Projo Sports Blog

CHICAGO — In its third decade of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in partnership with RISE Magazine, today announced Bobby Bentsen of Warwick Veterans High School as its 2007-08 Gatorade Rhode Island Football Player of the Year

The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also meeting high standards of academic achievement while demonstrating exceptional character on and off the field, distinguishes Bentsen as Rhode Island’s best high school football player. Bentsen is now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Football Player of the Year award to be announced in mid-December.

The 5-foot-11, 195-pound junior quarterback broke the state’s single-season passing yardage record, completing 151-of-261 passes for 2,542 yards and 24 touchdowns against just 10 interceptions this fall. He also rushed for 315 yards and five scores on 72 carries. Bentsen led the Hurricanes (8-3) to the Division II quarterfinals, where he threw for 372 yards and three scores on 26-of-41 passing in a losing cause against South Kingstown.

Bentsen has maintained a 3.06 GPA in the classroom. Bentsen volunteers as a local youth football and boxing coach in addition to donating his time to the Pilgrim Senior Center in Warwick.

“He sees the field well, and he’s very accurate,” said Warwick Veterans Head Coach Mike Nappa. “He finds the hole. He finds the open receiver. He’ll stay in the pocket, he’ll complete the pass and he’ll make sure he makes something happen.”

Bentsen will begin his senior year of high school next fall and remains undecided upon a collegiate destination.

The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states that sanction high school football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field. The selection process is administered by RISE Magazine, which works with top sport-specific experts and a media advisory board of accomplished, veteran prep sports journalists to determine the state winners in each sport.

Bentsen joins recent Gatorade Rhode Island Football Players of the Year Matt Hansen (2006-07, La Salle Academy), Joe Goniprow (2005-06, Barrington HS), and A.J. Kizekai (2004-05, Saint Raphael Academy) among the state’s list of former award winners.

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