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The four finalists for the 54th James J. Fitzpatrick Trophy are record-setting Class A players Connor Ayoob of Thornton Academy and Cordell Jones of Portland, and Class B standouts Parker Morin of Cony and Tony Bongomin of state champion Westbrook.

The finalists were selected by a ranked-choice vote of the state’s head coaches and members of the media from a list of 10 semifinalists chosen by the Fitzpatrick Trophy selection committee.

The winner of the annual award, representative of the top senior high school football player in Maine, will be revealed Jan. 18 at a banquet at the Holiday Inn by the Bay in Portland. The voting has concluded. Per tradition, only the accounting firm that received and tabulated the votes knows who has won until the banquet.

Connor Ayoob rushed for 2,102 yards and 31 touchdowns this season to lead Thornton Academy to the Class A title. (Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer)

Ayoob led Thornton Academy to the Class A championship as a workhorse running back with explosive power, exceptional balance and enough speed to break away. He capped his season with 231 yards and four touchdowns in a 28-0 title game win against Portland. Ayoob set Thornton single-season rushing records with 2,102 yards and 31 touchdowns, and was named the Maine Gatorade Player of the Year.

Quarterback Cordell Jones passed for 892 yards and rushed for 1,436 yards for Portland this season. (Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer)

Jones, who has committed to play at the University of Maine, led Portland to its third straight appearance in the Class A championship game. A two-way standout who will likely play wide receiver or defensive back at Maine, he was Portland’s starting quarterback and middle linebacker. Jones set Portland career records for touchdowns and scoring. He completed 77 of 144 passes for 892 yards, and rushed for 1,436 yards and 24 touchdowns. Defensively, he recorded 93 tackles (40 solo), seven for loss, and four interceptions.

Quarterback Parker Morin completed 68.6% of his passes for 2,703 yards and 36 touchdowns for Cony this season. (Russ Dillingham/Staff Photographer)

Morin starred at quarterback, leading a Cony offense that averaged 47.3 points per game. He completed 68.6% of his passes (153 of 223) for 2,703 yards, with 36 touchdowns against just six interceptions, while sitting out the second half of five games. Morin also rushed for seven scores for the Class B runner-up Rams.

Tony Bongomin had 172 tackles, seven sacks and two interceptions to help Westbrook win the Class B state title this season. (Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer)

Bongomin became the rare player to become a Fitzy finalist while playing almost exclusively on defense. He was a catalyst for Westbrook’s turnaround from a two-win team to the Class B championship and his season included an 87-yard interception return for a touchdown in the state final. Bongomin made 172 tackles (68 solo, 104 assists) with 15 tackles for loss, seven sacks, five forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries and two interceptions.

Jamier Rose of Noble High, a dual-threat quarterback, was last year’s winner of the Fitzpatrick Trophy, which is named after Portland High’s longtime coach and athletic director.

Steve Craig reports primarily about Maine’s active high school sports scene and, more recently, the Portland Hearts of Pine men's professional soccer team. His first newspaper job was covering Maine...

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