On Sunday afternoon, Louis DiTomasso will be sitting at the head table of a large dining room, waiting for his name to be called, and ready to pick up a statue.

DiTomasso, the running back/linebacker from Wells High School, is one of three finalists for the James J. Fitzpatrick Trophy, the award given to the top senior high school football player in the state. Joining DiTomasso are Leavitt quarterback/safety Jordan Hersom and Cheverus running back/safety Spencer Cooke.

The 41st annual award ceremony will take place at the Holiday Inn by the Bay in Portland.

“It would be a huge accomplishment, and make this season and this year, even better,” DiTomasso said. “It would be the icing on the cake.”

For Wells head coach Tim Roche, he said he’s happy the voters recognized DiTomasso’s accomplishments.

“I knew how hard he worked in the weight room and how much he did, a lot like the rest of the guys on the team,” Roche said. “When it comes down to votes, you hope everyone else sees the same thing you’re seeing. I had the luxury and the privilege to watch it five days a week. Not everybody got to see that. The hope is always there that they notice your kid.”

Should DiTomasso win the award, he will be the first from Wells, and the first full-fledged York County football player to win the award since Phil Bourassa of Biddeford in 2003 (Nate Doehler of Bonny Eagle won in 2008, but Bonny Eagle shares ties to York County and Cumberland County towns).

If DiTomasso wins, he will also be the first non-Class A winner of the Fitzy since Nicolas Tymoczko of Bucksport in 2004.

DiTomasso had an impressive 2011 season for the Warriors. The leader of a defense that allowed seven points per game, DiTomasso collected 133 tackles. As a fullback on offense out of the Warrior’s Wing-T formation, DiTomasso ran for 1,559 yards and scored 18 touchdowns.

As a result, the Warriors won their first Class B championship in November, beating Leavitt in 21-13, finishing the season 12-0.

Roche said he first heard of DiTomasso and his football accomplishments during his eighth grade year.

“I always knew he was going to be good,” Roche said. “The fear was, coming out of eighth grade, there was a lot of talk about him. A lot of times, that’s the kiss of death for kids. They may have matured a little bit earlier then some other kids. You’re worried about that feeling. I talked to him before he started (high school), he wasn’t really sure if he was even going to play. We talked about it, he decided to play, and obviously his love for it was unbelievable. To say that he would be a Fitzpatrick Trophy finalist, I never would have guessed that.”

While he said he’s excited to be a finalist for the award, DiTomasso said he doesn’t want the prospects of taking home the trophy to detract from what the Warriors accomplished this season.

“It’d be pretty cool, but I don’t want to take anything away from the state championship,” DiTomasso said. “We’re considered the greatest team in Wells history and I want people to think of it more as a team effort, more than just me winning the Fitzpatrick (trophy).

He’ll have stiff competition in both Hersom and Cooke. Hersom both rushed and passed for more than 1,000 yards this season while leading the Hornets to the Class B title game. Cooke had the best regular season of any player in Class A, rushing for more than 1,000 yards and scoring 19 touchdowns before breaking a bone in his lower leg in the final game of the season, missing the Stags’ march to the Class A title before returning in the championship game.

“Spencer Cooke is a great back,” DiTomasso said. “He ran for 1,000 yards in eight games, it was unfortunate that he got hurt. He’s a great back, and a great defensive back from what I heard. Jordan Hersom has pretty good stats and a pretty good resume under his belt.”

DiTomasso said his biggest game of the season came against York back on Oct. 21. With quarterback Paul McDonough out with a foot injury, DiTomasso took over offensively, rushing for 268 yards and four touchdowns.

“Paulie’s out and we needed somebody to step up,” DiTomasso said. “I just tried to do the best that I could and it worked out.”

DiTomasso said he has his speech prepared, should he win the award, getting some help from friends and teachers.

“I’m just going to try to remember most of it, so I don’t have to keep looking down, looking up, looking down, looking up (at the speech),” he said. “I didn’t write too much down. It’s pretty straight-forward, kind of broad. Hopefully people will like it.”

He said he hopes to play football at the college level, but is focusing on his academics at the moment. He has applied to the University of Maine, the University of Southern Maine, the University of New Hampshire, Worcester Polytechnic Institute and Wentworth University in Boston.

Whether he hears his name called or not, DiTomasso said he can never forget about the magical 2011 season.

“Whenever I get bored, I always think about the season and all of the memories that are on that field, in Wells or anywhere,” DiTomasso said. “I think about all of the good times I had, because I was with my closest friends, playing football and just having a good time.”

— Contact Dave Dyer at 282-1535 ext. 323 or follow on Twitter @Dave_Dyer.