May 28, 2019
By Evan Lepler
Throughout the 2019 season, the AUDL’s weekly honor roll will be revealed each week, honoring seven players whose individual exploits merit recognition. The players are listed alphabetically by last name.
- Quentin Bonnaud, Montreal Royal - While the Montreal Royal were blasted by the Breeze in the second game of their back-to-back, Quentin Bonnaud’s Saturday performance in Philly might be looked at as season-saving. With eight goals, two assists, two blocks, and zero turnovers, Bonnaud’s +12 helped Montreal pick up its first win of the season and avoid an 0-5 record. The Frenchman registered a double-digit plus/minus for the fourth time in his 28-game AUDL career, matching the +12 he accumulated in a win over New York last June 16.
- Pawel Janas, Chicago Wildfire - In a critical Midwest matchup against Indianapolis, Pawel Janas led the Chicago Wildfire offense with amazing consistency. Chicago’s O-line was only broken twice all game—on back-to-back points in the second quarter—but Janas quarterbacked the entire second half of pressure-filled possession brilliantly, maintaining the Wildfire’s lead throughout. With nine assists in 52 completions with only two throwaways, Janas raised his career assists per game to 6.48, narrowly trailing Seattle’s Mark Burton (6.59) on the all-time AUDL assists per game chart.
- Rowan McDonnell, DC Breeze - In the DC Breeze’s 10-goal rout of Montreal, Rowan McDonnell continued his amazing streak of versatility. In every game this season, he’s had at least three goals and three assists. In six of his seven games, he’s had at least four goals and four assists. On Sunday against the Royal, the recently announced All-Star Game captain went five and five for just the second time on the season, completing all but one of his 25 throws in DC’s 27-17 romp of Montreal, the Breeze’s largest margin of victory on the season.
- Ethan Pollack, Austin Sol - If not for the 6’7” Ethan Pollack, the Austin Sol would have struggled to keep it close with Dallas on Saturday. The tall Cornell alum was directly involved in nine of Austin’s 15 scores against the Roughnecks, throwing four and catching five in the Sol’s 20-15 setback. Pollack’s +9 was a career-high for the 30-year-old veteran.
- John Randolph, Seattle Cascades - Sure, the Seattle Cascades were idle this past weekend and have had a disappointing season overall, but John Randolph’s performance at College Nationals was absolutely breathtaking. The 20-year-old sophomore at Brown University erupted for 10 goals in his team’s 15-10 semifinal win over Colorado, seven more goals than hat trick he twice recorded in 2017 in two of his 18 career AUDL games. If Seattle can add Randolph back into their rotation for the rest of the season and in the years ahead, he gives the Cascades a potential superstar to build around in the West Division.
- Daniel Sperling, Atlanta Hustle - Making just his second appearance of the season, the 22-year-old Daniel Sperling delivered a sizzling and solid performance in the Atlanta Hustle’s convincing 23-14 triumph over Tampa Bay. Sperling dished seven assists, caught two scores, and completed all 18 of his throws as Atlanta prevailed for the third time in the past four games, a surge that has certainly correlated with the addition of numerous younger players, like Sperling, into the gameday rotation.
- Dalton Smith, Dallas Roughnecks - Dalton Smith distributed a season-high 35 completions, while snagging five scores and tossing three more, in Dallas Rougnecks’ five-goal victory over Austin. Even with two throwaways on Saturday, Smith is still completing a career-best 96.1 percent of his passes on the season; previously, his season-high was 93.8 percent. Smith’s consistent all-around play has been a massive part of Dallas’ steady 5-1 record, though the schedule gets tougher for the Roughnecks moving forward. Dallas is idle each of the next two weekends before playing six games in the span of 21 days, including four on the road, to finish the regular season.
