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Monday, November 10, 2014
MVP – Jake Strzelec (Attica)
Although it was a close race, I determined Strzelec to be the Most Valuable Player for his team this season. The primary evidence that I would use to back up this claim would be the tape.
In each game that I watched Strzelec tote the rock, I was extremely impressed by his ability to hit the hole with force, and how he consistently ran over opposing linebackers and defensive backs once clear of the line of scrimmage. This was none more apparent in Attica’s game versus Elba.
Taking 34 carries for 221 yards and 5 TDs, Strzelec found daylight early and often, and finished with what would have been a career day for any high school football player in any state. Aside from the Devils’ matchup with the Lancers, the Attica RB had several other big days as well. In his team’s Sectional game with ER/Gananda for example, Strzelec proved his worth once again.
Amassing 166 yards on 22 carries, he also was able to find the end zone twice and kept his team in the game for the duration. While the Blue Devils only accumulated 293 yards in that game, Strzelec wound up out-gaining the rest of his team and used several hard runs to wear down the Bombers defense. It’s safe to say that without him, they likely would not have had such a good chance to win at the end.
Although what I saw from Strzelec is what really swayed my decision, his statistics didn’t hurt is case one bit.
While missing one and a half games during the middle of the regular season with an ankle injury, he was still able to work his way to over 950 yards on the ground and 14 rushing touchdowns. And to top things off, Strzelec finished off 2014 with four-straight multi-touchdown games once he was fully-recovered (5, 2, 3, 2).
All in all, it was a great year for Strzelec along the Attica football team as a whole. Congratulations to Jake, our 2014 High School Football Most Valuable Player.
(Runner up: Joe Zickl – Notre Dame)
Other articles you may like:
Attica drops Oakfield 49-32 behind three more touchdowns from Strzelec
Blue Devils start slow, finish strong; Strzelec unstoppable as Attica steamrolls Holley
Offensive Player of the Year – Greg Mruczek (Batavia)
While you could also make a convincing case for Allen Chatt as well as Jake Strzelec for OPOY, in the end I decided on what I believed to be the top quarterback in the area during 2014. While Mruczek did not have the most passing yards of all the QBs considered, he was the most efficient, and the most impressive, which eventually led to his selection above the rest. Leading his team to the Section V Class B Title yesterday evening, the Batavia quarterback capped off an incredible year.
Accumulating 1,287 passing yards prior to the title game, Mruczek did so on almost 100 fewer attempts than the area’s leading passer Allen Chatt (1,927), while equaling the OA QB in total touchdowns (23). He also accumulated a 56% completion percentage which ranked near the top in the area.
The most impressive of all of his performances this year may have been the Blue Devils’ game against Danville. In their matchup versus the Mustangs, Mruczek went off for 4 TDs and led his team to a convincing victory.
Using the deep ball to his advantage much of the season, Mruczek created several big plays for his receivers on countless occasions during 2014. Time after time it seemed as if the Blue Devil offense would find themselves jogging 50+ yards down the field to the new line of scrimmage following one of their QB’s big pass plays, which would often come in clutch situations.
Overall, I would say that Mruczek was the most impressive offensive player throughout the entirety of the season for the reasons mentioned above. Congratulations to Greg on winning our 2014 HS Football Offensive Player of the Year.
(Runner up: Allen Chatt – Oakfield)
Other articles you may like:
My one-on-one with Batavia QB Greg Mruczek
Mruczek goes off for 4 Touchdowns in Batavia’s victory over Dansville
ONIONS: Batavia wins Class B Title behind gutsy call
Defensive Player of the Year – Steele Truax (Elba)
The Section V Class C Defensive Player of the Year was an absolute dominant force all season long. Totaling 45 solo tackles, 15 tackles for loss, along with 5 sacks during 2014, it is safe to say Truax left his mark in his Senior season.
Leaving a lasting impression on me at about the midpoint of the year, Truax seemed to strike fear in many opposing ball-carriers. The game in which I witnessed this first hand was the Cardinal O’Hara game.
During said game, Truax was all over the field all night for the Lancers, who wound up winning a close one. During the game, while on the Cardinal sideline, I heard their coaches and players often commenting on the Elba linebacker’s strong ability along with his hitting power. I even witnessed one player limp off the field after a clean hit from Truax and remark to his coaches, “Who’s blocking him?”.
Apparently nobody could on that night.
To be honest, the DPOY was my most difficult decision of them all. With many players with reasonably impressive statistics, I went with the eye test – and my eyes told me Truax stood out the most.
Congratulations to possibly the guy with the greatest linebacker name of all time – Steele Truax – our 2014 HS Football Defensive Player of the Year.
(Runner up: Phil Wilshire – Attica)
Other articles you may like:
Lancers seize the moment in first night game at B-B HS, defeat Cardinal O’Hara
Special Teams Player of the Year – Zack Shilvock (Alexander)
My reasoning for choosing Shilvock as the Special Teams Player of the Year was due to his proficiency kicking the football. Missing just one PAT in nineteen attempts this season, Shilvock also made 3/6 field goals, which was the best for any kicker in the area.
The Alexander kicker’s field goals were from 43, 36, and 20 yards out, and presented a threat that many teams around the GR and beyond are not afforded. Congratulations to Zack, our 2014 HS Football Special Teams Player of the Year.
(Runner up: Anthony Gallo – Batavia)
Other articles you may like:
Tough to Take: Trojans drop first round matchup versus Avon
Performance of the Year – Richard Flores (Elba)
Against Cardinal O’Hara earlier this year, Richard Flores carried his team to victory defensively. Intercepting two passes, one of which going for a 100-yard touchdown. Click the link below to read the entire article from Richard’s performance. Congratulations to #5, our 2014 HS Football Player of the Year.
Lancers seize the moment in first night game at B-B HS, defeat Cardinal O’Hara
(Runner up: Jake Strzelec – Attica)
Other articles you may like:
Complete Week 4 Photo Gallery (Elba vs OA & Alexander vs Holley)
Underclassman of the Year – Derrick Busch (Alexander)
Derrick Busch put together a great season for any player this year, much less an underclassman.
Recording 34 solo tackles, 6 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries, 2 interceptions, 2 defensive touchdowns, and 2 offensive touchdowns (receiving), Busch was always near the football in clutch situations, and came through more often than not.
His ability to make the big play, including a huge pick-6 to end the first half against Elba, really put him over the top of the other candidates and vaulted him into being my selection. Congratulations to Derrick, our 2014 HS Football Underclassman of the Year.
(Runner up: Levi Snyder – Attica)
Other articles you may like:
Browne and Busch go Ballistic: Alexander dominates Holley on Homecoming Night
Coach of the Year – Brennan Briggs (Batavia)
In his third year as the head coach of the Batavia Blue Devils, Brennan Briggs led his team to a Class B championship this past weekend. Read the complete game recap below, as well as the various interviews we have had with coach Briggs this season. Congratulations to coach Briggs, our 2014 HS Football Coach of the Year.
(Runner up: Rob Cusmano – Attica)
Other articles you may like:
ONIONS: Batavia wins Class B Title behind gutsy call
Coaches Corner: Batavia heading into Sectional Finals under Briggs’ tutelage
Briggs believing in his Blue Devils as Batavia awaits Penn Yan tomorrow evening
Pride of the Blue Devils: Briggs preaching toughness and accountability as his team sits at 4-1
Game of the Year – Attica vs ER/Gananda
The reason I picked this game was because it was the most-intense of any game I watched during the postseason – before the Section Final round.
Read the game recap below:
The End: Attica’s undefeated season comes to a screeching halt against ER/Gananda
(Runner up: Batavia vs Bath)
Other articles you may like:
Attica drops Oakfield 49-32 behind three more touchdowns from Strzelec
That does it for the 2014 Batavia’s Best Football Awards. While we can’t please everybody, I hope you can at least respect our selections.
Take issue with a specific selection? Comment below or on our various social media outlets – I will be glad to hear each and every rebuttal.
Thanks for voting!!!
Other articles you may like:
Batavia’s Best Football Awards: Final Round of Voting – Winners Announced Monday
Batavia’s Best Football Awards: Finalists
Batavia’s Best Football Awards: Here is where we stand before the first round of cuts
Protected: Batavia’s Best Football Awards: Voting Round One
November 10, 2014
Why have people vote than??? You just picked whoever you wanted anyways…If you wanted to entice people to your site by having people repost this stuff on Facebook etc. to get votes for a certain athlete at least have the courtesy to pick one out of the top three! You lost creditability because you only focused on one big game not the entire season. Didn’t Attica go 6-0 in the GR league???
November 10, 2014
As far as the fan voting is concerned- it was factored into the final decision, but was not the end all be all.
These awards were never meant to be selected solely based on the fan vote, which I referred to in one of the earlier Awards articles.
With fans as the prime factor in the selection process, this would remove all credibility from said process and turns it into a chase for votes – rather than what took place on the field.
While there were several players who performed incredibly well this year, and impressed me a great deal throughout each category, in the end I went with what I believed to be the right decision in each situation.
Also, if you look back at our 2014 Spring Sports Awards as well as Winter Sports Awards, you will see that I indeed selected the winners almost directly in accordance with the fan vote. In that case, I believed the athletes that were selected by the fans were indeed those who deserved to win, therefore they were chosen as the winners.
This time I didn’t feel as if that was the case.
As far as Attica going 6-0 in the GR League – this was a big reason I selected Jake Strzelec as our MVP (who was also the top fan vote getter), as well as head coach Rob Cusmano as our runner-up for Coach of the Year, Phil Wilshire runner-up for Defensive Player of the Year, Strzelec runner-up for Performance of the Year, and Levi Snyder as runner-up for Underclassman of the Year. Attica was also one of the teams who participated in the Game of the Year, and even though they lost that game, it left a mark on me that directly effected my decision.
As far as you accusing me of focusing on one game rather than the entire season – This couldn’t be any further from the truth.
The only reason specific games were brought up in each section was so that I could show those who didn’t have a chance to see the award-winning athletes play a small glimpse into what they accomplished this year.
Also, clearly in many of the sections I included season-encompassing statistics which are used in the selection process as well.
For example, Derrick Busch was awarded Underclassmen of the Year due to his ability to come through on several occasions for his team over the course of the entire schedule. He accumulated 5 sacks, 2 ints, 2 FR, 30+ solo tackles, 2 defensive TDs, and 2 offensive TDs. All of these stats did not come in one single game.
I believed his performance during 2014 was the overall strongest for any underclassman over the course of the entire season. This also goes for the other selections such as Defensive Player of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year, MVP, Special Teams Player of the Year, and so on and so forth.
As far as enticing people to our site – Over the past few months our viewership has increased tenfold and we are receiving more positive feedback than ever. In fact, our progression in terms of increasing interest around the area has come on quicker than anticipated on all platforms.
In closing, I hope that in the end you can respect my decisions. I spent an incredible amount of time and effort into selecting the nominees as well as the winners, and I stand behind each one of them.
I truly believe that they are the correct selections based on each athlete’s overall body of work.
I’m sorry you take issue with my decisions, but thank you for following along anyway. I also encourage your feedback as it helps me understand in what ways I may need to alter the process going forward.
Thanks again and congratulations to the Blue Devils on a great year.
November 11, 2014
I would suggest that in the future you call them “your picks” rather than winners (since many did not win the voting). A lot of people are scratching their heads about some of the athletes you picked, and are wondering why there was even a vote if the results were completed disregarded for a few of the positions. If you would have picked from the top of half of the vote recipients, rather than the bottom half, you would not have lost credibility (and some readers).
November 11, 2014
I appreciate your suggestions, but the Awards were indeed titled the Batavia’s Best Awards – and not the Fan Awards – for a reason.
During the regular season I had a fan-vote for MVP which I didn’t interfere with once – allowing the fans to choose who they believed to be the overall top player for any given week. The winner was chosen based upon who obtained the most votes.
In this case however, for the end of the year awards, I felt it was my responsibility to pick those who, in my mind, deserved to win the awards – as opposed to those who could find the most people to vote for them.
For example, Steele Truax was the only member of the GR League to receive his Class’ Player of the Year on either offense or defense and was near the bottom of the fan voting in defense player of the year. How could this be?
In the end, Awards are meant to go to those who perform at the highest level – not to those who have the most fans.
While the fan vote was certainly taken into account, (For example: Jake Strzelec was awarded the MVP as the top vote-getter, as was the Attica/ER game for Game of the Year, as was our Coach of the Year Brennan Briggs), I was not going to choose winners solely based upon the tally.
I’m sorry you have taken issue with my selections, but I assure you – choosing winners solely based on a fan vote would have taken away much more of my credibility.