Four Dawgz earn All-af2 honors
August 5, 2009 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz News Release
OKLAHOMA CITY - The arenafootball2 league office announced the selections for the All-af2 First and Second Teams with Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz earning four spots. Defensive Back Fred Shaw received All-af2 First team honors while Wide Receiver Al Hunt, Fullback Freddie Rollins, and Lineman Kelly Butler were named to the All-af2 Second Team. Overall, players from 19 of the league's 25 teams were selected to either the American or National Conference All-af2 Teams as voted on by af2 head coaches and media.
Fred Shaw made his first All-af2 First Team selection for a stellar season as the anchor of the Dawgz number one ranked pass defense, giving up a league low 223.4 yards per game. Shaw racked up 51 solo and 63.0 total tackles, 9 INTs, 10 pass breakups, 3 fumble recoveries, 2 forced fumbles and a blocked kick. He was awarded the Aaron's Defensive Player of the Game twice and the NiFTy Hit of the Game three times. In Week 5, Shaw earned NiFTy Hit of the Week honors for his bruising hit on Amarillo's Alex Watson. Shaw set Dawgz franchise records for most interceptions in a single season (9) and career interceptions (11).
Al Hunt continues to be one of the league's most consistent all-around players since his career began in 2003. This will be Hunt's sixth All-af2 selections in seven seasons, the most of any current player. He earned First Team accolades in 2004 and 2007 while earning All-af2 Second Team recognition in 2003 (Tulsa), 2005, 2006 and 2009. Hunt became af2's all-time career scoring leader with 1,368 points as well as the league's all-time career leader in touchdowns with 224. He is also second all-time in the league in career receiving yards (8,143) and touchdowns (188) and third all-time in af2 in career receptions (580). Hunt finished the season with a team high 94 catches for 1,398 yards. He also caught 38 TDs, setting a new franchise mark for receiving TDs in a season. Hunt also passed for a pair of touchdowns and rushed for 11 more. He was named the Russell Athletic Offensive Player of the Game five times, JLS Ironman of the Game once, The Big Game Catch of the Game 4 times and the Nifty Hit of the Game once.
Freddie Rollins enjoyed his best season in arenafootball2, finishing second in the league in rushing behind All-af2 First Team selection Jason Schule. Rollins became a bulldozer for the Dawgz rushing attack, surpassing his rushing mark from a year ago with 270 yards on the ground, becoming the first player in Yard Dawgz history to rush for 100 yards in back-to-back seasons. In week 13 against Corpus Christi, Rollins was named the JLS Ironman of the Game. He also set a franchise record for most rushing TDs in a season with 15, seventh best in the league this season, and rushing attempts (86), second in af2. His 270 total rushing yards is fifth best in the league.
Kelly Butler became a fan favorite for Oklahoma City this year, using his size and strength to solidify the Dawgz offensive line. With Butler leading the way, the Dawgz finished with the number one ranked rushing offense (46.1 ypg), second ranked total offense (311.1 ypg), and seventh ranked scoring offense (58.1 ppg). Behind the Purdue graduate, the Dawgz also led the league in rushing TDs with 41, including one of his own in week 6 against Tulsa. Butler also provided the Dawgz QBs with plenty of time in the pocket, helping them to complete 65.1% of their passes with a 118.9 passer rating, both top 5 in af2.
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