Noble’s Jamier Rose smiles as he lowers the Fitzpatrick Trophy onto a table Sunday after he was honored as the senior football player of the year in Maine, as voted by coaches and media members. Ben McCanna/Portland Press Herald

Jamier Rose said he didn’t know much about the James J. Fitzpatrick Trophy prior to his senior football season at Noble High.

Which, when you think about it, is understandable: Noble had never had a finalist for the award created in 1971 and dubbed Maine’s high school Heisman.

He knows about it now.

Rose, a dual-threat quarterback who accounted for over 2,400 yards of offense and 32 touchdowns while leading the Class A Knights to their first regional final since 1997, became the 53rd winner of the Fitzpatrick Trophy — and first from Noble — when his name was read aloud by 1999 winner Kevin Bougie of Sanford at Sunday’s award banquet at the Holiday Inn by the Bay.

“Just a rush of excitement, that I was able to do this, not just for me but for my community,” said Rose, nattily attired in a tapered black dinner jacket and bow tie. “It’s a big thing. It’s never been done at Noble before, so I’m very grateful to be the one to do it.”

Rose was chosen by a vote of the state’s head coaches and media members. Coach Keenon Blindow said Rose’s athletic skills are backed by his drive to improve and balanced with humility.

“Jamier deserves this, and I’m just so proud of him,” Blindow said. “Driven and humble. He works so hard, and he’s such a great athlete, but he also does it in such a humble way. He cares for everyone in the school, whether he knows you or not. He’ll have a conversation with community members.”

Rose said he and Blindow had talked about the Fitzpatrick Trophy a few times, but “I never really grasped what he was saying. Then this year we dove in and really understood the award, and I’m very grateful.”

Rose was one of four finalists who attended Sunday’s dinner with their families and coaches. The others were Houlton quarterback Isaiah Ervin, Old Orchard Beach receiver Riley Provencher and Portland quarterback Louis Thurston.

Noble quarterback Jamier Rose, second from right, clasps his hands after being named the 2025 Fitzpatrick Trophy winner Sunday at Holiday Inn by the Bay. Applauding him are fellow finalists, from left, Isaiah Ervin of Houlton, Riley Provencher of Old Orchard Beach and Louis Thurston of Portland. Ben McCanna/Portland Press Herald

Ervin, Rose and Provencher are each the first player from their respective school to be a Fitzpatrick Trophy finalist. Ervin and Provencher became the second and third eight-man players to be voted a finalist, following Yarmouth’s Michael McGonagle last year.

Thurston, who led Portland to the Class A championship, was looking to be the sixth Portland player to win the Fitzy and first since Joe Esposito in 2015.

“Everyone on that stage had an outstanding season, and I’m happy with my championship ring, so I can’t be too greedy,” Thurston said.

Rose, who was also named the Varsity Maine Player of the Year, led Noble to a 7-2 regular-season record and a playoff win against Bonny Eagle, and then ran for two touchdowns and threw for two more in a regional final loss at Thornton Academy. For the season, he completed 105 of 169 passes for 1,518 yards and 19 touchdowns, rushed for 938 yards and 13 touchdowns on 116 carries, and made 34 solo tackles.

“I think we achieved a lot. We were a very good team,” Rose said. “Didn’t end up winning the Gold Ball, but most of our achievements were off the field of football. The excitement around Noble football now is at a place that it has never been before. So that’s the biggest thing we were able to accomplish: to bring Noble football back to the community.”

This year, the Fitzpatrick Trophy committee chose 14 semifinalists. The 10 semifinalists who did not advance to the finalist category also attended Sunday’s dinner and were recognized. They are: Wyatt Benoit, Thornton; Jack Brewer, Orono; CJ Cooper, Bonny Eagle; Kaiden Delano, Oak Hill; Easton Healy, South Portland; Jack Karlonas, Gorham; Tavian Lauture, Deering; Eli Potter, Wells; and Brady Stone, Kennebunk.

Jamier Rose celebrates after making a tackle during a game between Noble and Thornton Academy in October. Derek Davis/Portland Press Herald, file

The Fitzpatrick Trophy is named for James J. Fitzpatrick, a standout player at Boston College in 1919 and 1920 who joined Portland High’s staff in 1921 and coached football, basketball, baseball and golf over a 40-plus-year education career. The award was created by Portland businessman Yudy Elowitch as a way to pay tribute to Fitzpatrick, who was his high school football coach at Portland in the late 1920s and early 1930s. The Elowitch family continues to support the award.

Now that he’s become Noble’s first Fitzy winner, Rose’s next goals involve basketball. He’s already crossed the 1,000-point barrier this season and is the leader of a Knights’ basketball team that is 11-1 and atop the Class A standings. On a personal level, “my next goal is to win Mr. Maine Basketball,” he said.

If that happens, Rose will achieve more firsts: Noble’s never had a Mr. Maine Basketball winner, and no Fitzpatrick Trophy winner has doubled up and won the state’s top basketball honor.