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The John Anderson Award is given annually to the state's top senior linebacker as part of the WSN Senior Football Awards. The award is named after John Anderson, a former Waukesha South standout who went on to star at the University of Michigan and later with the Green Bay Packers.

The pre-season watch list was trimmed down to 34 semi-finalists, and six finalists for the award have now been selected. Winners will be announced the week of the state finals.

Brock Arndt of Appleton North was the co-Defensive Player of the Year in the FVA last year and a WFCA All-State selection as an inside linebacker. He's back at it again this year in a big way, earning Defensive Player of the year honors in the FVA once again while leading the Lightning with 70 tackles and six tackles for loss. "Brock is the best linebacker I have coached in 33 years," said head coach Rob Salm. "He may be the best high school linebacker I've seen play high school ball."

Drew Braam of Oak Creek is among the state leaders with 146 tackles this season, no surprise for a player that has 364 tackles in his four-year varsity career. A returning All-Conference player, he is likely to collect even more hardware this season, which includes 20 tackles for loss, three sacks, three fumble recoveries, two interceptions, and a defensive touchdown. "He is the leader of our defense and calls all of our plays," said head coach Joel Paar. "I have been coaching at Oak Creek since 1997 and he is the best linebacker here in nearly 20 years." Braam has accepted a preferred walk-on offer from Wisconsin.

Landon Gauthier was part of an absolutely loaded linebacking group for Bay Port last year that also featured WFCA Large School Defensive Player of the Year JoJo Azure plus highly-rated teammate Tevyn Montgomery. Gauthier was an All-Conference pick last year and repeated on the FRCC-North list again this year despite battling injury early in the season, adding league Linebacker of the Year recognition after recording 57 tackles, four sacks, and an interception in just seven regular season games. Gauthier committed to the Wisconsin Badgers in the off-season.

Jonathan Ksobiech helped Kettle Moraine to the Division 2 state title as a First Team All-Conference linebacker last season. A three-year varsity starter on defense, he has been outstanding once again this year with even more on his plate. Not only does he have 97 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, and a defensive touchdown, he took over as the team's starting quarterback and produced more than 2000 yards of offense and 22 touchdowns. "Jonathan has been outstanding on our defense all year long," said head coach Matt McDonnell. "He is a playmaker and we are hopeful he will be First Team All-Conference."

Sam Pilof has been a tackling machine at linebacker for the Middleton Cardinals for three seasons, with 266 tackles in his career. After a First Team All-Conference nod as a sophomore, he was Second Team last year and expected to be First Team again this season, with more hardware possible. In helping the Cardinals to a 9-2 record, Pilof had 100 tackles, five sacks, and a Pick Six this season. "Sam is extremely fast, can chase ball carriers down from a variety of angles, is very physical, a team captain, leader, and heartbeat of our team," said Middleton interim co-head coach Tim Simon. "Teams will often not run to his side of the field." Pilof has given a commitment to Rutgers.

Talan Summers was a defensive standout for Franklin as a sophomore when the team won the Division 1 state title, and was in line for a big junior year as well. However, an early season injury sidelined him for most of 2022. He has returned with a huge senior season, recording 104 tackles, 52 tackles for loss, and 5.5 sacks for a dominating Franklin defense that posted four shutouts in the Southeast Conference. "He is a tremendous leader and two-year captain who is as physical of a linebacker as I have coached," said head coach Louis Brown.

Travis Wilson serves as the WisSports.net General Manager, Football Editor, and contributing writer for other parts of the site. Wilson was selected as part of the Sports 40 Under 40 list by Coach & AD Magazine and the National High School Athletic Coaches Association for 2019. The Wisconsin Football Coaches Association (WFCA) named Travis the 2015 recipient of the Dave McClain Distinguished Service Award. He currently serves on the WFCA Executive Board and is a member of the Executive Board of the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association. A graduate of Richland Center High School and Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Travis was a three-sport athlete in high school (football, baseball, basketball), inducted to the Richland Center High School Hall of Fame in 2023, and currently resides in Reedsburg. You can follow him on Twitter at @travisWSN.

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