ISFL Week 1 Rookie Roundup
Football season is finally here! Last night marked the first week of games in the ISFL’s 25th season, and due to expansion and retirements both, we had an abnormal amount of rookies getting significant playing time. I wanted to take a quick moment here to talk about the rookies who showed their teams they were right to call their numbers last night.Offensive Rookies of the Week
Zoe Watts | RB | Austin Copperheads @Kyamprac
Week 1 Stats: 16 carries | 56 yards | 3 TD | 4 reception | 23 yards
Raise your hand if you thought after week one the league leader in touchdowns would be a rookie running back. No one? That’s fair.
Coming into Season 25, no rookie offensive player had more hype around them than the Dallas product. In the DSFL, Watts was nearly unstoppable, running for over 2,400 yards and 20 TDs in her two seasons for the Birddogs. Austin knew they were going to need a workhorse to take over after the retirement of Mako Mendoca, and it looks like they may have found her. Her yards and yard per carry may not have been amazing, but she got the tough yards when it counted, scoring on runs of 1, 2, and 5 yards. Two of her touchdowns came in the fourth quarter, and turned a 21-20 Austin advantage into a 35-23 win.
Sam Howitzer | QB | New York Silverbacks @Trautner
Week 1 Stats: 23/34 | 201 yards | 2 TD | 1 INT | 90.4 Rating
Almost immediately after the final games of Season 24 were played, the Silverbacks created a lot of excitement by trading a bevvy of picks with the Yellowknife Wraiths in order to acquire the young QB Howitzer, instantly making him one of the faces of the brand new franchise. Coming fresh off of a great final year in the DSFL in which he won MVP and led the Seawolves to an Ultimini berth, fans in New York were excited to see what he could do.
As you can see by his numbers, Howitzer delivered in week 1 against the Fire Salamanders. His two touchdowns are second-most in the league, his 67.6 completion percentage leads all quarterbacks, and his 90.4 passer rating currently ranks fifth. He actually a higher passer rating after week one than league stars Jay Cue, Easton Cole, and defending ISFL MVP, Dexter Banks II.
EDIT: So Howitzer played for the Pythons in the DSFL so forget any of the nice things I said about him.
Doug Howlett | WR | Baltimore Hawks @Rufio_NZ
Week 1 Stats: 7 receptions | 129 yards | 18.4 YPC
Heading to Baltimore with the expiration of his rookie contract, Hawks fans were hopeful that Howlett would be able to fill the giant hole left by the departure of their top two receivers, Asher Quinn and Nick Kaepercolin to Berlin. Following back-to-back 1,000 yard seasons (league leader both years) and a WR of the Year win, Howlett brought a whole lot of swagger with him to the east coast. He showed the organization that their faith in him was not misplaced, as he found holes in the Philadelphia defense all night, en route to the second-most receiving yards by a player this week. It took him and QB Fujiwara a few tries to get on sync, as his first three targets all fell incomplete, but the young WR showed off his playmaking as his first reception was good for 31 yards. Feeling more confident in her rookie target, Fujiwara decided to air it out on the Hawks’ first play from scrimmage on their new possession, and Howlett hauled it in for a completion of 43 yards.
Danny King | RB | Berlin Fire Salamanders @DanE got dis
Week 1 Stats: 19 carries | 90 yards | 1 reception | 19 yards
With one of their first picks in the expansion draft, the Fire Salamanders poached the young RB Joseph Petrongolo from the Arizona Outlaws, and many expected that he would be the new bell cow in Berlin. The experts were definitely right, as Petrongolo had a fantastic game of near 117 combined yards and one score. One player that the experts weren’t sure on what his role would be was the rookie RB from London, Danny King. It appears after week one that King may have established himself as the pure runner of the duo, as he scampered for 90 yards (second most in the league) against the Silverbacks last night. He may not have found the end zone, but his ability to find running lanes proved invaluable, as he was not once tackled for a loss and had a run of less than 4 yards only 5 times.
Dave Batista | TE | Colorado Yeti @Frick_Nasty
Week 1 Stats: 6 receptions | 58 yards | 1 touchdown
Our last offensive rookie we’re going to highlight today is the Tight End for Colorado, Dave Batista. The young pass catcher proved to be one of the QB Wolfie McDummy’s favorite targets against Sarasota, as he was targeted 10 times and hauled in 6 of them, and he managed to haul in a 3 yard touchdown, too. One of the biggest question marks for Colorado coming into Season 25 was who would take over as McDummy’s safety valve with the departure of Owens to New York, and if the first week of the season was indication, it looks like it’s going to be Batista.
Other Notable Rookie Performances
Dre Matthew | WR | Berlin Fire Salamanders @ConfictionalWeek 1 Stats: 5 receptions | 70 yards | 1 touchdown
Joshua Campbell | WR | Baltimore Hawks @Buttersqauch101
Week 1 Stats: 7 receptions | 55 yards | 1 touchdown
Gunnar Thorbjornsson | RB | Arizona Outlaws @Z-Whiz
Week 1 Stats: 9 carries | 37 yards | 1 touchdown
Tre’Darius J’Vathon | WR | Honolulu Hahalua @"Vander Jones"
Week 1 Stats: 2 receptions | 53 yards | 1 touchdown
Defensive Rookies of the Week
Tayshawn Crunk | Safety | Arizona Outlaws @CrunkWeek 1 Stats: 3 tackles | 1 sack | 2 INT | 2 PD
We start off our talks on defensive rookie performances with a player that I have a strong feeling is going to be a contender for Rookie of the Year in Season 25, Tayshawn Crunk of Arizona. In his only season in the DSFL, Crunk showed he was a playmaker in every sense of the word as he led the league in interceptions and also had a defensive touchdown. The Outlaws knew they needed to add a playmaker in the defensive backfield, so, they decided to call up the rookie right away. In Week 1, Crunk showed that they made the right decision as he intercepted New Orleans Quarterback Ben Slothlisberger twice and broke up two additional passes. The Outlaws may have lost, but they have to be energized by the performance of their young Safety.
Hank Winchester | LB | New York Silverbacks @timeconsumer
Week 1 Stats: 11 tackles | 1 TFL | 1 INT | 2 PD | 1 Def TD
In what was one of the most exciting games of the first week between New York and Berlin, we had two pick sixes and a kickoff returned for a touchdown. The second pick six of the game was performed by this man, Hank Winchester, who intercepted Berlin QB Kaepercolin and ran it back 23 yards for a score. The play was one of the biggest of the game for the Silverbacks, as it tied the game at 27 a piece with only 4 minutes left in regulation. The Silverbacks eventually fell to the Fire Salamanders by three, but Winchester showed they were right to call his number in the draft.
Brach Thomaslacher | LB | Yellowknife Wraiths @RDBSouthPaw
Week 1 Stats: 9 tackles | 1 Sack
One thing was certain for Yellowknife coming into Season 25 – they needed a second linebacker to pair with star Douglas Quaid after Season 24 leader Maurice Virtanen made the switch to Offensive Line. They decided to call up young Brach Thomalacher to fill that role. The Wraiths’ defense has playmakers all over it, especially in the front seven, and the team was hoping that the rookie Linebacker would be able to take advantage of the attention paid elsewhere. He showed in Week 1 that he would be up to the task, as he led his team in tackles and also registered a sack.
Gary Goodman | LB | Baltimore Hawks @"ShnarlyDude"
Week 1 Stats: 6 tackles | 1 TFL | 1 Sack
No player that I’ve spoken to was more surprised to be called up than young Gary Goodman for Baltimore. When he was taken in the fourth round of the ISFL Draft, he assumed he would be heading back to Kansas City for one more season with the Coyotes. The Hawks had different plans, however, as they called up Goodman to add some more pass rushing talent to their defense. He may not have had a high number of stats in his first game, but he had possibly one of the most important plays of the game for Baltimore. On their opening drive of the second half, Baltimore was driving down the field for a go-ahead score when QB Chika Fujiwara was intercepted on the Philly 34 yard line. The Liberty took over and began a very efficient drive that marched right down to the Baltimore 16 yard line in only 9 plays. Momentum seemed to be shifting quickly over to Philadelphia’s side, and then on first and ten from the Baltimore 16, Goodman broke through the line and sacked Brock Phoenix for a loss of ten. The play proved to be the end of their drive as the Liberty settled for a field goal. The drive may have determined the game, as the Hawks ended up winning by three.
Arlington Heights | DE | Sarasota Sailfish @MisObvious
Week 1 Stats: 3 tackles | 2 TFL | 1 Sack
Productive young Defensive Linemen and Sarasota. Name a more iconic duo. Over the past few years it seemed like the Sailfish just couldn’t go wrong with their DL draft picks, as they picked up Cuco Clemente, Son Goku and Big Edd all within the last few drafts. If he keeps playing the way he did against Colorado last night, we might need to add Arlington Heights’ name to that list also. He only had three tackles for Sarasota, but he made them all count as they were all behind the line of scrimmage. Sarasota may be disappointed in how they performed last night, but they shouldn’t be upset by the game their rookie DE had.
Medicinal Toblerone | DE | New Orleans Second Line @JuOSu
Week 1 Stats: 4 tackles | 2 TFL
After being selected in the first round it was assumed that Toblerone would be switching positions immediately to fill any holes that the Second Line had. The decision was made to move to Defensive End, and if the first game is any indication, it was the right move. Toblerone is currently second in the league in tackles for loss, and looks to be a solid contributor for New Orleans going forward.
Other Notable Rookie Performances
Harrison Andrews | CB | Sarasota Sailfish @abh89
Week 1 Stats: 8 tackles | 1 TFL | 1 PD
Three Inch Jeffrey | DE | Honolulu Hahalua @JSS
Week 1 Stats: 3 tackles | 1 TFL | 1 Sack
Raylen Crowder | DE | San Jose Sabercats @Asked Madden
Week 1 Stats: 3 tackles | 1 TFL | 1 Sack
Rickie Vaughne | Cornerback | San Jose Sabercats @supertardis101
Week 1 Stats: 2 tackles | 1 INT | 2 PD
One of the biggest questions coming into Season 25 of the ISFL was how would the huge number of rookies thrust into prominent roles for their teams perform. If the first week of games was any indication, teams can rest easily knowing they’re putting their futures in the hands of these young players. Check back in later in the season as we keep tabs on these and all of the high-performing rookies.
As always, let me know what I got wrong in the comments below.
Thanks for reading!
EDITOR'S NOTE:
Due to an oversight I did not realize that there were any rookie offensive linemen playing last night. So, special shoutout to @GuitarMaster116 for calling me out.
Rookie OL of the Week
Clay Stallworth | OL | Sarasota Sailfish @Gravtx
Week 1 Stats: 7 pancakes | 0 Sacks Allowed| 0 Penalties
Continuing his run of dominance from the DSFL straight into the ISFL, Stallworth showed that he belonged. Up against the dangerous front seven of the Colorado Yeti, Stallworth held his own on his way to racking up 7 pancakes and the Sailfish out-pancaked the Yeti 26-17.