It takes a lot to get Cam Kaubris to give up a game of “Madden.” But when his mother, Pam, took a phone call Wednesday afternoon, he found real-life football a lot more interesting.

“I was in the other room and I heard her talking on the phone with someone and she sounded pretty excited,” Kaubris said after leaving varsity basketball practice on Wednesday night. “She walked in and told me the news and I said, ‘I need to tell someone.'”

The news Kaubris needed to spread was that he is a finalist for the James J. Fitzpatrick Trophy, the award presented annually to the top senior football player in the state.

Kaubris, a senior quarterback and safety, was one of three finalists selected from a pool of 13 semifinalists. The finalists were picked via balloting among the state’s coaches and media.

It will be an all-quarterback final for the Fitzy, as Cheverus’ Peter Gwilym and Deering’s Jamie Ross were also announced as finalists by the Maine chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame on Thursday.

“It’s a really good feeling,” Kaubris said Wednesday night. “It’s something I’ve always wanted. I’ve always wanted to be at what I consider to be the peak of high school football.”

The winner will be announced at the annual banquet on Jan. 16 at the Holiday Inn by the Bay.

Kaubris led Mountain Valley to its second Class B state championship in the last three years and fourth in the last seven with a 12-0 season capped by the Falcons’ 20-0 shutout of Leavitt.

The Falcons fielded one of their most dominant teams ever, and Kaubris, who threw and rushed for a touchdown and had an interception in the title game, was their leader.

“I played alongside guys like Taylor Bradley, Josh Allen and Tyler Morton, guys that are Mountain Valley football,” he said. “And now to have something of my own… Just to be named a finalist and to have played alongside those guys is a big enough present for me.”

Kaubris noted that individual honors for teammates Christian Durland, who was named the Campbell Conference’s player of the year, and Ryan Glover, who was the Sun Journal’s player of the year, show what kind of team the Falcons had in 2010.

“This is really the highest honor I could have received,” he said. “My teammates and I got the biggest reward (a state title), but it’s nice to get something afterward.”

A three-year starter at quarterback, Kaubris’ senior season included 18 touchdowns rushing, passing and on interception returns. He also picked off 11 passes and was named a Campbell Conference All-Star and Sun Journal All-Region.

He is the second Mountain Valley player to be named a Fitzy finalist in the last three years. Justin Staires made it to the final round after the 2008 season, when Bonny Eagle’s Nate Doehler took home the trophy.

Each finalist is required to give a speech at the banquet. Kaubris said he helped Staires with his speech and, after watching his former teammate go through it, expects the next month to be nerve-wracking.

“I remember all the stress Justin went through,” he said. “I thought it was a pretty good speech, but he was pretty stressed.”

After learning the news, Kaubris said he called his father, Matt, at work, then called his uncle, Al Smith, one of his biggest supporters. He told his teammates at practice and already has some lobbying him for tickets to the banquet. Kaubris hopes to accommodate as many as he can, even saying “I’ll pay for their tickets.”

“A lot of other guys are going to be enjoying themselves. I’m going to be stressing out quite a bit,” he said.