New passing leader in Finland with one game left
Although the Wasa Royals have two leaders among the four stats categories in Finland’s Maple League in 2017, they got bumped in one category as Hämeenlinna Huskies head coach and quarterback Stan Bedwell has taken over the lead in overall passing yardage. However, the Helsinki Roosters still top the league standings with only one regular season game left before the playoffs start. The Roosters and Huskies have five players each among the top 5 in four categories while the Royals and Turku Trojans have 3 apiece. Only one team has no representative in any of the categories – the Seinäjoki Crocodiles.
Passing
Hämeenlinna Huskies head coach and quarterback Stan Bedwell has now leapfrogged into 1st place following his 370 yard performance against the Porvoo Butchers and now has 3,133 yards passing and 32 TDs. Wasa Royals quarterback Justin Sottilare has dropped into 2nd after not seeing action and now has 2,930 yards passing and 33 TDs. Helsinki Roosters quarterback Brandon Connette remains 3rd with his 2,675 yards but leads the league in passing TDs with 35. He is followed by Tampere Saints QB Raleigh Yeldell in 4th with his 1,434 yards . Zach Bartlow, QB for the Turku Trojans, is 5th. He has thrown for 1,034 yards.
Receiving
Although he only played QB against the Tampere Saints last week, RJ Long, of the Wasa Royals is still the leading receiver and has hauled in 1,349 yards in receptions to lead the league. Hämeenlinna Huskies receiver Roman Runner has moved up into 2nd with his 79 yards last week and now has 837 yards receiving. Bernard Luster of the Helsinki Roosters is now 3rd with his 776 and 11 TDs for the year so far while Timothy Thomas of the Roosters follows in 4th with 617. Huskies receiver Niko Lester has climbed up into the top 5 and now has 577 yards receiving.
Rushing
Despite a modest outing last week, Porvoo Butchers running back Ricky Stevens remains in 1st with his 1,006 yards. Josh Quesada of the Turku Trojans has moved up into 2nd with 891 yards while Jaycen Taylor of the Roosters is now 3rd 841 yards rushing but leads the league in rushing TDs with 10. The injured Darion Hall who amassed 656 yards rushing and 7 TDs in 4 games before suffering a season-ending injury is 4th. while Karri Pajarinen also of the Roosters is 5th with 610 yards.
Tackling
Wasa Royals LB Chris Young has been an anchor on the second leading defense in the league in points allowed (16.5/game) and still leads with league with 80.5 tackles. IIkka Koiranen of the Turku Trojans is still 2nd at 70.5 tackles while Huskies LB Tahj Jones is 3rd with 70 tackles. His teammate David Izinyon has jumped up into 4th and now has 62 tackles while Tampere Saints LB Tony Ballon is 5th with 62 tackles as well.
