After voting that spanned the last two weeks via a fan vote and ballots from coaches, other media members, and former MVP and Defensive Player of the Year winners, we can finally announce our Downriver League Defensive Player of the Year and our Most Valuable Player.
Defensive Player of the Year: Ansel Fater
For the second year, we are honoring the best Defensive Player in the Downriver League. This year, the honor goes to Trenton’s Ansel Fater. Fater had a phenomenal senior year for the Trenton Trojans, racking up 99 tackles and two sacks. He also recovered two fumbles this season. This play doesn’t come out of nowhere, though, as he put up similar numbers last year.
Fater says winning the award means a lot to him. He went on to say the reason it means so much to him is because of the high standard he gives himself. He would go on to say, “Seeing my hard work pay off makes me forever thankful.” Of course, winning the award takes the support of fans and the coaches voting for a player. To the people who voted for him, Fater said, “I want to thank everybody that helped me get to the position I’m in today,” Fater also said he wanted to thank his coaches for pushing him and his family for forever supporting him.
Most Valuable Player: Ashton Rooney
In our premiere award, the Downriver League MVP goes to Trenton’s Ashton Rooney. Rooney put together a record-breaking season, breaking school records for the single-season and career rushing records as well as the single-season and career total yards. On breaking the records, Rooney said, “I’m very blessed. ” He would go on to say that breaking the records is more about his name being next to some of the great football players who came through the program before him.
The records were well deserved, as Rooney put up some great numbers this year. He showed that he was just about the only offense the Trojans needed, carrying the ball 141 times for 1361 yards and 15 touchdowns. Those are some great numbers for a kid voted as the top player in the league. He took time to say that he was honored to be voted, saying, “A lot of hard work was done before and during the season to be at the top of my game, and it paid off,” football is a demanding sport, and the coaches and people around the league noticed how hard he worked this year.
Rooney wanted to thank everyone who took the time to vote for him, going on to say, “This means a lot to have people believe that I was at the top of my game this season. ” He also went on to say that he wanted to thank his mom, as she was very supportive during the voting process.
Award Winning School
What is new for us is that both the DPOY and MVP are from the same school. Rooney and Fater took time to talk about this feat, and Rooney said how it feels to win these awards together. He would go on to say, “We were together all season just putting in work against each other, but it made us both better, and it showed.”
Fater said that winning the award with his teammate makes him proud. He went on to say, “He’s one of my best friends, so I’m happy that we could give Trenton something to be proud of for a while.”
We want to congratulate Aston Rooney and Ansel Fater on winning our highest honors.