Mid-Season Awards

BLACKSBURG (BP) -- The Blacksburg Press has been on a hiatus for a while with many of this year's games not getting recapped. We can assure you though that our activity will increase once September rolls around, our editor has decided to take some unannounced vacations unfortunately.

However this edition of the Press is to discuss the mid-season award winners for the Ballers. While it is a little over mid-way through the season with 9 games being played, the 6-3 Ballers have plenty of things to be proud of. For one they are 4th in the Western Conference in Canada Pro, their first season here. They have a winning record in a very tough league. And they have a lot of standout players on the team who have improved immensely. So here are the winners:

MVP: QB, Khari Jones

Jones has once again anchored the Ballers offense this season and has now eclipsed the 20 TD mark for the 3rd consecutive season. He has come a long way since his arrival in season 1 and has even managed to improve upon his MVP caliber Pro Bowl winning season last year. He has a QB rating of 97.9 which is over 10 points higher than last year's mark.

Offensive Player of the Year: WR, Ryan Betesta

While Jones may be the MVP there is no denying that Betesta deserves the OPOY. He is 7th in the league in yards with 756.5, 7th in TD's with 6, and 7th in receptions with 61. If this were a stat line for a receiver after a 16 week season we would say they had a great year. But this is only 9 games into the season and Betesta is on track to improve on his Pro Bowl season last year.

Defensive Player of the Year: DE, derek pacheco

While everyone is talking about standout DE Speed McLovin who has made headlines as one of the best players in the Canada Leagues, they forgot about the guy who plays opposite him derek pacheco. Coming into this year pacheco was mainly used as a spot starter splitting time with Michael Young History at the RE. However after only tallying 4 sacks in his 3 years as a Baller, he now has 18 for the year. He started out the year with a great game against the Yukon Gold Rush with 2 sacks and hasn't looked back. pacheco is now a serious Pro Bowl consideration and on Canada Pro's DPOY watch.

Rookie of the Year: WR, James Vita

When we say rookie we don't mean a first year player, we mean someone who is new to the Ballers. Vita came over in an off-season trade that sent WR's John Wilson and Bo Szilaj for him. Since the trade Vita has had a tremendous season with the Ballers and has been a prime target for QB Khari Jones. He has 41 receptions, 503 yds, and 4 TD's through 9 games this season. However this isn't a major surprise, Vita caught 107 balls last year and 94 the previous year.

Most Improved: DE, derek pacheco

A no brainer here. pacheco only recorded 4 sacks in his first 3 years as a Baller. Now as a full time starter he has 18, through 9 games. It's difficult to predict how many sacks pacheco will have at season's end because he consistently shows up to play and is constantly improving himself.

Sportsmanship Award: CB, Beast Baily

Baily has consistently exhibited excellent sportsmanship on and off the field. He is always the first to congratulate guys on the Ballers for great plays or give advice. He is also the type of player to be first in line for shaking hands with the other team. Baily has been one of the leaders of the Ballers defense along with Speed McLovin and both have given their time and effort in spending time to educate young players about sportsmanship.

Congrats to all the players who received awards and even to the players who did not, because without everyone the Ballers would not be a dominate team. Look out for a few things at the end of the year. The Blacksburg Press may be inducting a few of its players into the Blacksburg Ring of Fame and a few jerseys maybe retired.