IFL Indoor Football League

IFL Announces 2021 Player of the Year Awards

Published on September 12, 2021 under Indoor Football League (IFL) News Release


The Indoor Football League announced its 2021 Player of the Year awards on Saturday, with Arizona Rattlers quarterback Drew Powell taking home 2021 IFL MVP honors.

Joining Powell in being recognized by the league were Offensive Player of the Year Nate Davis (Duke City Gladiators), Defensive Player of the Year Dillion Winfrey (Arizona Rattlers), and Special Teams Player of the Year Nate Chavious (Sioux Falls Storm).

Powell and Davis both put up prolific numbers from the quarterback position this season. Powell led his Rattlers to the best record in the IFL and a No. 1 seed in the 2021 IFL Playoffs. Davis set a league-record for passing touchdowns and guided his Gladiators to the postseason in the team's first season in the IFL.

The MVP honor is Powell's second MVP award of his career, his first coming in 2018 when he led the Iowa Barnstormers to the United Bowl championship. Powell has a chance to repeat that feat this Sunday afternoon when he and the Rattlers host the Massachusetts Pirates.

Powell was an offensive force on the ground and through the air in 2021, leading the IFL in rushing yards (902), rushing touchdowns (35), and average rushing yards-per-game (64.4). Behind Powell, Arizona imposed its will on the ground with a league-high 63 total rushing TDs, which resulted in the best overall rushing attack (117.8 YPG) among all IFL teams in 2021.

Powell's impressive season totals broke two single-season franchise records for rushing TDs and rushing yards, and his yards-per-carry (6.6) was good enough for fourth-best in franchise history.

A true dual threat from the quarterback position, Powell had multiple rushing scores in all but three games during season and scored more than three rushing TDs in seven of the 16 games played heading into the United Bowl.

In the passing game, Powell led the league in completion percentage (69.4 percent) and placed second in quarterback efficiency (165.1). His passing TD total (30) was good for third best in the league, and his total passing yards (1,745) slotted him at No. 4 in the IFL.

Davis led a phenomenal air assault all season long and set the IFL single-season passing touchdowns record (79). He capped the regular season off with a 57-45 win over the playoff-bound Bismarck Bucks, earning a postseason spot for the Gladiators in the meantime, Duke City's first IFL playoff bid in the team's first season in the IFL.

In the regular season, the gunslinger put together one of the more impressive seasons in league history.

Davis led the league in passing, completing 64.1 percent of his throws for 2,901 yards. He also had 33 rushes for 191 yards and seven touchdowns on the year.

Over the course of the season, Davis received four Offensive Player of the Week honors, which was the most in the league in 2021.

Winfrey led the IFL in passes defended (31), pass break-ups, (20) and interceptions (11) during the 2021 regular season, averaging near an interception per game. He finished the season with 59 total tackles (48 solo), an INT return for a TD, and one forced fumble. On the season, Winfrey took home IFL Defensive Player of the Week honors twice (Week 16, Week 18).

Winfrey's efforts on defense led the Rattlers to the second-best scoring defense (35.8 points per game) and interception total (17) in the league, and his interception total was more than double the next highest individual total in the IFL in 2021.

Thus far in the postseason, the Rattlers defensive back has snagged two more interceptions to help lead the Rattlers to the United Bowl. With 13 total interceptions, Winfrey enters the United Bowl tied with Rattler great Marquis Floyd for the third-most single season interceptions in Rattler history.

Chavious earned the award following a dominant performance on special teams all season for the Storm. Chavious amassed a total of 1,239 return yards to lead the IFL and took three kickoffs back for touchdowns, which tied for the league lead. He also led the league in kickoff returns with 58 attempts and was first in the league with 21.4 yards per return.

Chavious was a multi-faceted player for the Storm in 2021, returning kickoffs and shouldering the load at the running back position. He was the only player in the IFL to earn First Team All-IFL honors at two different positions, running back and kick returner.

In 13 regular season games, Chavious rushed 120 times for 547 yards, which ranked third in the IFL and first among running backs, finding the endzone 19 times on the ground. Chavious ended the season ranked third in rushing yards per game (42.1) and sixth in yards per carry (4.6).

The IFL concludes the 2021 season on Sunday, September 12, when the top-seeded Arizona Rattlers host the second-seeded Massachusetts in the 2021 United Bowl. Kickoff from Footprint Center in Phoenix is 5:10 p.m. CT.

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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.


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