Dylan Bolduc of Portland High, Michael Laverriere of Thornton Academy and Trey Wood of Brewer are the three finalists for the 46th annual Fitzpatrick Trophy.

The award is presented to the top senior football player in Maine.

The winner will be announced Jan. 15 at an awards dinner at the Holiday Inn By the Bay in Portland.

Bolduc played linebacker and running back for Class A North champion Portland, rushing for 1,464 yards and 19 touchdowns, and making 134 tackles.

“I knew I was going up against some really tough players on that list (of Fitzpatrick semifinalists) and it’s just an honor to be one of the final three,” Bolduc said.

Laverriere, named the state’s Gatorade player of the year on Monday, played quarterback and safety for Class A South semifinalist Thornton. He completed 49 of 86 passes for 813 yards and seven touchdowns, and was at his best as a runner, gaining 1,384 yards with 20 touchdowns. He also had 63 tackles.

“It’s an honor to be recognized as one of the top players in Maine and to be a leader,” Laverriere said.

Wood was a standout running back/linebacker at Class B North runner-up Brewer, rushing for 2,014 yards, 27 touchdowns and eight 2-point conversions. He made 83 tackles.

Bolduc started the year as Portland’s strong safety on defense. On offense he filled a variety of roles as a blocker, receiver and occasional ballcarrier for the first two games. He switched positions on both sides of the ball midway through the third game of the season when Nick Archambault was injured.

“When Nick got hurt we really put in the offense at halftime of the Windham game and then we just built off of it from there,” Bolduc said. “The whole team helped.

“If Nick hadn’t gotten hurt I obviously wouldn’t have had the numbers that I had and I wouldn’t have been recognized like I have been,” Bolduc said. “With Nick getting hurt, it’s awful to say, but it opened up an opportunity. I was assigned to jump in and then I did the best that I could.”

If Bolduc wins the Fitzpatrick Trophy, he’ll be the second straight selection from Portland. Joe Esposito won the award in 2015.

There have been two instances of a school having consecutive winners: Mike Rutherford and Shaun Hawkins of Portland in 1982 and 1983, then Scott Woodward and Gerry Gelinas of Biddeford the next two seasons.

Laverriere carried the load for Thornton from the start. A four-year varsity player, he spent his first three seasons as the backup quarterback while making a name for himself as a powerful runner and defensive starter.

The last Fitzpatrick winner from Thornton was Art Leveris, 25 years ago in 1991. Since then the Golden Trojans have had several players recognized as semifinalists. Last year Laverriere’s good friend, quarterback Austin McCrum, was a finalist.

“It’s been 25 years (for a Thornton winner) so it’s been awhile. Thornton’s had some good football players so it would be good to bring that back to the community,” Laverriere said.

Brewer never has had a Fitzpatrick Trophy winner.

The voting for the award was completed Monday. Jack Dawson, the general chairman of the Fitzpatrick Trophy committee, said an independent accounting firm hired by the committee tabulates the votes and then tells him two things: That there is a clear winner, and the names of the top three vote-getters in alphabetical order. Dawson is not told the winner.

The finalists were chosen through a ranked choice vote by the state’s head football coaches and media from a list of 11 semifinalists chosen by the committee.

Semifinalists were selected based on their on-field performance, academics, and service within the school and community. Football performance, judged on 10 statistical categories, accounted for 70 percent of a nominee’s valuation.

The other semifinalists were Keenan Collett, Orono; Joey Curit, Biddeford; Cameron Day, Bonny Eagle; Riley Dempsey, Wells; Jesse Devereaux, Brunswick; Ben Ekedahl, Cape Elizabeth; Francis McSweeney, Skowhegan; and Makao Thompson, Mt. Blue.

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