Asked about the chances of his star player being a Fitzpatrick Trophy finalist, Cheverus Coach John Wolfgram deflected the question.

“The Fitzpatrick winner isn’t named until January,” he said. “There’s still a lot of football to be played.”

True.

There’s the final regular-season games with rivalries this weekend, followed by the playoffs leading to state finals Nov. 21 and 22. But invariably, discussion of the viable Fitzpatrick Trophy candidates begins at this time of year.

The official process will soon start as coaches nominate players, then the Fitzpatrick Trophy committee culls the nominations and selects semifinalists, whose names are put on a ballot and sent to the state’s coaches and sports media to be voted on. The top three vote-getters are named finalists before Christmas.

The Fitzpatrick Trophy has been awarded since 1971 to the top high school football player in the state. The criteria has changed slightly over the years. It’s now awarded only to seniors. But two qualities that remained – on-field performance and classroom success – are still the key components of the award.

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Coaches tend to vote for players they’ve seen and tend to look at a player’s entire career rather than just a senior season. Head coaches may nominate one player from their team.

In some years you could almost predict the three finalists and the winner. But this year appears wide open with several strong candidates.

At the top of the list may be Joe Fitzpatrick of Cheverus, which prompts the question: “Could this be the year a Fitzpatrick wins the Fitzpatrick?”

No, Fitzpatrick is no relation to the trophy’s namesake, Jimmy Fitzpatrick, a legendary Portland High coach in the 1930s and 1940s who was an early standout at Boston College.

“Joe is certainly a worthy candidate,” said Wolfgram. “He played very well last year. He’s an explosive player who has worked hard on improving all aspects of his game.”

Through seven games, Fitzpatrick has gained 1,357 yards on 147 carries. He has 18 touchdowns. He’s the leading rusher in Eastern Class A and is tied for the lead in touchdowns with Dane Johnson of Bangor, a junior.

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Fitzpatrick has 14 tackles playing in certain situations on defense. He leads Eastern Class A punters with a 39.39 yard per punt average.

Brett Gerry of Marshwood, also a running back/linebacker, is the Joe Fitzpatrick of Western Class B. He’s been a cornerstone for the unbeaten Hawks, who meet York on Friday night in a showdown of Class B powers. Like Fitzpatrick, Gerry has had strong back-to-back seasons. In fact, he’s had three strong seasons.

“I don’t think there’s any question that Brett is an excellent candidate,” said Marshwood Coach Alex Rotsko. “I can’t imagine who’s a better candidate but I haven’t seen all of them.”

With Marshwood having blown out all seven opponents, Gerry has played in just over half the minutes in games.

“I hope the committee takes that into consideration,” said Rotsko. “Brett hasn’t played at all in the fourth quarter. The most he has carried the ball in a game is 17 times. He has over 1,300 yards rushing, but he could have doubled that had he carried the ball 23 to 25 times a game.

“He’s averaging 11 yards a carry. The second thing is he’s as good a defensive player as an offensive player. He could be our MVP on both sides of the ball.

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“Last year, he wasn’t at full speed because of a high ankle sprain. He limped around for several weeks. He’s been healthy this year and the difference has been like night and day.”

Another top candidate is Zach Dubiel of Bonny Eagle. Dubiel, a quarterback-defensive back, sparked the Scots to the Class A title last year. He’s having another strong season and has the Scots bound for the playoffs again.

“Zach is our unquestioned leader,” said Coach Kevin Cooper. “He’s a tireless worker. As a player he’s a very good running quarterback and a solid passer, but he does so much for us in terms of running our offense. Aside from football, I think Zach exhibits all the qualities the Fitzy looks for in terms of classroom effort and citizenship.”

Alex Bandouveres will be Brunswick’s nominee for the Fitzpatrick Trophy. The fullback-defensive tackle has been a game-changer for the last two seasons. He’s sparked the Dragons to the top seed in Eastern Class B.

“His leadership has been fantastic,” said Coach Dan Cooper. “Alex is willing to do whatever we need him to do. Besides fullback and defensive tackle, he’s played defensive end, tight end and linebacker. We’ve put him on the other team’s best receiver. He’s a great kid in school.”

Bandouveres has carried the ball 99 times for 785 yards with 10 touchdowns. Defensively, he has 33 tackles.

Other players who are likely nominees include Tayler Carrier of Cony, a wide receiver/running back; Jake Dexter of Messalonskee, a quarterback; Noah Nelson of Falmouth, a quarterback; Chris Carney of Wells, a running back/linebacker; Dylan Hapworth of Winslow, a running back/punter/kicker; Davis Turner of Oxford Hills, a running back/linebacker; Kevin Barrett of Thornton Academy, a tight end/linebacker; and Pete Theriault of Spruce Mountain, a quarterback/defensive back.


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