Josh Ranger didn’t know the Fitzpatrick Trophy existed, let alone its prestige within the state’s high school football community, until a couple of weeks ago.

That’s when somebody stopped him on the street to congratulate the Hampden Academy senior for being named a semifinalist for the statewide award, presented annually to a senior player based on performance on the field as well as off-field factors such as academics, leadership and community service.

“I like playing sports more than following them,” said Ranger.

A 6-foot-2, 217-pound offensive guard and defensive tackle, Ranger helped Hampden finish with a 6-4 record and earn a berth in the Eastern Maine Class B semifinals.

The team captain was a catalyst as the Broncos developed one of the PTC’s most productive offenses, helping coach Harry McCluskey’s club earn its first home playoff game since 1998.

Ranger went on to earn first-team All-PTC honors on offense and second-team accolades on defense.

The National Honor Society member, who also holds a 95 average in the classroom, also was named to the PTC All-Academic team.

Ranger also is a top swimmer for Hampden, earning three top-five finishes at last winter’s Class A state meet and a sixth-place finish at the New England championships.

Ranger serves as a lifeguard at the Lura E. Hoit pool in Hampden, where late last year he was credited with saving a young boy’s life.

Ranger rescued the boy after the child went down a slide into the deep end of the pool and began to sink.

He subsequently was honored by the Hampden Town Council for his rescue efforts.

Ranger plans to study business at either Bentley or the University of Maine next year.

“I’m very excited about this,” said Ranger. “I’m excited to be nominated, and I’m really excited to represent Hampden Academy.”

The Fitzy semifinalists were selected by a committee of the Maine chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame and media representatives based on nominations by the state’s high school coaches.

Finalists will be announced Dec. 24, with the winner to be named Jan. 14.

Other semifinalists from Eastern Maine are Aaron Champagne of Lawrence of Fairfield, Brandon Morrow of Maranacook of Readfield and Jared Turcotte of Lewiston.

Champagne led Lawrence to the Class A state title, rushing for 916 yards and eight touchdowns during the regular season and adding 148 yards on pass receptions. The team captain carries a 97.9 grade-point average and ranks second in a class of 220 students.

Morrow was a team captain who played fullback and linebacker for Class B Maranacook. He also went before the local school board, making a successful effort to gain a funded position for weight room supervision at the middle school.

Turcotte finished his high school career with nearly 5,000 career rushing yards, including 1,813 as a senior in leading Lewiston to a berth in the Eastern A semifinals. The team captain, who carries a 92.9 classroom average, also rushed for 17 touchdowns, caught four TD passes, threw a touchdown pass and returned both an interception and fumble recovery for scores. As a linebacker, he made 113 solo tackles, and he also returned punts and kickoffs as well as did all of his team’s punting and kickoffs.

Turcotte already has been named Maine’s Gatorade player of the year.

Western Maine semifinalists are Max Baillargeon of Thornton Academy of Saco, Ben Delcourt of Bonny Eagle of Standish, Jon Mitchell of Gorham, Andrew Pochebit of Cheverus of Portland, Brian Sandora of Deering of Portland and Chris Treister of Portland.

Baillargeon, a quarterback and defensive back, rushed for 744 yards and 10 touchdowns and passed for 527 yards and four scores. Delcourt, a wide receiver and defensive back, had 30 pass receptions for 403 yards and three TDs and carries a 3.99 grade-point average in the classroom.

Mitchell helped Gorham win the Western A championship. The running back and linebacker rushed for 958 yards and made 68 tackles. Pochebit, a halfback and defensive back, amassed more than 1,000 all-purpose yards for Cheverus. Sandora, a running back and defensive end, rushed for 1,577 yards and scored 21 touchdowns while ranking third on his teams in tackles. Treister, a quarterback and defensive back, totaled 2,236 all-purpose yards and completed 60 percent of his passes.

State finals attendance strong

This year’s state championship high school football tripleheader at Fitzpatrick Stadium in Portland drew a paid attendance of nearly 9,400, according to Maine Principals Association assistant executive director Larry LaBrie.

That attendance is believed to be the second largest in the five years all three state finals have been played at the same site. This year’s finals – Lawrence of Fairfield defeating Gorham in Class A, Mountain Valley of Rumford rallying past Winslow in Class B and Lisbon topping Foxcroft Academy in Class C – trailed only the 2003 games that featured a huge crowd for the Class A contest between Deering of Portland and Brunswick.

This year’s Class A game featured the biggest crowd of the day, but the Class C and Class B games that followed both had healthy attendance, LaBrie said.

A ticket to the state finals allowed the holder to attend all three games, but LaBrie estimated that crossover crowd that attended all three games at only a few hundred.

In addition to the paid turnout, LaBrie said the MPA also issued nearly 100 media credentials for the games.