1969 NAAF Award Nominations

1969 NAAF Award Nominations

MVP

QB Charles Lemieux - Buffalo Blue Wings
Lemieux continues to be the driving force of one of the best offences in the league. Buffalo had the most points for this season with 349, only 14 points off the record. Lemieux continues to control the game for the Blue Wings, always finding ways to win games late or beat opponents early. He also was 3rd in both passing touchdowns and yards, while having some of the lowest turnover rates in the league. 

WR Ed Edwards - Indiana Victors
Edwards showed that he was slowing down in the last few seasons, however, his hands remain the best in the business. He was one of the best in the league in 1-on-1 situations, only dropping 2 passes that he was able to get his hands on. While QB Tom Applewhite is a great player himself, it is clear that Edwards was a big reason the Victors found themselves winning games throughout the season, as he was an offensive player of the week on 2 occasions.

QB Louis Vaughn - Pittsburgh Blacksmiths
Pittsburgh broke through this season with an electrifying offence, which was led by QB Louis Vaughn. After starting the season 1-3, Pittsburgh would manage to outscore the rest of the league over the remaining 8 games, which included the Buffalo Blue Wings. Vaughn did have some more mistakes with interceptions, but leading the league in both passing touchdowns and yards certainly made up for it.

Offensive Player of the Year

RB Reggie Whitehead - Boston Independents
STATS: 15 Rushing Touchdowns (T-2nd), 1st in Rushing Yards
Whitehead finally looked comfortable in the Boston offence, rolling over defenders with his power run style. He got a career-high in touchdowns, while also leading the way in rushing yards. 

WR Ed Edwards - Indiana Victors
STATS: 14 Receiving Touchdowns (1st), 2nd in Receiving Yards
Edwards was one of the best WRs in the league this season, leading the way in scoring plays and being one of the best when it came to 50-50 and 1-on-1 situations this season. 

RB Hugo Hughes - Minnesota Serpents
STATS: 16 Rushing Touchdowns (1st), 4th in Rushing Yards
Hughes’ move away from Montreal might have worked as he led the way in touchdowns this season and was a steady force behind the line, which helped with the balance on offence. 

QB Louis Vaughn - Pittsburgh Blacksmiths
STATS: 24 Passing Touchdowns (1st), 1st in Passing Yards
Vaughn takes the cake in terms of QB stats this season. His arm is a big reason the Blacksmiths had such an explosive offence this season. 

Defensive Player of the Year

LB Byron Turner - Boston Independents
STATS: 4 Forced Fumbles (T-4th), 1 Interception, 1st in Tackles
Turner broke out as the lead LB for the Independents racking up tackles all season long while Boston’s defence finally seemed to figure it out. The former 2nd overall pick is starting to look like a top-tier LB in the league.

DB Neville Falkner - Indiana Victors
STATS: 8 Interceptions (T-1st), 1 Defensive Touchdown
Falkner continued to show why he is the best at what he does. While DB Ezra Power of Buffalo and DB Sergio Alvarez of Ottawa both were right behind Falkner, the veteran’s ability to lockdown corners was still next to none. On top of that Falkner was named defensive player of the week twice this season.

DL Bernhard Hartmann - Ottawa Royals
STATS: 5 Forced Fumbles (T-1st), 1st in Knockdowns at the line, 3rd in Sacks
Last year’s DPOY was once again a nuisance to many QBs across the league with many sacks, but also continuously knocking the ball down at the line. Hartmann also often was able to get his paws on the football and knock it free with 5 forced fumbles.

Rookie of the Year

DL Dallas Breaker - Long Island Raiders
STATS: 3 Forced Fumbles, 1st in Rookie Sacks
The 2nd overall pick didn’t see too much of the spotlight with the Raiders struggling this season, but he was a consistently strong piece on the line getting to the QB a lot and knocking the ball loose on 3 occasions.

QB Drake Young - Ottawa Royals
STATS: 19 Passing Touchdowns (4th), 6th in Passing Yards
Young was taken 3rd overall in 1968 but was never elevated from the reserve List last season, so this was his rookie season. In his first year under center, Young looked like he’d been in the league for years. Sure, he made some mistakes, but he took over the Royals and was almost as efficient as Charles Lemieux.

WR Justin Palmer - Providence Gold Stars
STATS: 4 Receiving Touchdowns, 1st in Rookie Receiving Yards
After trading back in the draft, the Gold Stars still got the guy they liked in WR Justin Palmer who was a key part of the offence this season. Several times Palmer would get much more yardage than expected by making many defenders miss this season. Palmer looks to be a serious threat for the future of the Gold Stars.

Coach of the Year

HC Kenneth Channey - Boston Independents
RECORD: 8-4 - 1st East
Coach Channey seems to have finally figured out the difficult solution to the Boston Independents, as he brought the team back to the playoffs after a treacherous 3 seasons. His defensive mind and noble attitude allowed the team to buy in and rally to recover from the 1-4 start to then win 7 straight and make the postseason. 

HC Maurice Evanson - Buffalo Blue Wings
RECORD: 10-2 - 1st West
Buffalo got off to their best start in franchise history, going 9-0. Evanson has continued to keep Buffalo at the top despite losing several important players and coaches, most notably, this season, fellow COTY candidate, Soni Dionne. While the hiring of Levi Bray helped, the Blue Wings were only 14 points off from the record despite having the change at Offensive Coordinator.

HC Soni Dionne - Minnesota Serpents
RECORD: 8-4 - 4th West
Dionne had many skeptics heading into the year, after his stint in Montreal back in the late 50s did not go well. However, Dionne showed just how much he has improved as a coach taking the expansion Serpents to an 8-4 record and the most wins by a team in their first season in the NAAF. Dionne’s offensive mind has been a perfect fit for the team as they immediately were able to contend with the best of the best.

Breakout Player of the Year

RB Reggie Whitehead - Boston Independents
STATS: 15 Rushing Touchdowns (T-2nd), 1st in Rushing Yards
Up until this season, Whitehead had never really broken through as a true #1 back, but he became a lethal force this season, leading the league in rushing yards. Whitehead’s power run style was a huge strength for the rejuvenated Boston offence which allowed him to have such a strong breakout year.

RB Hugo Hughes - Minnesota Serpents
STATS: 16 Rushing Touchdowns (1st), 4th in Rushing Yards
Hughes never got the right opportunities with the Rouge over his first several seasons, but after moving on to Minnesota, Hughes showed that he was a legitimate #1 back, putting up the most rushing touchdowns this season.

DB Zed McLaughlin - Pittsburgh Blacksmiths
STATS: 5 Interceptions
Pittsburgh had a lot of strong players break loose this season on offence, but quietly DB Zed McLaughlin showed that he could be a #1 corner in this league, racking up 5 interceptions this season.