Bedard was recuperating from a dislocated kneecap, a painful injury suffered during preseason of his junior year. He returned midseason as a receiver and big-play threat to help Hersom put up Fitizpatrick-caliber numbers, then became a spectator again last January, when Hersom picked up the trophy for the first time as the state’s top senior high school football player.

Bedard said he learned a lot from Hersom’s award-winning season, and it clearly paid off as the Leavitt High School senior was named one of 12 semifinalists for the Fitzpatrick Trophy on Wednesday.

“Basically, Jordan is a real humble kid, works hard and doesn’t talk much, just leads by example. This year, I tried to do what he did,” Bedard said.

“It’s well-deserved,” Leavitt coach Mike Hathaway said. “He’s a kid that’s worked really hard. He’s a real humble kid. You watch him play and there’s not a lot of flash to him or a lot of other stuff.”

Bedard seemed to flash around different spots on the field this year for the Hornets. Hathaway lined up the 6-foot-1, 185-pound Bedard at tailback, wide receiver, slotback and in the wildcat to take advantage of his many talents.

“He just gave us a lot of different looks from week to week,” Hathaway said. “When you have someone who can run the ball inside, run the ball outside and can line up as a flanker and receiver all over the field, that’s a great place to start.”

Bedard rewarded the Hornets for exploiting his versatility. He led them in rushing and receiving and, with kick returns considered, racked up more than 1,500 all-purpose yards, 18 touchdowns and 116 points.

Defensively, he lined up at safety and cornerback and led the PTC with seven interceptions to go with 50 tackles. He earned all-PTC status on both sides of the ball.

Bedard rose from a special teams contributor as a freshman to starting status as a sophomore. The knee injury temporarily derailed a promising junior season, but Bedard said the hiatus made him realize football wasn’t to be taken for granted when he got healthy again.

“It really sucked being out. It made me realize how much I loved football,” Bedard said.

Coaches sometimes wondered about Bedard’s practice habits because he was so quiet, he’d often blend into the background. But from the time he returned from the injury, it became hard not to notice him.

His work ethic only increased this past offseason with the knowledge that he would be a more integral part of the offense.

“The whole offseason, I work on gaining weight and worked on my speed because I knew I would be getting the ball a lot more,” he said.

In his three years, the Hornets went 29-4 with two conference titles. He leaves Leavitt with over 2,500 all-purpose yards and 33 touchdowns for his career, along with 75 receptions, 115 tackles and 12 interceptions.

Bedard making such wide-ranging contributions to the football team is a testament to the player’s work ethic and feel for the game, Hathaway said.

“You’ve got to concentrate pretty hard in two hours of practice to be able to line up at that many spots,” he said.

The state’s football coaches and media will vote for three finalists and the winner will be announced at the annual banquet , scheduled for noon on Saturday, Jan. 20 at the Holiday Inn by the Bay in Portland.

Other semifinalists for the 42nd Fitzpatrick Trophy are Bobby Begin of Thornton, Cale Bollig of Westbrook, Spencer Carey of Lawrence, Tate Gale of Portland, Donald Goodrich of Cheverus, Nick Leblond of Biddeford, Jack Lucy of Orono, Dillon Russo of Scarborough, Alex Shain of Sanford, Chandler Shostak of Cony and Kenny Sweet of Deering.