Week 1 Honor Roll


June 7, 2021
By Evan Lepler

Throughout the 2021 season, the AUDL’s weekly honor roll will be revealed each Monday, honoring seven players whose individual exploits merit recognition. The players are listed alphabetically by last name.

  1. Travis Carpenter, Indianapolis AlleyCats 
    Despite suffering a minor knee injury in the first quarter on Friday night against Detroit, Carpenter returned for the second and catapulted his team toward a comfortable victory. No one across the league recorded more assists in a game this weekend than Carpenter’s eight against the Mechanix, but his yardage numbers were even more noteworthy. He threw for 539 yards on Friday evening, more than any other player who also won in Week 1, and he also compiled 312 receiving yards. In fact, he was the only player in the entire league to deliver 300+ throwing yards and 300+ receiving yards in a single game to begin the yardage-era in the AUDL. 

  2. Manny Eckert, Seattle Cascades
    The 23-year-old Eckert made his AUDL debut back in 2018, flashing his massive potential when he finished the season with five goals, 10 assists, and 105 completions in a two-game span to cap his rookie year. But this past Saturday night in Seattle was arguably his best single-game performance yet, carving up the San Jose defense steadily and systematically throughout the night. With five goals and three assists, he directly delivered one-third of his team’s scores, and if you add in four hockey assists, Eckert was right there for half of the Cascades’ 24 goals. Furthermore, he suffered just one throwaway on 45 tosses, while also churning 326 receiving yards, the second-highest total on his team, nine behind Brad Houser. Most importantly, he helped lead Seattle to an opening night win over the Spiders, an important early result in the Cascades’ quest to get back to the playoffs.

  3. Ryan Osgar, New York Empire
    Eight assists, one goal, 26 completions in 27 throws, 385 passing yards, and a nail biting opening night win only begins to tell the story of Osgar’s immense contributions in his debut with the Empire. The former Minnesota star certainly looked comfortable quickly with New York, selectively deferring and taking over (mostly the latter) whenever it was appropriate. He was certainly helped by his many remarkable fellow receivers, but Osgar was prominently involved in nearly 70 percent of New York’s scoring plays when you also factor in his four hockey assists. The Empire may not have looked in midseason championship form in their narrow victory over DC, but the franchise still won its 16th straight game and looked scary in their playmaking ability with Osgar connecting with Ben Jagt, Jeff Babbitt, Jack Williams, and newcomer John Lithio. Elliott Chartock, in his first opportunity with New York, was mighty impactful and deserving of a mention too.

  4. Zach Norrbom, DC Breeze
    He finished 14 throwing yards shy of joining Carpenter in the 300/300 yardage club on Friday night, but his all-around impact was tremendous in keeping the Breeze close and giving his team a chance to upset New York. He completed all 47 of his throws, while racking up a team-high 360 receiving yards to go along with four goals, four assists, and one block in just 16 points played. Along with Johnny Malks, Jacques Nissen, and his brother Gus, Zach helped the Breeze carefully maintain possession over and over, as that quartet completed 152-of-154 throws against the feisty Empire D. Zach Norrbom’s +8 was a career-high, double his previous best plus/minus from his past four seasons with the Breeze.

  5. Kevin Pettit-Scantling, Madison Radicals
    As the heartbeat and undisputed leader of the Radicals, KPS willed his team to overcome the heartbreak of Friday’s overtime loss and bounced back with a dominating rout on the road at Detroit on Saturday. If ever the Mechanix were gonna catch Madison devastated and unfocused, it would have been less than 24 hours removed from the unbelievable Breeze hand-block with two seconds remaining that propelled Minnesota to shocking road win, but Pettit-Scantling was a man on a mission in his second game of the weekend, accumulating scores and blocks at a pace unmatched by anyone else across the league in Week 1. While playing 24 of his 27 points on D-line, he still produced four goals, five assists, and six blocks, good for a scintillating +14 that factored in one drop, his only turnover on Saturday. KPS’s career-high plus/minus was +8 in 103 games prior to Saturday’s eruption.

  6. Ben Sadok, Boston Glory
    Boston’s first ever AUDL victory was truly a team triumph, but Sadok’s anchoring of the offense certainly stood out. He completed 39-of-40 throws for 463 yards and five assists, while also catching three goals and producing 272 receiving yards along the way. The Glory’s O-line, with Ian Engler and Henry Babcock also playing prominent roles, was only broken three times overall and not once after the first point of the third, confidently producing holds to maintain the Boston lead and prevent any chance of a Pittsburgh comeback. Sadok’s +7 led all others Saturday night in the Steel City, sending a message that Boston could very well contend not just for a berth in the postseason, but potentially a league-wide championship in the franchise’s inaugural season.

  7. Bryan Vohnoutka, Minnesota Wind Chill
    His four goals and 241 receiving yards were obviously nice, but B-Von earned his spot on the Honor Roll with his miraculous block in the final seconds of regulation, leaping and deflecting Daniel Garlock’s scoober near the goal-line when just one more Radicals completion would have secured the victorious result. Vohnoutka’s leaping block gave the Wind Chill new life, which they stunningly capitalized upon with a Tony Poletto-to-Andrew Roy buzzer-beater and their masterful performance in overtime. After the game, multiple Minnesota teammates remarked that they weren’t too surprised by B-Von’s block because he often victimizes them in practice, but this sequence of events was absolutely bonkers, providing a wildly shocking conclusion to Friday’s opening night at Breese Stevens Field.