A number of local football players were honored this week, with Andrew Libby receiving the Maine Gatorade Player of the Year award at the same time the 12 semifinalists were announced for the Fitzpatrick Trophy, which is awarded each year to the top high school football senior.

Libby’s teammate on the state champion Trojans, linebacker and lineman Bobby Begin, was among the semifinalists, as were Current Publishing athletes Cale Bollig of Westbrook, Dillon Russo of Scarborough and Alex Shain of Sanford.

The remaining nominees are: Brian Bedard, Leavitt; Spencer Carey, Lawrence; Tate Gale, Portland; Donald Goodrich, Cheverus; Jack Lucy, Orono; Chandler Shostak, Cony; and Kenny Sweet, Deering.

Libby, a junior running back, was the top offensive threat for the Trojans. It the state-championship win over Lawrence, Libby had 118 yards on 30 carries, scoring a touchdown on a run and on a punt return. The Gatorade award is one of the most prestigious honors for high school athletes.

The Fitzpatrick Trophy has been awarded on an annual basis since 1971 and is named for James J. Fitzpatrick, a standout athlete at Boston College and later a legendary coach at Portland High School. For the first 25 years or so the trophy was open to all classes before becoming a senior-only award. The list of 12 will now be shortened to three finalists in a vote by the state’s coaches and the media. The trophy will then be awarded at the annual banquet on Jan. 20 at the Holiday Inn By The Bay in Portland.

Thornton Academy’s Begin was a captain and two-way starter for Thornton, keying the Trojans’ dangerous run game from his center spot on the offensive line and leading the defense from his linebacker position.

Leblond was three-year starter at quarterback for Biddeford and was one of the most dangerous passers in the state in 2012, completing 97 of his 203 passes for 1,305 yards and eight touchdowns. Leblond also ran the ball 73 times for 294 yards and four scores for a Tigers team that went 2-6.

Sanford standout Shain was one of the top running backs in the state this fall, rushing for 1,426 yards, third most in the state, and scoring a state-leading 28 touchdowns. Shain was also one of the Spartans’ leading tacklers from his linebacker spot on defense.

Shain played big when it mattered most in 2012. After Sanford started the season 2-3, Shain put the team on his back, rolling up 788 yards and 16 touchdowns in the last three regular season games to earn Sanford a playoff berth.

The Spartans fell 42-16 to Scarborough in the first round, a game in which Shain suffered a hip pointer, but the senior played through the injury, rushing 24 times for 160 yards and two touchdowns in the defeat.

Russo was one of the most dangerous dual-threat quarterbacks in the state for the Storm in 2012, completing 56 of his 107 passes for 973 yards and seven touchdowns in the regular season and also rushing 64 times for 473 yards and nine more scores. Perhaps Russo’s finest performance came in Scarborough’s opening-round playoff victory over Sanford, when he threw for 287 yards and five touchdowns on 15 of 25 passing.

Russo threw for 158 yards and a score and rushed for another 97 the next week in the Western Maine semifinal round against Thornton Academy, but the Storm fell to the eventual Class A state champion Trojans 49-14.

Bollig keyed the dangerous Westbrook running game from his fullback spot in 2012, rushing 135 times for 822 yards and 14 touchdowns as the Blue Blazes completed their best regular season in recent memory with a 6-2 record. Bolliig rushed for more than 100 yards five times in the Blazes’ eight regular-season games, including a season-high 142 yard and four touchdown effort in Westbrook’s stirring 48-34 victory over York on Oct. 5

Bollig rushed for two touchdowns in Westbrook’s 34-8 victory over Fryeburg Academy in the opening round of the Class B playoffs, and scored the Blazes’ first touchdown in the semifinals a week later against York, who went on to end Westbrook and Bollig’s dream season with a hard-fought 21-14 victory.

On a direct snap play, Andrew Libby goes through a big hole on the left side of the line for a first down early in the game.
TA got a big boost early from an unexpected source. When a Scarborough shotgun snap went horribly awry, Bobby Begin (53), one of the Golden Trojans tri-captains, scooped up the ball and rumbled 80 yards for the game’s first touchdown.
Sanford’s Alex Shain gets a well-deserved break on the bench after rushing for 311 yards and six touchdowns Saturday at Massabesic, giving him a state-leading 26 scores on the year. Shain’s exploits have Division I scouts interested, and have the Spartans excited headed into Saturday’s playoff game against Scarborough.  
Senior fullback Cale Bollig breaks free for a 14-yard pick up in the final minute of the first half. (Photos by Rich Obrey
Quarterback Dillon Russo on a keeper picks up a first down.