CHICAGO (December 6, 2024) — In its 40th year of honoring the nation’s most elite high school athletes, Gatorade today announced Cordell Jones of Portland High School is the 2024-25 Gatorade Maine Football Player of the Year. Jones is the fourth Gatorade Maine Football Player of the Year to be chosen from Portland High School.

Gatorade Player of the Year is the top honor in high school sports, celebrating the nation’s best high school athletes for their success on the field, in the classroom and in the community. The award distinguishes Jones as Maine's best high school football player, and he joins an impressive group of alumni that spans CEOs, coaches and star athletes such as Emmitt Smith (1986-87, Escambia High School, Fl.), Peyton Manning (1993-94, Isidore Newman School, La.) and DJ Lagway (2023-24, Willis High School, Texas).

The 6-foot-3, 185-pound junior wide receiver, running back and defensive back accounted for 1,562 yards and 25 touchdowns on offense this past season, leading the Bulldogs (10-2) to a Class A state championship. Jones rushed for 971 yards and 16 touchdowns. He also caught 28 passes for 591 yards and nine scores. A two-way AllConference selection, he recorded 46 tackles, including three for loss, and two interceptions on defense.

A three-sport athlete, Jones has volunteered locally as a youth football and basketball coach.

“Cordell has a huge football skill set,” said Kevin Cooper, head coach at Bonny Eagle High School. “He affects the game running, receiving, throwing and on defense. He really makes Portland High School go because they can use them in all these capacities. Rarely does a player come along that can do all of those things.”

Jones has maintained a B average in the classroom. He will begin his senior year next fall.

The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states across 12 different high school sports – football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field – and awards one National Player of the Year in each sport. The selection process is administered by the Gatorade Player of the Year Selection Committee, which leverages experts including coaches, scouts, media and others as sources to help evaluate and determine the state winners in each sport.

Jones joins recent Gatorade Maine Football Players of the Year Noah Carpenter (2023-24 & 2022-23, Leavitt Area High School), Eli Soehren (2021-22, Oxford Hills High School) and Wyatt Hathaway (2020-21, Leavitt Area High School), among the state’s list of former award winners.

As part of Gatorade’s commitment to breaking down barriers in sport, every Player of the Year also receives a grant to donate to a social impact partner. To date, the Gatorade Player of the Year program has provided more than $5.6 million in grants to winners across more than 2,000 organizations.

To learn more about the Gatorade Player of the Year program, check out past winners or to nominate student - athletes, visit playeroftheyear.gatorade.com or follow us on social media on Instagram at instagram.com/Gatorade, Facebook at facebook.com/GatoradePOY and X(Twitter) at x.com/Gatorade.