1957 Award Nominations

 1957 NAAF Award Nominations 

MVP
LB Brent Harper BOS
Harper was a major reason the Independents were even in the playoff hunt to begin with. A leader in the defence, Harper dominated the field more than any other player this season. He would lead the league with 10 forced fumbles and added an interception as well. He was also the league leader in tackles topping LB Scotty Williams and LB Aengus Lynch for the honour. 

RB Arthur Conner BUF
Conner has been a fantastic back over the past few seasons and has been the league leader in rushing touchdowns in each of the last 3 seasons. While this season he ended tied with RB Marcus Devonshire, Conner and the Blue Wings were a different team this season. Conner also narrowly beat out Devonshire for rushing yards this season en route to the team’s 10-2 season. 

QB Connor O’Rourke PRO
The Gold Stars QB was by far their most important piece in a 9-3 campaign. O’Rourke was able to get the team into a position to win again and again, in fact, any game that was within a score the Gold Stars came out on top. O’Rourke finished second in passing touchdowns behind QB Jean Matieau, but he beat out the Royal in passing yards. Without O’Rourke, the Gold Stars would’ve had a very different season. 

Offensive Player of the Year
RB Arthur Conner BUF - 17 Rushing Touchdowns (T-1st), 1st in Rushing Yards
Conner was an offensive beast this season, leading the way for the Blue Wings offence that was second in the league this season.
QB Jean Matieau OTT - 20 Passing Touchdowns (1st), 2nd in Passing Yards
Matieau continues to be a staple at the top in the passing game. He returned to the top of the passing touchdown lead this season as well.
QB Connor O’Rourke PRO - 19 Passing Touchdowns (2nd), 1st in Passing Yards
O’Rourke and Matieau are starting to be looked at as the top 2 QBs in the league, and Connor was able to prove that this season with the league lead in passing yards and only having one less touchdown thrown than Matieau.
RB Marcus Devonshire WOR - 17 Rushing Touchdowns (T-1st), 2nd in Rushing Yards
Devonshire was right with Arthur Conner all season long, and deserves as much praise for being the motor of the Athletics offence that lacked a passing game this season. 

Defensive Player of the Year
LB Brent Harper BOS - 1st in Tackles, 10 Forced Fumbles (1st), 1 Interception
As previously mentioned, Harper was a force for the Independents this season, and was way ahead of any other defenders this season.
S Frazier Brooks BUF - 5 Interceptions (T-4th), 1 Forced Fumble, 2nd in Defended Plays, 2 Sacks
Brooks truly came into his own this season proving he is an all-around option in the defence. He was able to make plays from the back end and even got to the QB a couple of times this season on a Buffalo special safety blitz.
DB Quentin Xavier MTL - 7 Interceptions (1st), 1 Defensive Touchdown (T-3rd)
Xavier has been nothing but spectacular in his first 3 NAAF seasons managing to lead the league in interceptions despite being on a rough Montreal squad.
LB Aengus Lynch ON - 4th in Tackles, 7 Forced Fumbles (2nd)
Lynch was not quite as dominant as last year, but he was able to knock the ball loose 7 times creating a lot of havoc for offences against the Tigers. 

Special Teams Player of the Year
K Johnnie Berg BOS - 22 Field Goals (1st), 17 Extra Points, 83 Points (1st)
Johnnie Berg was a big part of Boston’s scoring this season, leading the league in field goals and points scored.
K Thomas McFadden LOU - 21 Field Goals (2nd), 10 Extra Points, 73 Points (5th)
McFadden has been here plenty of times, and was a huge part of Louisville’s scoring this season.
K Henderson Schumacher LI - 17 Field Goals (6th), 26 Extra Points, 77 Points (4th)
In his first year in a starting role, Schumacher was able to put up the 4th most points in the league. He also was the most consistent kicker this season.  

Rookie of the Year
OL Graham Chambers BOS
It is hard to give stats to the young O-lineman, but Chambers had a very strong first season in Boston. He was able to protect both Higgins and Swayze and helped the team get into the playoffs
DL William Sanderson IND - 3 Forced Fumbles (1st in rookies), 5 Sacks (1st in Rookies)
Sanderson was an instant centrepiece on the Victors’ D-line. He would cause 3 forced fumbles and wrapped up 5 sacks for his first season.
LB Sam Fitzroy MTL - 2 Forced Fumbles (2nd in rookies), 1st in rookie tackles
Fitzroy, the replacement for the traded Rusty McVee, showed that he has a lot of potential in his first season leading all rookies in tackles this season. 

Coach of the Year
Dannell Willis BUF - Record: 10-2
Willis had a rough first year in the head coaching role in Buffalo, but he took massive strides in his second season. Leading Buffalo to a 10-2 record after starting 1-2, they were a different team built on hard nose football and gritty defence. 
Joseph Curry OTT - Record: 7-3-2
With all the success the Royals have had over the 4 years, it is still surprising that Curry hasn’t taken home a coach of the year award. This season, he managed to take a Royals team that lost its usual top WR and several key defensive pieces to second in the division. 
Roy Aguirre PRO Record: 9-3
Aguirre was a big reason the Gold Stars were able to take home their second division title in the NAAF. He works really well with O’Rourke and he pushed the offence to be one of the best this season.  

Breakout Player of the Year
DB Lou Lake BUF - 4 Interceptions (T-6th), 2 Defensive Touchdowns (T-1st)
Lake broke out on the Blue Wings defence taking on a full-time starting role for the first time. He was able to reel in 4 interceptions and took 2 of them back for touchdowns which tied him for first with DB Alexander Bradley.  
WR Benedict Spencer ON - 5 Receiving Touchdowns (T-8th)
Spencer broke out in the Tigers receiving core. His play was especially noticeable early in the season where he picked up a majority of his touchdowns. He also showed his ability to pick up yards with the injury to usual #1 WR Wilbert Benjamin, taking on a bigger role in the second half.
WR Sammy Moss PRO - 8 Receiving Touchdowns (2nd)
Moss was a scoring machine this season. In the Providence offence where he was able to thrive getting open near the endzone. He finished second in TDs behind only WR Chester Bennett, outscoring his teammate #1 WR Peter Brooks (6 TDs) this season. 

40th McCallister Cup Host
Victory Stadium - Indianapolis, IN - Capacity: 48,500 - Last Host: -
Indianapolis has just joined the league and they would love a chance to host the first championship game outside of the usual cities. Victory Stadium is a great new location and bringing the game to a newer market may be a great idea for the league to build the fanbase.
Royals Stadium at Brewer Park - Ottawa, ON - Capacity: 45,210 -  Last Host: 1954 (old stadium)
The Royals make a strong argument for the hosting duties. 1958 marks the club’s 50th anniversary and they would love to be the host of the McCallister Cup in honour of that milestone. The game would also be played at their new Stadium which they began to play in 1955 the year after they had hosted at Lansdowne in 1954.
New Providence Stadium - Providence, RI - Capacity: 65,450 - Last Host: 1953
Providence is also making another attempt at the hosting duties, coming in with the largest stadium argument, which consistently makes this site a favourable one for the big game. 

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