Dalton Therrien accomplished a lot as a member of the Oak Hill High School football team.
In November, Therrien quarterbacked the Raiders to their third straight Class D championship and totaled more than 2,600 yards in the process. Therrien — who intends to play baseball in college — added one more achievement to his resume on Monday when it was announced that he was a semifinalist for the 45th James J. Fitzpatrick Trophy. The award is given annually to the state’s top senior football player based on their performance on and off the field.
“It’s a great accomplishment. It feels good to be representing Class D along with Riley (Robinson of Dirigo),” said Therrien, who amassed 2,624 all-purpose yards and 28 touchdowns rushing and passing. “The entire team knows it’s a big team accomplishment and not just me personally. It’s something we can all look back on.”
The other semifinalists are: Nate Pratt-Holt of Mt. Blue; Reid Shostak of Cony; Jack Bernatchez of Messalonskee; Will Bessey of Brunswick; Connor Aube of Falmouth; Levi Craig of Leavitt; Joe Esposito of Portland; Mahlon Glidden of Scarborough; Austin McCrum of Thornton Academy; and Sam Peck of Greely. Esposito was recently named the 2015 Maine Gatorade Football Player of the Year.
The list will be narrowed to three by a vote amongst the state’s football head coaches and media members, and the award will be handed out Jan. 24 at the Holiday Inn By The Bay in Portland.
“It’s a huge honor,” said Shostak, who is undecided on whether he will pursue playing football collegiately. “It’s something I’ve worked for definitely.”
Shostak was a four-year starter for the Rams but his final season at Cony was nearly over before it started after he suffered an elbow injury during the preseason. The senior running back/safety/linebacker recalled sitting in the doctor’s office the moment he found out the extent of the injury.
“He told me I was going to be out six weeks,” Shostak said, “and I thought it was all going down the drain.”
Ultimately, Shostak missed just two games — one due to the injury — on the season. He finished with 1,178 all-purpose yards and 12 touchdowns, while on defense he made 56 tackles and had two interceptions.
“An underrated part of his game is how smart he is. Everyone sees the physical attributes that he’s fast and athletic and a great tacklers, but you tell him something once he remembers it,” Cony head coach B.L. Lippert said. “For us, it was invaluable.
“… As far as an all-around player, I’m not sure if I’m starting a team I’d take anyone other than him and that’s no disrespect to the Ben Lucases or his own brother Chandler. As far as impacting a game it doesn’t get much better than a running back who can carry it 30 to 35 times a game and a linebacker who’s going to make 15 tackles.”
Like Shostak, Bernatchez was also slowed at times due to injury. A banged-up foot cost him a pair of games this season, but he still managed to rush for 1,100 yards and 18 touchdowns. Defensively, Bernatchez had 81 tackles, one sack, one fumble recovery and one interception.
“The injury wasn’t easy to go through,” said Bernatchez, who is hoping to study engineering and play football at either Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute or the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “Missing the Brewer game was tough but I took the risk playing on it in that last game (against Lawrence). It kept me out of basketball for a few weeks but it was definitely worth it to play on the field one more time.”
In addition to his physical attributes, it was his versatility that made Bernatchez such a dynamic player, according to his head coach, Brad Bishop.
“He’s smart. He listened well and did what we asked,” Bishop said. “He’s tough, fast, athletic and all those types of things but his smarts and ability to adapt to things helped a lot. You don’t have to tell him 15 times how to do something.”
Many of the same things could be said for Pratt-Holt, who did a little bit of everything for the Cougars this past fall. He totaled 796 all-purpose yards and nine touchdowns on 17 carries and 25 receptions, while defensively he had 84 tackles, three fumble recoveries and three interceptions as a safety.
“The season was great just because I played football with a group of guys I really enjoyed spending time with and getting recognized as a semifinalist is an honor,” Pratt-Holt said. “It’s just icing on the cake.”
Pratt-Holt said he is still undecided on his college plans but may be interested in competing in track and field. He is the defending outdoor Class A state champion in the triple jump.
Evan Crawley — 621-5640
ecrawley@mainetoday.com
Twitter: @Evan_Crawley
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