BRUNSWICK

The James J. Fitzpatrick trophy finalists have been released and the 12-player list is impressive, but does not contain one Jared Jensen of Brunswick, nor Jordan Whitney of Mt. Blue.

Somehow, Jensen, who rushed for over 2,000 yards and added 27 touchdowns in leading the Dragons to the Eastern Maine Class A semifinals, nor Whitney, the Mt. Blue quarterback who guided the Cougars to a State Class B championship, made the cut.

“I am in shock. Those two were two of the best players in the state,” said Brunswick coach Dan Cooper. “I think the list is about players from the Portland area.

“Here’s a kid who had 2,300 yards and 27 touchdowns … one of the best efforts in state history! And, he can’t make the list.”

Those who did?

Brian Beard of Leavitt, Bobby Begin of Thornton Academy, Cale Bollig of Westbrook, Spencer Carey of Lawrence, Tatum Gale of Portland, Donald Goodrich of Cheverus, Nick LeBlond of Biddeford, Jack Lucy of Orono, Dillon Russo of Scarborough, Alex Shain of Sanford, Chandler Shostak of Cony and Kenny Sweet of Deering.

According to the letter mailed by Jack Dawson, Chairman of the Fitzpatrick Trophy Committee, “The semifinalists have been selected by a careful review of the credentials of all the players nominated. The review panel is made up of members of the State of Maine Chapter of the NFF and media representatives.”

The names of the three finalists will be announced on Dec. 16.

“I think we should go with a “Mr. Football Award” because really this (Fitzpatrick) is nothing but a SMAA (Southern Maine Activities Association) award,” added Cooper.

“I haven’t talked to Jared yet because when I saw the list yesterday, I wasn’t sure if it was official and I wanted to make sure he got all his paperwork in and all of that. But, I think he did. It’s a shame, it really is.”