When Jordan Roddy found out he’s a semifinalist for the James J. Fitzpatrick Trophy on Wednesday evening, the Cony High School senior thought of his school’s recent Fitzpatrick Trophy winner.

“Having someone like Ben Lucas (the 2013 winner) come up through our program and win the Fitzpatrick Trophy, it makes it special,” Roddy said.

Roddy and Madison running back/linebacker Sean Whalen are among the 12 semifinalists for the Fitzpatrick Trophy, awarded annually to the top senior football player in the state. Voting by the state’s head coaches and media will be completed on Dec. 15, after which three finalists will be named. The winner will be announced at a dinner on Jan. 14 at the Holiday Inn by the Bay in Portland.

Joining Roddy and Whalen are Owen Garrard (Scarborough), Nolan Potter (Wells), Tim Albert (Leavitt), Jack Bryant (Falmouth), Nick Clawson (Foxcroft Academy), Grant Hartley (Edward Little), Cameron Houde (Thornton Academy), Colby Lee (Mt. Desert Island), Connor Sirois (Bonny Eagle), and Ryan Weare (Cape Elizabeth).

Roddy said he learned he was a semifinalist from his coach, B.L. Lippert. Whalen said he received an email from the Fitzpatrick committee.

“I was definitely really excited,” Whalen said. “It was a great honor to open up that email and see that.”

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Roddy completed his high school career as one of the top wide receivers in the state. For his career, Roddy caught 165 passes for 2,120 yards and 33 touchdowns. This season, he caught 76 passes for 703 yards and eight touchdowns. As a junior, Roddy caught a state-record 17 touchdown passes.

“We’ve had some outstanding wide receivers at Cony over the last decade, including a Fitzpatrick finalist (Chandler Shostak), but I’m not sure there’s been a better one to wear the red and white than Jordan,” Lippert said. “This year it was evident that teams really game planned to defend Jordan first and foremost. After the season an opposing coach sent me a picture of their coaches room white boards with our formations and a star where Jordan was lined up. Their entire defense was dictated on whether he was in the slot, out wide, or lined up in the backfield. That’s an enormous amount of respect and he earned every bit of it.”

This season, Whalen did a little bit of everything for the Bulldogs, gaining more than 2,000 all-purpose yards as the Bulldogs reached the Class D South championship game.

“Sean was one of those kids, when he came in freshman year, it didn’t take long to see his athleticism,” Madison coach Scott Franzose said. “We all felt without a doubt, he was going to be something special.”

Both Roddy and Whalen said being a semifinalist for the Fitzpatrick Trophy was a goal, but not one either fixated upon.

“I needed to be focused on what we were doing at the time,” Roddy said.

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Added Whalen: “It’s good because my teammates helped me so much.”

Neither Roddy nor Whalen is sure about his future academic plans. Whalen said he’s considering a few colleges, while Roddy said he is leaning toward continuing his football career at prep school next fall.

“That would give me that extra year mentally and physically,” Roddy said.

Semifinalists were selected by a committee that reviewed nominees from across the state. Each high school coach may nominate one senior. Each nominee is judged on on-field performance, academics, and community and school service.

Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242

tlazarczyk@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @TLazarczykMTM


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