AF1 Mid-Season Awards
May 6, 2025 - Arena Football One (AF1) News Release
Eight weeks of hard-nosed, high-flying Arena Football action is in the books and we're just getting started. There are eight more weeks of action before an epic playoff run begins. As we've reached the halfway point, it's time to see where some of the stars of our league stack up when it comes to yearly awards. We asked TheAF1.com contributors along with a few other great minds to stack up the votes for Mideast on MVP, Coach of the Year, and many other awards!
First Team All-arena Fullback
Tracy Brooks - Salina Liberty
Tracy Books is a veteran of the arena game who has been with the Salina Liberty since 2018. Brooks overwhelmingly won this award receiving over 90% of the ballots cast for First-Team and 100% of votes for either First or Second-Team. The short yardage specialist has been a key to the Liberty's recently found success, with seven touchdowns on the season, four of which have come in the last three games.
Second Team All-Arena Fullback
Logan Wright - Southwest Kansas Storm
With Brooks being the overwhelming vote-getter for First-Team, Logan Wright, the fullback for the Southwest Kansas Storm was overwhelmingly the next on everyone's list. The Storm have been one of the best teams in the league all season and Wright has been the perfect running mate for his quarterback and league leader rusher Jalen Morton. Wright has racked up 130 yards on 41 carries with five touchdowns so far this season.
Others Receiving Votes:
Carlton Brown - Nashville
Desmond Maxwell - Albany
All- Arena Wide Receiver
Duane Brown - Albany Firebirds
Demarius Washington - Southwest Kansas Storm
Darius Prince - Billings Outlaws
Duane Brown of the Albany Firebirds was the only unanimous decision for this award, he made the ballot of every voter. Albany has been the best team over the first half of the year, and Brown is a huge reason why. He leads the league in receiving yards with 536 yards on 40 catches for an astonishing 20 touchdowns.
Demarius Washington of the Southwest Kansas Storm has been a force. The 6' 5" Arena veteran who shined against his former team the Salina Liberty a few weeks ago rests second in the league in receiving yards with 454 on 36 catches. Washington has added seven touchdowns to his name.
Darius Prince needs no introduction. The Arena Football legend has only played in five games compared to Brown's seven and Washington's eight but he's got on their heels. He tallied up 452 yards in those five games including 115 yards in his first game with the Billings Outlaws in Week 8.
Others Receiving Votes:
Shilo Flannigan - Southwest Kansas
Kenneth Brewer III - Billings
Robert Jones Jr - Nashville
Isiah Scott - Albany
Malik Honeycutt - Salina
First-Team All-Arena Offensive Line
Colby Byrd - Albany Firebirds
Jeremy Martin - Salina Liberty
Sama Paama - Southwest Kansas Storm
Great offenses don't exist without the big men up front. Colby Byrd anchors the most potent offense in the league in Albany. Jeremy Martin has been part of the Liberty resurgence and Paama anchors the line that leads the league in rushing in Southwest Kansas.
Second-Team All-Arena Offensive Line
Alex Heil - Southwest Kansas Storm
Alekisanita Tapa - Salina Liberty
Brandon Nicholson - Albany Firebirds
You'll notice the same trend on the Second-Team Votes, multiple votes came in that were simply labeled "Entire Albany offensive line" or simply "Southwest Kansas. Alex Heil helps out that top rushing offensive in Dodge City. Alekisanita fights in the trenches for Salina, while Brandon Nicholson helps his team hang up big scores.
Others Receiving Votes:
Joshua Zacher - Albany
Bray Walker - Nashville
Isaiah Hardy - Albany
Terrance Ames Jr - Billings
Zechariah Thomas - Nashville
Kyle Davis - Nashville
Steven Stella - Billings
All-Arena Defensive Lineman
Ezekiel Rose Albany
Henry Kellogg Salina
Chei Hill Washington
Ezekiel Rose was easily the leader in the clubhouse for the defensive lineman vote. While the Albany Firebirds offense is the story, and they recently hung up a 100-point game, Rose has been the leader of a strong defensive unit. He's racked up seven tackles for loss, six sacks, and assisted on five more tackles.
Henry Kellogg might be listed as a running back for the Southwest Kansas Storm, but they aren't fooling anyone. Kellogg has been a key cog in one of the best defenses (see others receiving votes) in the league with eight tackles, five tackles for loss, six sacks, and two forced fumbles.
Chei Hill has wreaked havoc on the league from the defensive line. He leads the league in sacks with 10 and also leads the league in tackles for loss with seven.
Others Receiving Votes:
Miquel Pillow-Smiley - Oregon
Roderick Perry II - Nashville
Amani Peoples - Oregon
Trevonte Carter - Washington
Reggie Howard - Southwest Kansas
Nick Evans - Southwest Kansas
Marje Smith - Southwest Kansas
Joe Golden - Southwest Kansas
Sidney Houston Jr - Billings
All-Arena Linebacker
Dejon Walden - Albany Firebirds
Drew Singleton - Albany Firebirds
Dejon Walton was just two votes short of being unanimously an All-Arena Linebacker. In seven games he's gathered 16 tackles, seven tackles for loss, and six sacks to go along with a forced fumble for a strong Firebirds defense. His running mate Drew Singleton was the second most vote-getter. He's added 17 tackles of his own, six tackles for loss, and six sacks. On top of that, he's added three forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries.
Others Receiving Votes:
Kerry Starks - Salina
Jerimiah Spicer - Oregon
Jonathan Navarro - Washington
Marje Smith - Southwest Kansas
All-Arena Defensive Back
Michael Lawson - Southwest Kansas Storm
Isaiah McFarland - Nashville Kats
Shaun Lewis - Nashville Kats
Michael Lawson leads the league in tackles and it's not even close. Lawson has racked up 56 tackles through eight games, and has four interceptions, two forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries.
Isaiah McFarland is the league leader in interceptions with nine. Most impressively, he's done that in just four games played in 2025. He also has 19 tackles, a forced fumble, and three touchdowns. The former Triton will debut with the Nashville Kats on Saturday.
Shaun Lewis trails only McFarland in interceptions with six to his name in the first half of 2025, he's added 14 tackles and a tackle for loss, all in five games played.
Others Receiving Votes:
DeWayne Autrey II - Salina
Markus Smith - Albany
Caleb Brown - Washington
Lakeith Murray - Corpus Christi
First-Team All-ARENA kICKER
Henry Nell - Albany fIREBIRDS
Nell is unanimously the First-Team All-Arena kicker amid his legendary season. He's 2-3 on field goal attempts, hitting one the full length of the field. He's 41-47 on extra points, no easy feat with the small goalposts, and most impressively, he has 12, yes 12 Deuces. Giving his team 24 free points in the first half of the season. The next best only has three deuces on the season. It's worth noting that Nell also received an MVP vote.
sECOND-tEAM aLL-aRENA kICKER
Dillon Burkhard - sOUTHWEST kANSAS sTORM
Burkhard was by far the leader in votes for Second-Team All-Arena kicker. The Southwest Kansas Storm specialist is 5-8 from field goal range and 24-32 on extra point attempts. Burkhard has also added two deuces of his own.
Others Receiving Votes:
Dean Faithfull - Billings
Bailey Hale - Salina
aLL-aRENA kICK rETURNER
Marquel Wade - Albany fIREBIRDS
Wade ran away with this award as the Firebirds' main return man. In his 26 kick returns Wade has added up 470 kick return yards an average of 18.08 per return and taken it to the house twice.
Others Receiving Votes:
Duane Brown - Albany
Maurice Ashley - Oregon
Coach of the Year
Damon Ware - Albany Firebirds
This was a hotly contested vote with Damon Ware edging out Southwest Kansas's Gary Thomas by a single vote. The Albany Firebirds Head Coach has led his team to an undefeated 7-0 record through the first half of the season. We asked voters why they cast their ballot on Ware here's what they had to say. "Coach Ware has Albany as far and away the most complete team in the league." "Undefeated, put together the league's best roster." "Undefeated."
Others Receiving Votes:
Gary Thomas - Southwest Kansas
Darren Arbet - Nashville
First-Team All-Arena Quarterback
Sam Castronova - Albany Firebirds
Castronova was a single ballot away from being unanimously the First-Team selection. Both this and the MVP debate would come down to Castronova and Morton. Castronova has led the Firebirds to their undefeated 7-0 record, with a 58% completion percentage and throwing for 1,112 yards. He's tossed 33 touchdowns with only one interception and added three more touchdowns on the ground.
Second-Team All-Arena Quarterback
Jalen Morton - Southwest Kansas Storm
Morton was easily the lead vote getter here, also receiving a vote for First-Team. From the quarterback position he leads the league in rushing. In eight games Morton has 285 yards on the ground, and 11 touchdowns. He's not bad through the air either, leading the league in passing yards at 1,355 with 22-touchdowns through the air.
Others Receiving Votes:
Dalton Cole - Oregon
Most Valueable Player
Sam Castronova - QB Albany Firebirds
Like the quarterback vote this one was closely contested between Castronova and Morton and it'll be fun to watch them fight it out over the rest of the season. Some of the comments that accompanied Castronova votes were. "He is him." "Dominating the competition and leading the league in most passing categories, along with a perfect 7-0 record." "Could it really be anybody else?" "No brainer best player on the best team."
Others Receiving Votes:
Jalen Morton - QB Southwest Kansas
Henry Nell - K Albany
Duane Brown - WR Albany
• Discuss this story on the Arena Football One message board...
Arena Football One Stories from May 6, 2025
- AF1 Mid-Season Awards - AF1
- May 6 Transactions Update - AF1
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
