Butler Bulldogs earn Pioneer Football League Honors

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (WLFI) - The Butler football program swept three of the top five individual awards presented by the Pioneer Football League.  Including junior quarterback Matt Lancaster being named the PFL Offensive Player of the Year.

The former West Lafayette Red Devil transferred to Butler from Illinois State, led Butler to an 8-3 season and a share of the PFL title in his first season with the Bulldogs.  He ranked second in the league in total offense (3,111), third in touchdown passes (21) and fourth in passing efficiency (140.5). 

The Butler signal caller also ranked second among league quarterbacks with 408 rushing yards, and he added eight rushing touchdowns, which tied for sixth-most in the circuit.  He's the first Butler player to earn the league's Offensive Player of the Year Award.

Freshman defensive tackle Kyle Annis was tabbed Freshman Defensive Player of the Year and head coach Jeff Voris was named Coach of the Year by a vote of league coaches.

Annis played in all 11 contests and helped anchor a Butler defensive line that tied for the league lead with a plus-11 turnover margin.  He was credited with 42 total tackles, including 4.5 tackles for loss and three quarterback sacks.  He also had one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and one pass breakup.  He's the first Butler player to receive the PFL's Freshman Defensive Player of the Year Award, which has been presented five times.

Voris, who completed his seventh season with the Bulldogs, earned the PFL's Coach of the Year Award for the second time.  He guided a Butler team, picked seventh in the league's preseason poll, to its second conference title in four years.  The Bulldogs' 7-1 PFL record tied the school record for most PFL wins, while the eight total wins tied the seventh-highest overall win total in school history.  Voris also was named PFL Coach in the Year in 2009, after leading Butler to its second league crown.