1)
S Shawn Jensen WOR (2)
Special Teams:
K Thomas McFadden LI (4)
1956 McCallister Cup Host - Worcester Stadium - Worcester, MA
Worcester Stadium will play host to the McCallister Cup in 1956. The 3-year-old stadium will hold 40,000 with some expanded seating. After several attempts at the hosting duties, the city is excited to welcome the rest of the NAAF for the festive weekend.
Most Valuable Player - QB Jean Matieau OTT
Taking home his second MVP, Jean Matieau, once again proves that he is best in the game right now. Leading the league in Passing Touchdowns and Passing yards for the 4th straight season. Matieau ended up with 8 more TD passes than the next best in the league. He also led the monstrous Royals to a 9-1 finish and eventually their second straight title. Matieau is still 29 and far from finished making his mark on the NAAF.
Playoff MVP - QB Jean Matieau OTT
A dominant regular season would lead to a dominant playoff run for Matieau who would put up 6 passing touchdowns in the two playoff games and was unbeatable. Not to mention taking over the play-calling on the fly in the McCallister Cup.
Offensive Player of the Year - RB Arthur Conner BUF
Arthur Conner was the beating heart of the Buffalo defense this season. He was able to score 17 rushing touchdowns this season and lead the league in rushing yards. He was one of if not the biggest contributor to the team’s 6-game winning streak.
Defensive Player of the Year - LB Scotty Williams WOR
Scotty Williams has quickly become one of if not the best defensive players in the NAAF. He shows consistency week-in, week-out playing at the highest level. His 3-straight Defensive Player of the Week awards to finish the season amplifies that fact. Williams looks to be taking the role of Rouge LB Quinton Brewer as the top D-man in the NAAF. He already has earned rookie of the year and I am sure this won’t be his final DPOY award.
Special Teams Player of the Year - K Thomas McFadden LI
McFadden last took home the STPOY award in 1952 when the team was still in Hartford. A few years later and the 35-year-old is still one of the best kickers in the game. He helped the Raiders to their first playoff appearance and was able to win them the semi-final game over Worcester with a huge 44-yard kick.
Rookie of the Year - QB Lyle Painter LI
The first overall pick ran away with the award this season. A lot of it will have to do with the success of the Raiders. In his first season, Painter was able to jump into a tough starting role and help lead the team to the playoffs. His stats aren’t through the roof, but solid for a first-year starter and shows that Painter has lots of potential at only 22.
Coach of the Year - Jimmy Sargent LI
His first year as Head Coach could be looked at as a disaster. 0-10 is never something to be proud of, but a huge turnaround is certainly some to celebrate. Sargent was able to turn the team around from the 0-10 1954 season to a 6-3-1 season and a division title. Sargent looks to be a solid coach and hopefully, he can continue to stay in the hunt with this young team.
Breakout Player of the Year - QB Connor O’Rourke PRO
For the 3rd time in the 4 years of the award, a quarterback will be taking home the award. Jean Matieau and Riley Kiernan both preceded O’Rourke. O’Rourke had a great first season finishing second behind Matieau in passing touchdowns. He is the future of the Gold Stars and the fans of Providence are excited for him to continue his growth into a strong starting QB.
s
1955 NAAF All-Stars
Offense:
QB Jean Matieau OTT (3)
RB Arthur Conner BUF (2)
OL James Knowles OTT (7)
OL Adorat Blain OTT (1)
OL Ronnie Elliott BUF (1)
OL Casey York BUF (6)
OL Andrew Furrson BOS (6)
WR Allen Atkins OTT (7)
WR Wilbert Benjamin ON (1)
WR Peter Brooks PRO (5)
TE Jervonte Howell OTT (2)
Defense:
DL Olaf Viktorsson OTT (2)
DL Sean Bowen BUF (6)
DL Jonathan Brown BUF (6)
DL Zakary Turbide MTL (2)
LB Scotty Williams WOR (4)
LB Aengus Lynch ON (2)
LB Brent Harper BOS (1)
DB Lee Wolfe PRO (7)
DB Alexander Bradley WOR (2)
DB Slay Mitchell LI (1)
S Shawn Jensen WOR (2)
Special Teams:
K Thomas McFadden LI (4)
Worcester Stadium will play host to the McCallister Cup in 1956. The 3-year-old stadium will hold 40,000 with some expanded seating. After several attempts at the hosting duties, the city is excited to welcome the rest of the NAAF for the festive weekend.
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