By Sun Journal staff

The Fitzpatrick Award has long been held as the pinnacle of the Maine high school football world.

Starting this year, graduating seniors will have a new piece of hardware for which to strive, and this one is more than just about blocking, running or passing.

Tonight, at halftime of the 17th annual Maine Shrine Lobster Bowl, the Maine Football Coaches Association will present one player from each class with the newly created John R. Schmidlin trophy, which recognizes the most outstanding senior football player in each of the three classes.

“This is different from the Fitzy,” said Leavitt Area High School Principal Mike Haley, who is also the secretary of the MFCA. “The selection criteria are different.”

According to Haley, the criteria for the Schmidlin award include good citizenship, being a team player, loyalty and reliability, something all of the players at the Lobster Bowl must exhibit. It’s fitting, Haley said, that the award is presented at halftime of the Lobster Bowl.

Players have been nominated by the coaches in their class, and all voting was done by class via secret ballot.

This year’s nominees include five local athletes. James Bower of Oxford Hills joins Aaron Chambers and Brian Lagasse of Skowhegan, Ken Paul of Massabesic and John Weichman of Bonny Eagle as the first set of Class A nominees.

In Class B, Tyler Angell of Leavitt, Travis Fergola of Mountain Valley and Josh Walker of Fryeburg join Chris Morris of Hampden and Rick Porter of Brewer in Class B, while Levi Ervin of Lisbon is among Woody Noyes of Madison and Mike Perrone of Old Orchard Beach in Class C.

The award is named for John R. Schmidlin, who coached at Gardiner High School from 1950-1967. He was also the executive secretary of the Maine High School Coaches’ Association for 26 years, and served as the University of Maine at Machias’ athletic director until 1976.

Players will receive a small plaque, and a larger trophy will be presented to display at the winner’s school until the following summer.