1966 Draft Preview

1966 Draft Preview

1965 College Results

CEHC
WEST
(3) Toronto Dukes
(5) Hamilton Howlers
(10) St.George Maples
London Foresters
Rideau Rams
Kitchener-Waterloo Provincial Beavers

EAST
(6) St-Laurent Cavaliers de riviere
Majeure Montreal Insulaires
Montreal Provincial Panthers
Nova Scotia Armada
New Brunswick Pirates
Mont-Bellevue Geais bleus

CEHC Semi-Finals
EF (6) ST-L 36-10 MMTL
WF (3) TORU 32-26 (5) UHAM

CEHC Championship
(3) TORU 31-37 (6) ST-L

AEHC
(1) New England Cardinals
(2) Rhode Island State Bulldogs
(4) Haynes Colonials
(7) West Mass State Rangers
(8) Western New York Whitetails
(9) Maine Acadians
Vermont Republic Mountaineers
Cambridge of Boston Cubs
Concord-Manchester Fighting Pike
Erie Sailors
WNY-Rochester Eagles

AEHC Playoffs
(1) UNE 42-20 (7) WMS
(2) RISU 20-13 (4) HAY

Conference Championship
(1) UNE 38-28 (2) RISU

Hybrid Football Championship
(1) UNE 35-24 (6) ST-L

1966 Draft Preview

The QBs in the 1966 NAAF draft class are highlighted by New England QB Louis Vaughn. UNE’s unbeaten year was largely attributed to their senior QB who only threw 4 interceptions this past season. Vaughn is likely a franchise-level QB with lots of similarities to QB Lyle Painter, with accuracy and solid decision making, but a lack of pure arm strength. 

Behind him, is Brooklyn Metro QB, Ivan Sanchez. Sanchez was originally set to be a top pick in the ACFL, but after an injury in his junior year and hearing some not-so-great things from former teammates he is looking to make the jump to the NAAF. Sanchez showed a lot of promise with good arm strength and decent mobility, but his injury did knock his comfort in the pocket a little which could become an issue. 

QB Rider Wandrey had a strong season with Louisville State who won the Mid-western conference this season. The mobile QB garners a lot of similarities to QB Angelo Medina with the ability to run but has some accuracy issues down the field. 

QB Micheal Miranda was a bit of a surprise this season, suddenly having a fantastic year in his senior season following a forgetful junior season. He was able to lead the West Mass State Rangers to their first semi-final since switching to hybrid after upsetting the WNY Whitetails. 

The last major QB is Gilles Doucet out of St-Laurent. Doucet is not much different than Wandrey as he is very mobile, but more significant issues with his throwing ability could be a large concern for Doucet. 

As for the other top prospects. LB Kurt Warlock looks like a very dominant LB that could very likely end up with the Gold Stars after they hired Rhode Island St.’s head coach Garrett Boone. DB Sergio Alvarez out of Haynes had a stellar season locking down several top WRs in college this season, he could be another top DB making a major impact immediately. 

There are several strong OLs out of New England and Toronto. Both schools have had great O-lines over the past few years and that is reflected by the 4 OL in the top 13. RB Reggie Whitehead could be a highly sought-after piece for teams looking for a difference-maker out of the backfield. Whitehead was certainly a big help to Vaughn at UNE this season and showed strength in running many defenders over. 

St-Laurent could have a couple of sneaky players that could be a lot better than some initially assume. DL Bernard King is a fairly quiet player, but he does everything very well and could start running through O-lines across the league. WR Felix Fontaine could also be interesting as he follows up WR Alexei Dubois from St-Laurent. The not-so-great start for Dubois has led some to question if Fontaine has it, but the young WR has shown a great ability to make something out of nothing on the field. 

There are also a pair of WRs from outside of the hybrid conferences with the speedy Taylor Austin from Louisville State and the sturdy Edward Webb out of Brooklyn Metro who could both be valuable weapons to offenses across the league.

The Gains Report - Top 25
1 - QB Louis Vaughn - New England - Brad Cumberland - DireBear
2 - LB Kurt Warlock - Rhode Island State - Brad Cumberland - DireBear
3 - DB Sergio Alvarez - Haynes - George Stefanakis - Dan O’Mac
4 - OL Elliot Barrett - New England - Barry Williams - ZO82
5 - WR Taylor Austin - Louisville State - Barry Williams - ZO82
6 - RB Reggie Whitehead - New England - Johny Armando - Stickman
7 - WR Felix Fontaine - St-Laurent - Sterling Brantley - Darknes
8 - DL Bernard King - St-Laurent - Vincent Desjardins - Kingsfan11
9 - QB Ivan Sanchez - Brooklyn Metropolitan - Barry Willams - ZO82
10 - OL Andrew Parsley - Toronto - Ivan di Marco - ItDoesntMatter
11 - WR Edward Webb - Brooklyn Metropolitan - Joonas Van Dijk - Osctheg
12 - OL Crawford Starrick - Toronto - Sterling Brantley - Darknes
13 - OL Mason Fitzpatrick - New England - Barry Williams - ZO82
14 - LB Le'Darius Wynn - Western New York - Kenneth Jones - Enigmajones
15 - DL Bartolo Cruz - U-America - Jimmy Yamamoto - QCS
16 - S Marc Bellecourt - Majeure Montreal - Ivan di Marco - ItDoesntMatter
17 - DB Perry Ferris - Rhode Island State - Ivan di Marco - ItDoesntMatter
18 - DL Albert Sullivan - New England - Wally Flowers - Wallflower
19 - DL Johnathan Ellison - Louisville State - Timmy Bjarnathan - NoE38
20 - QB Rider Wandrey - Louisville State - Perry Matthews - Sevsdast
21 - DB Janek Rodoslav - Upstate - Jay Hawkins - Jayhawk
22 - QB Micheal Miranda - West Mass State - Ivan di Marco - ItDoesntMatter
23 - OL Tony Walker-Jones - Western New York - Johnny Armando - Stickman
24 - DB Aiden Sargent - Central Ohio - Barry Williams ZO82
25 - DB Charles Grim - Rhode Island State - Jimmy Yamamoto - QCS
-----
44 - RB Alex Herbco - Kitchener-Waterloo Provincial - Oscar Burns - AJHFTW
48 - LB Brian O’Flaherty - Central Pennsylvania - James Herr O’Nark - JamHeronArk
64 - TE Buddy Bing - Jersey State - Roger Roy - Scratch

1966 1st Round Draft Order
1 - Pittsburgh Blacksmiths
2 - Providence Gold Stars
3 - Halifax Mariners
4 - Ottawa Royals
5 - Montreal Rouge
6 - Indiana Victors (from Buffalo)
7 - London Tigers
8 - Indiana Victors
9 - Boston Independents
10 - Providence Gold Stars (from Toronto)
11 - Louisville Thunder
12 - Long Island Raiders