The National Arena League (NAL) is finishing up their second season, which means that many awards will be given to players and coaches across the entire league. Here at LWOS, we’ve created our own list of who is deserving of each award.
LWOS National Arena League Awards
Last year, there were eight teams in the league, which made things tougher to receive an award. This year, there are less teams but there is much more competition among the six teams in the NAL. Take a look at who we have as the winner of each award as well as First Team All-NAL and Second Team All-NAL.
NAL Most Valuable Player
Mason Espinosa (Quarterback, Columbus Lions)
Quarterback Mason Espinosa has picked every single defense apart this season, which is why he is our NAL MVP. He played in every single game of the season except for when he got injured in Week 17 versus the Maine Mammoths. This injury ended his season, but he still put up enough to earn MVP. In 2018, Espinosa has totaled 279 completions on 434 attempts (64.3%) for 3,152 yards, 66 touchdowns, and only seven interceptions. On the ground, Espinosa rushed 34 times for 71 yards and 12 touchdowns, putting his total touchdowns at 78 (468 points).
NAL Offensive Player of the Year
Quayvon Hicks (Fullback, Columbus Lions)
You don’t see a Quarterback and a Fullback from the same team get awards for being the best. That changes this year as Lions Fullback Quayvon Hicks played 12 games for the Lions, rushed 81 times for 305 yards and 12 touchdowns. Hicks finished the regular season in second for the amount of rushing yards. He has played four less games than the leader, Derrick Ross from the Jacksonville Sharks with 311 yards. Hicks has found multiple ways to break free for long gains at a time, especially against the Jacksonville defense, who has the best defensive line in the NAL. While he doesn’t lead the league in rushing touchdowns, the league still gave a sigh of relief once he received a tryout for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL), which is why he’s worthy of earning NAL Offensive Player of the Year.
Defensive Player of the Year
Keiron Jones Sr. (Defensive Back, Maine Mammoths)
This award will be tough to decide since there is a different defensive player who leads a certain defensive category. Defensive Back Keiron Jones Sr. from the Maine Mammoths deserves this award because he places first in all-time tackles (77.0), fourth in interceptions (8), ninth in interception return yards (54), and second in passes defended (28). Out of all of the awards, this one will be the toughest since there was at least one or two outstanding players on each team’s defense.
Special Teams Player of the Year
Craig Peterson (Kicker, Carolina Cobras)
Last year, the Special Teams Player of the Year went to the Sharks Kicker, Nick Belcher. Belcher is no longer on the Sharks and didn’t have the year that he was expecting, starting the year on team suspension, getting released, then signing with the Lions, being placed on team suspension, then eventually being released by the Lions. Craig Peterson decided to take advantage of not having Belcher playing in the league much this year. He broke the all-time deuce record with 27. He also ranks 10th among the league as a whole in scoring with 127 total points.
Offensive Rookie of the Year
Devonn Brown (Wide Receiver, Massachusetts Pirates)
A member of the Massachusetts Pirates has joined in on the league awards. Wide Receiver Devonn Brown has earned our Offensive Rookie of the Year because he has not played a single season of arena football but has destroyed the league. In 2018, he records 1,024 yards on 54 receptions and 24 touchdowns.
Defensive Rookie of the Year
Cedric Poole (Defensive Back, Carolina Cobras)
Defensive Back Cedric Poole of the Carolina Cobras is currently in third in the number of interceptions (8) and is fifth in interception yards (86), and ranks third in the amount of tackles this season (60).
Most Improved Award
Cody Saul (Wide Receiver, Jacksonville Sharks)
Wide Receiver Cody Saul has pretty much seen it all when it comes to football. He has seen offense, defense, and may as well be on special teams if a kicker or holder goes down. On offense, Saul has 34 receptions for 396 yards and six touchdowns. On defense, he replaced an injured Charlie Hunt at Jack Linebacker. He totals 17 tackles and one fumble recovery in just a span of a couple of games. Not to mention that Saul was brought in late in the season after the Sharks had the slow 1-3 start, so he doesn’t have stats from the beginning of the year to pad his current stats.
Coach of the Year
Billy Back (Head Coach, Carolina Cobras)
Head Coach Billy Back has tons of experience as a head coach, winning 86 times and losing 34 times in his career (at the end of the 2018 regular season). He also racks up four league titles in nine seasons, counting this season. A great career doesn’t automatically mean that a coach earns Coach of the Year, since the key word here is “year”. Back has rallied his team to become one of the most dominating teams in the league this season. They started with a solid 4-1 start to the season. He limits the amount of mistakes per game and coaches his players real well. Back also has a great knowledge of the game, which really helped him this season as well. Going from being an Indoor Football League (IFL) coach to being an NAL coach is a crazy difference, but Back has proven that it doesn’t bother him. He keeps winning games, but not only winning. He dominates in almost every victory. Against the Sharks, he has put up a 55-21 and 73-33 beating. Against the Steelhawks, he annihilated them 65-3, 58-38, 78-9, and 79-28 this season.
First Team All-NAL
Offense
Quarterback – Mason Espinosa (Columbus Lions)
Fullback – Quayvon Hicks (Columbus Lions)
Wide Receiver – Quayvon Hicks (Columbus Lions), Devonn Brown (Massachusetts Pirates), Tom Gilson (Jacksonville Sharks)
Offensive Tackle – Glenn Haisley (Jacksonville Sharks), Cornelius Lewis (Massachusetts Pirates)
Center – Wilson Bell (Jacksonville Sharks)
Defense
Defensive Line – Jermiah Price (Jacksonville Sharks), Dante Holmes (Lehigh Valley Steelhawks), Damien Jacobs (Jacksonville Sharks)
Linebacker – Nick Haag (Massachusetts Pirates), Charlie Hunt (Jacksonville Sharks)
Defensive Back – Marvin Ross (Jacksonville Sharks), Cedric Poole (Carolina Cobras), Kiante Northington (Massachusetts Pirates)
Special Teams
Kicker – Craig Peterson (Carolina Cobras)
Kick Returner – Durron Neal (Columbus Lions)
Second Team All-NAL
Offense
Quarterback – Sean Brackett (Massachusetts Pirates)
Fullback – Derrick Ross (Jacksonville Sharks)
Wide Receiver – Cody Saul (Jacksonville Sharks), Jarmon Fortson (Columbus Lions, Tyron Laughinghouse (Carolina Cobras)
Offensive Tackle – Dion Small (Columbus Lions), Shaq Wallen (Lehigh Valley Steelhawks)
Center – Rony Barrow (Columbus Lions)
Defense
Defensive Line – Niko Sierra (Maine Mammoths), Omari Manhertz (Carolina Cobras), John Griggs (Massachusetts Pirates)
Linebacker – Pasquale Vacchio (Massachusetts Pirates/Carolina Cobras), Dante Holmes (Lehigh Valley Steelhawks)
Defensive Back – Seth Ellis (Jacksonville Sharks), Michael Green (Carolina Cobras), Kyle Griswould (Columbus Lions)
Special Teams
Kicker – Henry Nell (Maine Mammoths)
Kick Returner – Yusef Reddick (Lehigh Valley Steelhawks)
