LAS VEGAS (AFLWA) – Andy Kelly's passing rating is tied for 10th, but voters looked beyond that statistic and were impressed by other more important numbers. They selected the New Orleans VooDoo quarterback as the Offensive Player of the Mid-Year in a vote by the Arena Football League Writers Association (AFLWA).

Kelly has put up plenty of other impressive numbers in leading the VooDoo to a 6-2 record. He has completed 67.5 percent of his passes for 2,417 yards with 49 touchdowns and six interceptions. His passing rating of 113.4 is tied with Clint Dolezel of the Las Vegas Gladiators.

One of Dolezel's teammates, fullback/linebacker Frank Carter, is on pace to smash the single-season sacks record and was selected Defensive Player of the Mid-Year. He has nine sacks, which is well in range of the record of 13 set by Craig Walls of the Pittsburgh Gladiators in 1987.

Tampa Bay Storm wide receiver/linebacker Lawrence Samuels was selected Ironman of the Mid-Year even though he did not make the first team at his position. Derek Lee of the Georgia Force was named to the team on the strength of his offensive skills, but Samuels picked up the Ironman nod because of his overall play. He has intercepted two passes in addition to catching 56 passes for 641 yards with seven touchdowns.

New Orleans' B.J. Cohen was chosen Lineman of the Mid-Season. He is tied for second in the league with five sacks.

Georgia claimed three notable awards. Offensive specialist Troy Bergeron was Rookie of the Mid-Year, Doug Plank Coach of the Mid-Year, and the Force was the Surprising Team of the first half. Bergeron has 61 receptions for 828 yards with 20 touchdowns. Plank has led the Force to a 6-2 record in his first season, a year after it finished 7-9.

The Surprising Player was Dallas Desperados rookie quarterback Clint Stoerner. He has completed 62.6 percent of his passes for 1,837 yards with 37 touchdowns and five interceptions.

On the negative side, the Arizona Rattlers took quite a hit. They were named the Disappointing Team of the first half, quarterback Sherdrick Bonner the Disappointing Player and they were the Story of the Mid-Year for their terrible slide. Arizona appeared in the past three ArenaBowls, but are off to a 1-7 start, the most losses in franchise history. Bonner has been hurt much of the season, and has 5.6 interception percentage is the league's highest.

Voters picked the New York Dragons (5-2) to tumble in the second half, and the Philadelphia Soul (3-5) is expected to make the playoff race more interesting.

The AFLWA, founded at the start of the 2004 season, is a national organization made up of media members who cover the Arena Football League. Mark Anderson of the Las Vegas Review-Journal is the AFLWA's founder and executive director. The association's website is www.aflwa.com.