Hey! Like a lot of teams, the Minnesota Grey Ducks gave our players game balls after each of our games this season. I thought that it would be cool (and lucrative) to show those game balls off to the rest of you beautiful people in the league, and you could see who won the honors throughout the season (spoiler alert: almost everyone receives a game ball because we like to spread the love around). I'm not going to show off the actual graphics, because those were @ThunderTitan82’s doing, so I'm going to let him post those as graphics to get paid, because lord knows he needs it with that skinny bank account. Anyway, here are the Minnesota Grey Ducks S25 Game Balls!
Week One Offensive Game Ball: QB Ryan Negs
Stats: 16/21, 136 yards, 8.5 average, 1 TD, 0 INT, 108.4 rating
The first offensive game ball of the season goes to one of the new guys. QB Ryan Negs! What a debit. All week he's been in my DMs, telling me that he hopes he doesn't let us down, and that he hopes he doesn't ruin our season because he knows this is supposed to be "our year". Well, in his first game as our QB1, negs didn't let us down. He led us to a win in one of the toughest games that we'll play all season! He didn't exactly have eye popping stats, but he played very well and had an extremely efficient game, and didn't give up any turnovers. He did exactly what we needed him to do. Give the rookie a hand!
Week One Defensive Game Ball: CB Jeeeeroy Lenkins
Stats: 7 tackles, 1 pass defended
The first defensive game ball of the season goes to the Scot! Our entire defense played well, but it seemed like our secondary didny played especially well. There wasny a single reception over 16 yards for the Luchas! Lenkins was simply a head above the rest. We expected big things from Jeeeeroy Lenkins in year two, and through one week he's living up to that expectation. Let's hope he can keep this momentum going for the rest of the season.
Week Two Offensive Game Ball: RB Mike Rotchburns
Stats: 18 carries, 97 yards, 5.3 average, 1 touchdown
You were so close to the century mark! Luckily for you, the touchdown helped give you the edge for this gameball. Both running backs played fantastic in this game, but the touchdown from RB Mike Rotchburns was the deciding factor here. Let’s hope we see more of this throughout the rest of the season!
Week Two Defensive Game Ball: S Damian Blackfyre
Stats: 6 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 pass defense, 1 interception
I’m sure Thunder was happy to make this graphic with his own player’s name on it haha. Blackfyre was the standout on the Minnesota defense in week two. He was all over the field, helping out in the run game, playing in pass coverage, and even generating a turnover. If anyone was worried that he would fall flat after all that talk on twitter, worry no more.
Week Three Offensive Game Ball: RB Jameson Vermillion
26 carries, 107 yards, 4.1 average
This is a bittersweet game ball. This was Jameson Vermillion’s last game as a Minnesota Grey Duck. He didn’t let us down in his last game, racking up 100 yards, which has become a fairly common occurrence so far in Vermillion’s career. It’s going to hurt losing one of our most important players, but we’re excited to see what he can do as a member of the Yellowknife Wraiths for the rest of the season, and the rest of his career. Don’t be a stranger, vanity!
Week Three Defensive Game Ball: CB James Gath
Stats: 3 tackles, 3 pass defenses
For once in his career, beefstu actually (sort of) lived up to his high draft position on the field! Our defense as an entire unit played absolutely outstanding in this game. They faced off against the top offense in the DSFL in Myrtle Beach, but they only allowed 13 points. And that’s even more impressive when you realize that the Ducks offense gave up 2 turnovers this game. Gath’s play this week was key in getting the Myrtle Beach offense off of the field quickly.
Week Four Offensive Game Ball: WR Lebby Newton
Stats: 5 catches, 67 yards, 13.4 average, 2 touchdowns
After this game, Lebby was complaining that he didn’t think he played very well, but apparently it was well enough to win this week’s game ball! He was a piece of the offense that absolutely dismantled the Norfolk Seawolves. He ended up catching both of QB Ryan Negs’s touchdowns in this game, and he led the team in receiving yards and receptions (along with Jalen Washington who tied him). Let’s hope that these two touchdown games become a common occurrence for the future Fire Salamander!
Week Four Defensive Game Ball: LB Wasrabi Gleel
Stats: 6 tackles
This week our defense played very well, but strangely enough there weren’t any super eye popping performances. That is, except for Wasrabi Gleel helping to shut down the Seawolves rushing game! A leader on the field as well as off the field, he launches himself into game ball contention every week just by bringing his positive attitude and sense of humor to the locker room before, during, and after games no matter the outcome. Congrats to one of our team captains. Now how about we try to top it :eyes:
Week Five Offensive Game Ball: WR Jalen Washington
Stats: 4 catches, 65 yards, 16.25 average, 1 touchdown
Back to back game balls for the wide receiver group! This time it’s Jalen Washington leading the group. He led the team with 16.2 yards per catch this week, and he also managed to snag one of the two touchdowns that our team scored this week. He’s starting to pick up steam throughout this season, so hopefully he can continue to raise the bar for himself and also the entire team.
Week Five Defensive Game Ball: DE Brick Van Sanzo
Stats: 3 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 1 sack
Van Sanzo may not have had a ton of tackles this week, but he easily created the most havoc on defense this week. Brick got after the passer, and he also stuffed runs in the backfield with his one sack and two tackles for loss. Our whole defense played well in week five, holding the Pythons to only THREE points, and our star defensive end was a game changer in this one. Our defense wouldn’t have held them to as few points if we hadn’t had Van Sanzo. Keep it up!
Week Six Offensive Game Ball: RB Mike Rotchburns
Stats: 35 carries, 153 yards, 4.4 average, 1 touchdown
This was a crushing defeat, but we didn’t play poorly. This game ball could have potentially gone to a few different members of the Grey Ducks offense, but ultimately it was easy to award the work horse with this one. Rotchburns put our offense on his back for all of his 153 yards this week. This was enough to vault him to the number 1 spot in the DSFL league rushing leaders in terms of yards. The most impressive part of this performance may be that he managed to maintain an average of 4.4 on an enormous work load of 35 carries. The rest of the offense may end up playing catch up to fat boy Mikey R. for the rest of this season if he keeps this up!
Week Six Defensive Game Ball: CB Bruce Brucie
Stats: 4 tackles, 1 pass defense
This game ball goes to our newest member of the team, Bruce Brucie! He was instrumental in containing the potent London offense which is led by a capped QB. When he wasn’t making a play on the ball, he was sticking to the receivers like white on rice, and when the receiver snagged a lucky catch, he managed to bring them down quickly. This is only the beginning for this guy. Hopefully we get to see his first interception soon. I’m excited to see where his Grey Duck career leads him and the team.
Week 7 Offensive Game Ball: WR Jalen Washington
Stats: 6 catches, 75 yards, 12.5 average
With this great performance Washington snagged his second game ball of the season. He probably wishes he snagged a touchdown, but that wasn’t necessary to get the game ball this week. Putting up a crazy average yards per catch was important for helping our struggling offense get going in week 7. The offense may not have got the job done as well as usual, but it wasn’t for lack of effort from wide receiver Jalen Washington, who left it all on the field in week 7.
Week 7 Defensive Game Ball: LB Alejandro Chainbreaker
Stats: 11 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 pass defended
Former MVP candidate Alejandro Chainbreaker has put up so many game ball worthy performances this season, and we’ve finally decided to reward him for it. Chainbreaker has been a lockdown run stopper all season, evidenced by his place at #3 among the league in tackles, and by his 11 tackles in this game alone. Along with being an elite defender in the run game, he also dipped his hands into the pass game by defending one pass in week 7. Expect more from that in the future as he steps into the SLB role for the next few games, and possibly the rest of the season. As an elite defender, I’m sure that he’s going to take on the role just fine. Congrats Sermo!
Week Eight Offensive Game Ball: TE Jaja Ding Dong
Stats: 5 catches, 47 yards, 9.4 average, 7 pancakes
Don’t worry, I’m confused too. Yes, three of Ding Dong’s targets *may* have resulted in interceptions. However, he clearly isn’t getting the game ball for that performance. He’s getting it for the 7 cakes, which was huge for us. *Almost* enough to cancel out the interceptions. It was crazy that we were still in the game until the last couple of minutes with as many turnovers as we had, and Jaja Ding Dong’s big blocking game had a lot to do with that. Realistically, I’m guessing Ding Dong received this game ball because he’s Jamar’s ISFL GM.
Week Eight Defensive Game Ball: DE Makoto Otawara
Stats: 5 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 1 sack
We avoided it for as long as we could, but Otawara finally made it pretty much impossible to give the defensive game ball to any other player. He had a monster of a game, with four different big impact plays. With all of the mistakes from the offense, the defense is the main reason we stayed in the game, and it’s very impressive that the team only gave up 20 points. This is one of the best DSFL defenses I’ve ever seen, and Otawara has been an important member of this unit.
Week Nine Offensive Game Ball: RB Mike Rotchburns
Stats: 23 carries, 106 yards, 4.6 average, 1 touchdown
Another game ball for Mikey R! After Vermillions departure, we knew Rotchburns would be putting up big volume numbers. What we didn’t expect was his efficiency to stay at this level. 4.6 yards per carry on 23 carries is outstanding. I hope Mike’s ISFL team isn’t expecting much longevity from him in the future, because we are running him into the ground. We’re going to keep handing it off until his legs don’t work anymore. I won’t be surprised if this isn’t his last game ball of the season if he keeps this efficiency up.
Week Nine Defensive Game Ball: LB Wasrabi Gleel
Stats: 9 tackles, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovered
Gleeeeeeeeeel! After being moved to MLB, like he’s been wanting all season, he hasn’t disappointed. Perhaps we should have listened earlier, because 9 tackles on its own is nothing to scoff at. Throw in his one forced fumble and one fumble recovery and he put up a hell of a stat line. Wasrabi Gleel has been the glue of the defense, holding together the entire unit, and definitely living up to his billing as team captain. He’s been one of our team’s most important members this season. Congrats!
Week Ten Offensive Game Ball: K/P Gluteus Maximus
Stats: 6/6 on extra points, 2/2 on field goals
Finally some love for the special teams. Going 8/8 total on kicks is super impressive, so we had to make sure that the Glute got some love this week. There were a lot of players that could have been justified with the offensive game ball this week, but Maximus was just dominant kicking the ball in week 11, so he had to be recognized for it. Let’s hope that there’s more of this to come, because kicking six extra points is probably strongly correlated with winning!
Week Ten Offensive Game Ball Part Two: RB Mike Rotchburns
Stats: 31 carries, 131 yards, 4.2 average, 3 touchdowns
Like I said, there were several members of the offense that could have received the game ball in week 11. Maximus *had* to be rewarded for going 8/8, and well, Rotchburns *has* to be rewarded for going well over 100 yards with THREE touchdowns. Not to mention being able to maintain an average over four yards per carry on an outrageous 31 carries. We don’t really like giving multiple game balls on each side of the ball, but these two were absolutely insane, and we simply could not choose just one. So congrats to these two for getting us to buck the norm and give out two game balls!
Week Ten Defensive Game Ball: CB James Gath
Stats: 8 tackles, 4 passes defended, 1 interception
Gath’s second game ball was more than deserved this week, after the double first round pick had his best game of the year. Chainbreaker had an outstanding game as well, but 4 passes defended and an interception, *plus* eight tackles from a CB that’s not at the nickel corner position, that’s just ridiculous. If you manage to repeat this for the rest of the season, then the Cornerback of the Year award would be yours unquestionably. That’s easier said than done, but let’s just wait and see what happens. Congrats!
Week Eleven Offensive Game Ball: OL Alexander Franklin
Stats: 5 pancakes, 0 sacks allowed
Finally, our favorite big man is getting some love! In a game where our entire offense played fairly well, big Hordle gave us another lights out game at tackle! He’s been locking down Negs’s blind side all season, and he did it again in week 11 in Norfolk. I hope that we get to see this duo play together for as many seasons as possible, because it’s a beautiful thing to watch! Congrats to our favorite lineman in the DSFL.
Week Eleven Defensive Game Ball: S Damian Blackfyre
Stats: 3 tackles, 1 sack, 1 pass defended, 1 interception
Shout out to the best gfx guy on the team for a new game ball graphic! Our defense was absolutely dominant as a whole in this game. Blackfyre had a fantastic game in week eleven and he was all over the field. He managed to bring down Emi for a sack, and also defended a pass. Oh, and I forgot to mention that he managed to snag a pick as well :eyes: Blackfyre is a safety of the year candidate, and he’s been proving it on the field all season, including at Norfolk this week.
Week Twelve Offensive Game Ball: RB Xander Creed
Stats: 10 carries, 51 yards, 5.1 average
At first glance, you wouldn’t think this is much of a stat line (he actually had a slightly better line in his first DSFL game ever in week 11), but there weren’t many eye popping performances in week twelve, and we felt that Xander Creed earned this game ball by averaging over 5 yards per carry in his first two DSFL games ever. We’re glad to see that burning our waiver priority on him is already paying dividends, and he’s only going to get better. Welcome to the team, Bandit!
Week Twelve Defensive Game Ball: CB Jeeeeroy Lenkins
Stats: 4 tackles, 3 passes defended, 2 interceptions, 1 touchdown
We all knew this was coming. This guy had the game of his career in week twelve against the Portland Pythons. The only thing that pains me about this is that it makes me feel bad that he peaked so early, having the best game of his life in the DSFL haha. This is the Scot’s second game ball of the season, and I’m glad he’s come into his own this season, helping to lead this incredible defensive unit. Jeeeeroy basically won us this game on his own with this performance. Give us a couple more of those and we’ll be in the playoffs for sure!
Week 13 Offensive Game Ball: WR Madison Hayes
Stats: 2 catches, 18 yards, 1 touchdown
This may not look like much to most people, but it was an exciting performance to us! We had been thinking that we needed an injection of new blood at the receiver position for a little while to shore up the position group for our playoff push, and Madison Hayes certainly made their mark on this game, and showed us that we *definitely* made the right choice when we snagged them off of waivers! I believe that this was their first touchdown of their career. Hayes is giving us everything they've got right out of the gate, which is great to see. They're already building a strong portfolio for scouts for the draft this offseason, but for now, they're one of the Ducks. ?
Week 13 Defensive Game Ball: LB Wasrabi Gleel
Stats: 8 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 pass defended, 1 blocked punt
This game came down to the wire, and Gleel and the defense, as they have been all season, kept the game within reach all game long. He was all over the field in this one, making plays in the backfield, in the passing game, and in special teams. Without that blocked punt, we probably wouldn’t have even had a chance here. Gleel has been a rock for this amazing defensive unit, and I can’t imagine anyone else in his spot.
Week 14 Offensive Game Ball: WR Lebby Newton
Stats: 7 catches, 100 yards, 14.3 average
This was the most exciting game of the season, and that means there were a lot of big plays. Similar to when Lebby high points the ball for a huge gain, he high points this game ball to get his second of the season for cracking the century mark. This was the first time all season long that one of our players managed to get 100 receiving yards in a game! We felt that this warranted him receiving the game ball. I’m not sure if he’s going to be with us for another season, but if he is I think we can expect a few more of these games in the future! Shout out to Xander Creed for his two touchdown performance as well.
Week 14 Defensive Game Ball: S Damian Blackfyre
Stats: 10 tackles, 1 interception, 1 blocked punt
What can’t Damian Blackfyre do? At this point I think he should be an MVP candidate. And it’s not just the overall production, it’s the timing of it. When we’re up, he’s putting the dagger in the win. When it’s a close game, he makes sure that we get in a position to win. When we look like we’re just about to be out of reach in a game, he gets us right back in it. He’s been our best player on defense this year. What else can I say? He’s a playmaker.
NFC Championship Offensive Game Ball: RB Mike Rotchburns
Stats: 20 carries, 96 yards, 4.8 average, 1 touchdown
It’s only fitting that in his last appearance with the Minnesota Grey Ducks, Fat Boi Mikey R gave us another amazing performance. We will miss him more than he realizes next season as we look to find the next great Grey Duck running back. We wish you good luck in the future of your career, where you’ll move on to the next chapter of it with the New Orleans Second Line. Keep running dudes over, my dude.
NFC Championship Defensive Game Ball: S Oliver Sloan
Stats: 9 tackles, 2 passes defended, 1 interception
One reason this loss was so heartbreaking was because, despite the final score, we actually had several great performances. It remains to be seen whether Balliver Sloan will be back with the Minnesota Grey Ducks next season or if he gets the call up to join the Chicago Butchers, but we certainly hope that we have our game changing safety back with us for another season.
So that’s it! If you know any of these great dudes, let them know that they are ballers, and they have the game balls to prove it. This season was the most fun I’ve had in the ISFL since I joined in S22, and most of that was thanks to the people on the receiving end of these game balls. Thank you, Ducks, for making the season so special for me!
Week One Offensive Game Ball: QB Ryan Negs
Stats: 16/21, 136 yards, 8.5 average, 1 TD, 0 INT, 108.4 rating
The first offensive game ball of the season goes to one of the new guys. QB Ryan Negs! What a debit. All week he's been in my DMs, telling me that he hopes he doesn't let us down, and that he hopes he doesn't ruin our season because he knows this is supposed to be "our year". Well, in his first game as our QB1, negs didn't let us down. He led us to a win in one of the toughest games that we'll play all season! He didn't exactly have eye popping stats, but he played very well and had an extremely efficient game, and didn't give up any turnovers. He did exactly what we needed him to do. Give the rookie a hand!
Week One Defensive Game Ball: CB Jeeeeroy Lenkins
Stats: 7 tackles, 1 pass defended
The first defensive game ball of the season goes to the Scot! Our entire defense played well, but it seemed like our secondary didny played especially well. There wasny a single reception over 16 yards for the Luchas! Lenkins was simply a head above the rest. We expected big things from Jeeeeroy Lenkins in year two, and through one week he's living up to that expectation. Let's hope he can keep this momentum going for the rest of the season.
Week Two Offensive Game Ball: RB Mike Rotchburns
Stats: 18 carries, 97 yards, 5.3 average, 1 touchdown
You were so close to the century mark! Luckily for you, the touchdown helped give you the edge for this gameball. Both running backs played fantastic in this game, but the touchdown from RB Mike Rotchburns was the deciding factor here. Let’s hope we see more of this throughout the rest of the season!
Week Two Defensive Game Ball: S Damian Blackfyre
Stats: 6 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 pass defense, 1 interception
I’m sure Thunder was happy to make this graphic with his own player’s name on it haha. Blackfyre was the standout on the Minnesota defense in week two. He was all over the field, helping out in the run game, playing in pass coverage, and even generating a turnover. If anyone was worried that he would fall flat after all that talk on twitter, worry no more.
Week Three Offensive Game Ball: RB Jameson Vermillion
26 carries, 107 yards, 4.1 average
This is a bittersweet game ball. This was Jameson Vermillion’s last game as a Minnesota Grey Duck. He didn’t let us down in his last game, racking up 100 yards, which has become a fairly common occurrence so far in Vermillion’s career. It’s going to hurt losing one of our most important players, but we’re excited to see what he can do as a member of the Yellowknife Wraiths for the rest of the season, and the rest of his career. Don’t be a stranger, vanity!
Week Three Defensive Game Ball: CB James Gath
Stats: 3 tackles, 3 pass defenses
For once in his career, beefstu actually (sort of) lived up to his high draft position on the field! Our defense as an entire unit played absolutely outstanding in this game. They faced off against the top offense in the DSFL in Myrtle Beach, but they only allowed 13 points. And that’s even more impressive when you realize that the Ducks offense gave up 2 turnovers this game. Gath’s play this week was key in getting the Myrtle Beach offense off of the field quickly.
Week Four Offensive Game Ball: WR Lebby Newton
Stats: 5 catches, 67 yards, 13.4 average, 2 touchdowns
After this game, Lebby was complaining that he didn’t think he played very well, but apparently it was well enough to win this week’s game ball! He was a piece of the offense that absolutely dismantled the Norfolk Seawolves. He ended up catching both of QB Ryan Negs’s touchdowns in this game, and he led the team in receiving yards and receptions (along with Jalen Washington who tied him). Let’s hope that these two touchdown games become a common occurrence for the future Fire Salamander!
Week Four Defensive Game Ball: LB Wasrabi Gleel
Stats: 6 tackles
This week our defense played very well, but strangely enough there weren’t any super eye popping performances. That is, except for Wasrabi Gleel helping to shut down the Seawolves rushing game! A leader on the field as well as off the field, he launches himself into game ball contention every week just by bringing his positive attitude and sense of humor to the locker room before, during, and after games no matter the outcome. Congrats to one of our team captains. Now how about we try to top it :eyes:
Week Five Offensive Game Ball: WR Jalen Washington
Stats: 4 catches, 65 yards, 16.25 average, 1 touchdown
Back to back game balls for the wide receiver group! This time it’s Jalen Washington leading the group. He led the team with 16.2 yards per catch this week, and he also managed to snag one of the two touchdowns that our team scored this week. He’s starting to pick up steam throughout this season, so hopefully he can continue to raise the bar for himself and also the entire team.
Week Five Defensive Game Ball: DE Brick Van Sanzo
Stats: 3 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 1 sack
Van Sanzo may not have had a ton of tackles this week, but he easily created the most havoc on defense this week. Brick got after the passer, and he also stuffed runs in the backfield with his one sack and two tackles for loss. Our whole defense played well in week five, holding the Pythons to only THREE points, and our star defensive end was a game changer in this one. Our defense wouldn’t have held them to as few points if we hadn’t had Van Sanzo. Keep it up!
Week Six Offensive Game Ball: RB Mike Rotchburns
Stats: 35 carries, 153 yards, 4.4 average, 1 touchdown
This was a crushing defeat, but we didn’t play poorly. This game ball could have potentially gone to a few different members of the Grey Ducks offense, but ultimately it was easy to award the work horse with this one. Rotchburns put our offense on his back for all of his 153 yards this week. This was enough to vault him to the number 1 spot in the DSFL league rushing leaders in terms of yards. The most impressive part of this performance may be that he managed to maintain an average of 4.4 on an enormous work load of 35 carries. The rest of the offense may end up playing catch up to fat boy Mikey R. for the rest of this season if he keeps this up!
Week Six Defensive Game Ball: CB Bruce Brucie
Stats: 4 tackles, 1 pass defense
This game ball goes to our newest member of the team, Bruce Brucie! He was instrumental in containing the potent London offense which is led by a capped QB. When he wasn’t making a play on the ball, he was sticking to the receivers like white on rice, and when the receiver snagged a lucky catch, he managed to bring them down quickly. This is only the beginning for this guy. Hopefully we get to see his first interception soon. I’m excited to see where his Grey Duck career leads him and the team.
Week 7 Offensive Game Ball: WR Jalen Washington
Stats: 6 catches, 75 yards, 12.5 average
With this great performance Washington snagged his second game ball of the season. He probably wishes he snagged a touchdown, but that wasn’t necessary to get the game ball this week. Putting up a crazy average yards per catch was important for helping our struggling offense get going in week 7. The offense may not have got the job done as well as usual, but it wasn’t for lack of effort from wide receiver Jalen Washington, who left it all on the field in week 7.
Week 7 Defensive Game Ball: LB Alejandro Chainbreaker
Stats: 11 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 pass defended
Former MVP candidate Alejandro Chainbreaker has put up so many game ball worthy performances this season, and we’ve finally decided to reward him for it. Chainbreaker has been a lockdown run stopper all season, evidenced by his place at #3 among the league in tackles, and by his 11 tackles in this game alone. Along with being an elite defender in the run game, he also dipped his hands into the pass game by defending one pass in week 7. Expect more from that in the future as he steps into the SLB role for the next few games, and possibly the rest of the season. As an elite defender, I’m sure that he’s going to take on the role just fine. Congrats Sermo!
Week Eight Offensive Game Ball: TE Jaja Ding Dong
Stats: 5 catches, 47 yards, 9.4 average, 7 pancakes
Don’t worry, I’m confused too. Yes, three of Ding Dong’s targets *may* have resulted in interceptions. However, he clearly isn’t getting the game ball for that performance. He’s getting it for the 7 cakes, which was huge for us. *Almost* enough to cancel out the interceptions. It was crazy that we were still in the game until the last couple of minutes with as many turnovers as we had, and Jaja Ding Dong’s big blocking game had a lot to do with that. Realistically, I’m guessing Ding Dong received this game ball because he’s Jamar’s ISFL GM.
Week Eight Defensive Game Ball: DE Makoto Otawara
Stats: 5 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 1 sack
We avoided it for as long as we could, but Otawara finally made it pretty much impossible to give the defensive game ball to any other player. He had a monster of a game, with four different big impact plays. With all of the mistakes from the offense, the defense is the main reason we stayed in the game, and it’s very impressive that the team only gave up 20 points. This is one of the best DSFL defenses I’ve ever seen, and Otawara has been an important member of this unit.
Week Nine Offensive Game Ball: RB Mike Rotchburns
Stats: 23 carries, 106 yards, 4.6 average, 1 touchdown
Another game ball for Mikey R! After Vermillions departure, we knew Rotchburns would be putting up big volume numbers. What we didn’t expect was his efficiency to stay at this level. 4.6 yards per carry on 23 carries is outstanding. I hope Mike’s ISFL team isn’t expecting much longevity from him in the future, because we are running him into the ground. We’re going to keep handing it off until his legs don’t work anymore. I won’t be surprised if this isn’t his last game ball of the season if he keeps this efficiency up.
Week Nine Defensive Game Ball: LB Wasrabi Gleel
Stats: 9 tackles, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovered
Gleeeeeeeeeel! After being moved to MLB, like he’s been wanting all season, he hasn’t disappointed. Perhaps we should have listened earlier, because 9 tackles on its own is nothing to scoff at. Throw in his one forced fumble and one fumble recovery and he put up a hell of a stat line. Wasrabi Gleel has been the glue of the defense, holding together the entire unit, and definitely living up to his billing as team captain. He’s been one of our team’s most important members this season. Congrats!
Week Ten Offensive Game Ball: K/P Gluteus Maximus
Stats: 6/6 on extra points, 2/2 on field goals
Finally some love for the special teams. Going 8/8 total on kicks is super impressive, so we had to make sure that the Glute got some love this week. There were a lot of players that could have been justified with the offensive game ball this week, but Maximus was just dominant kicking the ball in week 11, so he had to be recognized for it. Let’s hope that there’s more of this to come, because kicking six extra points is probably strongly correlated with winning!
Week Ten Offensive Game Ball Part Two: RB Mike Rotchburns
Stats: 31 carries, 131 yards, 4.2 average, 3 touchdowns
Like I said, there were several members of the offense that could have received the game ball in week 11. Maximus *had* to be rewarded for going 8/8, and well, Rotchburns *has* to be rewarded for going well over 100 yards with THREE touchdowns. Not to mention being able to maintain an average over four yards per carry on an outrageous 31 carries. We don’t really like giving multiple game balls on each side of the ball, but these two were absolutely insane, and we simply could not choose just one. So congrats to these two for getting us to buck the norm and give out two game balls!
Week Ten Defensive Game Ball: CB James Gath
Stats: 8 tackles, 4 passes defended, 1 interception
Gath’s second game ball was more than deserved this week, after the double first round pick had his best game of the year. Chainbreaker had an outstanding game as well, but 4 passes defended and an interception, *plus* eight tackles from a CB that’s not at the nickel corner position, that’s just ridiculous. If you manage to repeat this for the rest of the season, then the Cornerback of the Year award would be yours unquestionably. That’s easier said than done, but let’s just wait and see what happens. Congrats!
Week Eleven Offensive Game Ball: OL Alexander Franklin
Stats: 5 pancakes, 0 sacks allowed
Finally, our favorite big man is getting some love! In a game where our entire offense played fairly well, big Hordle gave us another lights out game at tackle! He’s been locking down Negs’s blind side all season, and he did it again in week 11 in Norfolk. I hope that we get to see this duo play together for as many seasons as possible, because it’s a beautiful thing to watch! Congrats to our favorite lineman in the DSFL.
Week Eleven Defensive Game Ball: S Damian Blackfyre
Stats: 3 tackles, 1 sack, 1 pass defended, 1 interception
Shout out to the best gfx guy on the team for a new game ball graphic! Our defense was absolutely dominant as a whole in this game. Blackfyre had a fantastic game in week eleven and he was all over the field. He managed to bring down Emi for a sack, and also defended a pass. Oh, and I forgot to mention that he managed to snag a pick as well :eyes: Blackfyre is a safety of the year candidate, and he’s been proving it on the field all season, including at Norfolk this week.
Week Twelve Offensive Game Ball: RB Xander Creed
Stats: 10 carries, 51 yards, 5.1 average
At first glance, you wouldn’t think this is much of a stat line (he actually had a slightly better line in his first DSFL game ever in week 11), but there weren’t many eye popping performances in week twelve, and we felt that Xander Creed earned this game ball by averaging over 5 yards per carry in his first two DSFL games ever. We’re glad to see that burning our waiver priority on him is already paying dividends, and he’s only going to get better. Welcome to the team, Bandit!
Week Twelve Defensive Game Ball: CB Jeeeeroy Lenkins
Stats: 4 tackles, 3 passes defended, 2 interceptions, 1 touchdown
We all knew this was coming. This guy had the game of his career in week twelve against the Portland Pythons. The only thing that pains me about this is that it makes me feel bad that he peaked so early, having the best game of his life in the DSFL haha. This is the Scot’s second game ball of the season, and I’m glad he’s come into his own this season, helping to lead this incredible defensive unit. Jeeeeroy basically won us this game on his own with this performance. Give us a couple more of those and we’ll be in the playoffs for sure!
Week 13 Offensive Game Ball: WR Madison Hayes
Stats: 2 catches, 18 yards, 1 touchdown
This may not look like much to most people, but it was an exciting performance to us! We had been thinking that we needed an injection of new blood at the receiver position for a little while to shore up the position group for our playoff push, and Madison Hayes certainly made their mark on this game, and showed us that we *definitely* made the right choice when we snagged them off of waivers! I believe that this was their first touchdown of their career. Hayes is giving us everything they've got right out of the gate, which is great to see. They're already building a strong portfolio for scouts for the draft this offseason, but for now, they're one of the Ducks. ?
Week 13 Defensive Game Ball: LB Wasrabi Gleel
Stats: 8 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 pass defended, 1 blocked punt
This game came down to the wire, and Gleel and the defense, as they have been all season, kept the game within reach all game long. He was all over the field in this one, making plays in the backfield, in the passing game, and in special teams. Without that blocked punt, we probably wouldn’t have even had a chance here. Gleel has been a rock for this amazing defensive unit, and I can’t imagine anyone else in his spot.
Week 14 Offensive Game Ball: WR Lebby Newton
Stats: 7 catches, 100 yards, 14.3 average
This was the most exciting game of the season, and that means there were a lot of big plays. Similar to when Lebby high points the ball for a huge gain, he high points this game ball to get his second of the season for cracking the century mark. This was the first time all season long that one of our players managed to get 100 receiving yards in a game! We felt that this warranted him receiving the game ball. I’m not sure if he’s going to be with us for another season, but if he is I think we can expect a few more of these games in the future! Shout out to Xander Creed for his two touchdown performance as well.
Week 14 Defensive Game Ball: S Damian Blackfyre
Stats: 10 tackles, 1 interception, 1 blocked punt
What can’t Damian Blackfyre do? At this point I think he should be an MVP candidate. And it’s not just the overall production, it’s the timing of it. When we’re up, he’s putting the dagger in the win. When it’s a close game, he makes sure that we get in a position to win. When we look like we’re just about to be out of reach in a game, he gets us right back in it. He’s been our best player on defense this year. What else can I say? He’s a playmaker.
NFC Championship Offensive Game Ball: RB Mike Rotchburns
Stats: 20 carries, 96 yards, 4.8 average, 1 touchdown
It’s only fitting that in his last appearance with the Minnesota Grey Ducks, Fat Boi Mikey R gave us another amazing performance. We will miss him more than he realizes next season as we look to find the next great Grey Duck running back. We wish you good luck in the future of your career, where you’ll move on to the next chapter of it with the New Orleans Second Line. Keep running dudes over, my dude.
NFC Championship Defensive Game Ball: S Oliver Sloan
Stats: 9 tackles, 2 passes defended, 1 interception
One reason this loss was so heartbreaking was because, despite the final score, we actually had several great performances. It remains to be seen whether Balliver Sloan will be back with the Minnesota Grey Ducks next season or if he gets the call up to join the Chicago Butchers, but we certainly hope that we have our game changing safety back with us for another season.
So that’s it! If you know any of these great dudes, let them know that they are ballers, and they have the game balls to prove it. This season was the most fun I’ve had in the ISFL since I joined in S22, and most of that was thanks to the people on the receiving end of these game balls. Thank you, Ducks, for making the season so special for me!