WELLS — It’s a good thing Wells senior Chris Carney wore a helmet on the field, and it has nothing to with all the hard hits he took while playing running back and linebacker. It allowed Carney to distinguish himself as a Wells football player, rather than Chris Carney.

But what Carney couldn’t prevent by wearing the same helmet that his 50-plus teammates wore was by distinguishing himself as the best player on the field every time he stepped onto it.

Carney’s individual play on the field, as well as the way he composed himself off of it, distinguished him as one of three finalists for the 44th James J. Fitzpatrick Trophy.

“As a coach, you hope that when a kid works as hard as he has, and had the success he had, that other people recognize that,” said Wells football coach Tim Roche. “That to me is the biggest thing. Whether he wins it or loses it or whatever, the fact that you’re in the top three is outstanding.”

Carney has some stiff competition for the award that will be handed out at the annual banquet on Sunday, Jan. 18, as Marshwood running back Brett Gerry and Cheverus running back Joe Fitzpatrick also had standout seasons. But Carney’s play certainly makes him worthy of being a finalist.

“He had 2,077 yards (and 30 touchdowns). He was outstanding. And the thing about it, we always want to talk offense, that kid was unreal on defense. Unreal,” said Roche. “He’s just an all-around player.”

The honor has been a difficult one for Carney to accept, however, said Roche.

“If there was one kid that I’ve ever had that really could care less ”“ I mean, he’s honored by it, so I don’t want to make it trivial ”“ and would easily trade it for a gold ball, it’s Chris Carney,” said Roche. “He just feels these individual honors are not what he’s about. I find that very refreshing in a kid.

“It’s just one of those things, he just struggles with individual honors. But that’s why we love him. He was just so sold on Warrior football and the team and all that stuff, it’s just such a pleasure to have a kid like that.”

Roche called Carney humble, something that was evident every time he was interviewed after the Warriors’ many victories. Carney ran for over 100 yards and scored in nearly every game, but he was faster at deflecting praise than he was at running for touchdowns.

But what Carney lacked in post-game chatter, he made up for in his work between games. That’s a lesson he learned as a freshman on Wells’ state championship team in 2011, which included Fitzpatrick finalist Louis DiTomasso at running back.

“The way they worked, and what they did, definitely rubbed off on Chris,” said Roche, noting how hard that team’s stars worked to equal that success.

Hard work is a lesson that Carney has learned away from football as well, in a way that one wouldn’t think much of unless dealt with what Carney has been dealt.

“He’s overcome a lot. He’s allergic to just about anything,” Roche said, alluding to lactose and gluten intolerances among other things. “He has all these things that it would be very easy to say ”˜it’s just too hard for me. I got too many things going on. I can’t ”¦’ But for him, he worked out so hard. It was just amazing how he overcame it.”

Roche pointed out that during the team’s annual preseason trip to a summer camp, Carney had to plan ahead and pack every meal while his teammates got to eat meals fit for a king. Roche said you would never know that Carney ate any different by how he handled the accommodations.

Roche called Carney the type of kid “that the Fitzpatrick Award is about.”

“He’s just the kind of kid you want as a teammate, and as a coach it’s the kind of kid you want to have as a player,” said Roche. “In the hallways of Wells High School, there’s not a time that people wouldn’t speak highly of Chris. I don’t care if you asked from the math teacher, to the guidance, to our principals, they’d all tell you that he is just a good kid. I think that’s important as we deal in these awards ”¦ that we give it to these kids that do work.”

Roche said that Carney is coming around on being a finalist, and that it has taken plenty of reminders that the individual honor is due to the team around him.

“I tell them all the time, it is an individual award, but it’s a team award. (Oregon’s Marcus) Mariota didn’t win a Heisman on his own; he had to have the teammates behind him. If they’re not a successful football team, if they’re 0-9, Mariota isn’t winning the Heisman,” said Roche. “It is a testament to those things.”

Carney may or may not win the Fitzpatrick Trophy, but Roche said he’s exactly the kind of player ”“ the kind of person ”“ that you want to base a team around.

“If I can get 11 Chrises on my team, regardless of how they talented they are football-wise, just the way they behave and act, we’d be pretty good,” said Roche.

— Sports Staff Writer Wil Kramlich can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 323 or sports@journaltribune.com. Follow him on Twitter @WilTalkSports.