BIDDEFORD — The East made no secret of the fact that its mission, besides winning, for the 24th Annual Maine Shrine Lobster Bowl Classic, was to get Mt. Blue quarterback Jordan Whitney the recognition they and many others felt has been long overdue.

It wasn’t perfect, but the East accomplished that mission with a 25-13 win which showcased Whitney’s passing prowess. He earned East MVP honors by completing 50 percent of his passes for 311 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.

Whitney also earned the John  R. Schmidlin Trophy for Class B. The award, which is selected via a secret ballot of football coaches around the state, is given annually at the Lobster Bowl to the most outstanding football player in each class. The award is in its eighth year.

Despite leading the Cougars to a Class B state title and being widely considered one of the top quarterbacks in the state last year, Whitney was not chosen as a semifinalist for the Fitzpatrick Trophy. Many, including coaches and players on the East, saw it as a snub by the selection committee.

“That’s the best quarterback in the state right there,” said Leavitt coach and East offensive coordinator Mike Hathaway, who faced Whitney in some memorable Pine Tree Conference Class B battles the last two years.

The Shriners emphasized that the Schmidlin award is not mean to be a “duplication” of the Fizpatrick Trophy because the selection criteria, which for the Schmidlin include good citizenship, team play, loyalty and reliability, are different than the award known as “Maine’s high school Heisman.”

Nevertheless, Whitney showed pride and humility with the recognition Saturday.

“It’s a great honor to be selected to win that,” Whitney said. “I don’t know. It’s nice.”

Tyler Sturtevant of Poland won the Class C award. An all-conference fullback/linebacker for the Knights, Sturtevant played slot receiver for the West and had one catch for 12 yards.

Thornton Academy Bobby Begin won the Class A award. Other local finalists for the award were Brian Bedard of Leavitt in Class B and Ryan Brewer of Lisbon and Brian Daniels off Oak Hill in Class C.

Cady Toussaint of Biddeford and Gabrielle Brodek of Hampden Academy won the cheerleaders’ Spirit Award.

Action for Jackson

Mt.  Blue’s Bradley Jackson broke the fifth metatarsal on his right foot during training camp at Hebron Academy and was on the East sidelines wearing a boot for most of the game. But he still got to say he played in the Lobster Bowl.

Carried onto the field by a pair of East teammates, Jackson lined up at guard for the East’s final extra point.

Jackson will attend the University of  Maine at Farmington in the fall to study pre-law and play rugby and baseball. He said his recovery is expected to take 8-10 weeks.

Lobster tails

In a comical bit of gamesmanship, the East coaching staff created placards to call their formations with head-shot cutouts of members of the West coaching staff and Lobster Bowl athletic director Jason Fuller. Apparently the West didn’t find it very funny and asked the pictures be removed at halftime … For the first time in several years, there were no skydivers dropping down onto the field with the game ball in pregame … University of Maine head coach Jack Cosgrove spoke to both teams at the traditional banquet held in Lewiston on Friday night. Cosgrove’s son, Matt, went to Bangor and was a wide receiver for the East … Megan Ward of Bangor sang the National Anthem pregame and God Bless America between the first and second quarters. She was the winner of the Maine Games’ seventh annual National Anthem audition held at the Kora Temple in Lewiston on April 13 … The East coaching staff included several local coaches who volunteered their services this week: head coach Dave Sterling of Edward  Little, assistants Mike Hathaway of  Leavitt, Bill County of Lewiston and Josh Barajas of Edward Little. Cheerleading coaches included Deb Loveless and Jessie Beecher of Oxford Hills and Louise Gouthier of Oak Hill.