There were multiple achievements from the 2015 Colts team.
Its 3rd straight championship and 8th overall for the club came with a second straight undefeated run.
Whilst 2014 saw a massive leap in the performance of the offense, in 2015 it was the defense that vastly improved.
The 2015 unit limited opponents to just 2.76 yards per play, a new season record that tops the 2006 team’s 2.82 yards per play. 2014 allowed 4.09 yards per play.
Touchdowns allowed drop to just 4 for the entire season. That is down from 16 in 2014 and equals the club record of 4 from the 2003 team; arguably one of the best defenses the club has ever had.
Takeaways equaled the 2014 total of 26 but it came from 118 less plays. In 2015 a turnover came once every 11.7 plays! Just better than the 2003 record of 1 in every 12.4 plays.
Sacks were down in 2015, only 20 after last years’ record 34 for the season. But more importantly, 1st downs allowed were down from 86 to just 37 in 2015.
The 2015 defensive unit also saw a record for points scored themselves, with 8 touchdowns returned and 2 safeties scored. 5 touchdowns was the previous best.
Individually the defense saw Dylan Dinale equaling the record for touchdown returns with 3, he also led the turnover count with 5 altogether; 4 interceptions and 1 fumble recovery.
Jackson Young broke the record for forced fumbles in a season, having 8 this year, the previous record being 5. Young also led the tackle count with 61 for the season which is 9th all time. He also led the defense in sacks with 8 and fumble recoveries with 4; 2 of them returned for touchdowns.
Offensively, there was a drop from the all time records set in 2014. Rushing avg was 6th highest ever with 6.43 yards per play, rushing touchdowns finished with 26 which was 4th highest all time. Haoping Tang had the 5th highest rushing yardage total with 777 yards, his 19 touchdowns good enough for 2nd all time for the Colts team in a season.
Passing touchdowns equaled the highest ever output of 26 in a season with the 2006 campaign. That put QB Daniel Besz equal with 2006 QB Trevor Chambers.
Justin Whiting’s 438 yards left him at 3rd all time in receiving yards in a season, Jake Wedesweiler ended up 6th with 368. Their reception totals of 35 and 34 respectively are 3rd and 4th all time for the club in Colts football.
The offense gave up just 4 sacks on the season, the lowest since 2002 which had 3. Turnovers were down to their lowest ever level from 1 every 42.9 plays in 2014, to 1 every 47.4 which is the lowest ever for a season, a credit to all offense players, Center Bailey Cribb as much as anyone.
The Team Awards:
Team MVP: Jackson Young 61 Tackles, 8 sacks, 8 forced fumbles, 4 fumble recoveries 2 returned for TD. 9 receptions 2 TD, 2 PAT’s.
Offensive MVP: Haoping Tang 111 carries for 777 yards 7 yard avg, 18 rushing TD, 7 receptions 88 yards 1 TD.
Defensive MVP: Dylan Dinale 24 tackles, 4 PBU, 1 fumble recovery, 1 forced fumble, 4 INT, 2 returned for TD.
Rookie Offense: Jake Wedesweiler 34 receptions, 368 yards, 8 TD, 5 PAT.
Rookie Defense: Andrew Di Cesare 28 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery.
Seahawk Spirit Award: Bailey Cribb Club record low 4 sacks allowed.