Minnesota
Top 20 linebackers in Minnesota high school football in 2024
High School on SI rolls on with our coverage of the top players in Minnesota high school football. This week, we look at the top linebackers in the state.
There are many talented athletes who are not listed, and this list is in no particular order.
The following athletes will be included in a poll for you to vote on who you think is the top linebacker in Minnesota high school football in 2024. The poll will be posted on Monday.
Tristan Holbrook, Sr., Belle Plaine
Holbrook has many accolades. He has been a team captain for the past two seasons, and he was first-team all-district in 2023. He had 110 total tackles as well. He is committed to Bemidji State.
“He is the heart and soul of our program, along with being our best player,” head coach Dave Frisell said. “Great student, great character, great player.”
Lavontae Cox, Sr., St. Paul Central
More notable as a running back, Cox is still a top outside linebacker, and he had 75 tackles in 2023. He is a great athlete who impacts both sides of the ball.
Emmanuel Karmo, Sr., Robbinsdale Cooper
A hybrid edge/linebacker, Karmo has fantastic reaction time to disrupt any offense. He’s the kind of rangy linebacker that modern defenses are looking for in college, which is why he has 18 collegiate offers, according to 247sports.com. Karmo is committed to Minnesota.
Damian Devine, Sr., Academy of Holy Angels
Devine is a great all-around athlete, and he also plays quarterback for the Stars. Devine has 20 total tackles and one interception through four games in 2024. As a linebacker, he shows his range in pass coverage where he might also be valuable as a safety at Villanova, where he is committed to playing college football.
Chase Brixius, Sr., Benilde-St. Margaret’s
Brixius has 43 total tackles in 2024 in just five games. He also has five tackles for loss as a middle linebacker. He fills the gap in the defensive line and rarely misses a tackle. He is committed to North Dakota State.
Blake Schiltz, Sr., Pine Island
Schiltz suffered an ACL injury earlier in his career, but he continues to play high level football for Pine Island. As a middle linebacker, Schiltz can stonewall any runner. He is committed to North Dakota State.
Mason Bosel, Sr., Parkers Prairie
Through his four-year career, Bosel has 2027 tackles, 162 solo tackles, seven sacks, 15 tackles for a loss, three fumbles recovered and two forced fumbles.
“Mason Boesl demonstrates what it looks like to be an outstanding student-athlete,” Parkers Prairie head coach Mike Johnson said. “Mason’s calm demeanor and intense competitiveness make him a good player, but his love for the game, his leadership, and his relentless effort at all times make him a great player.”
Jacob Wrbanek, Sr., Maple Grove
Another player committed to North Dakota State, as a preferred walk-on, Wrbanek has 25 solo tackles, three tackles for loss and three sacks through the first four weeks of the season.
Kane Thompson, Jr., International Falls
Thompson is a middle linebacker and team captain in 2024. He had 68 solo tackles in 2023 and four fumble recoveries along with one interception and one sack.
“Kane is a “yes sir, thank you” kind of kid,” International Falls head coach Seth Ettestad said. “He likes to be swaggy, but when it comes down to it, he’s kind, patient, and humble. He’s already big bodied and figuring out how to use it. He’s triggering faster and faster at linebacker. He’s in the weight room every day in the offseason. Sometimes twice a day. I can’t wait to see what he does for us over the next two seasons.”
Dylan Hudgens, Sr., Minnetonka
Hudgens is everywhere for a stout Skippers’ defense. He has an impressive 71 total tackles in six games. He leads Minnetonka with 12 tackles for loss, as well. Hudgens is committed to South Dakota.
Kaleb Weikel, Sr., Andover
Through six games, Weikel is the clear playmaker for Andover. He has 65 total tackles, 31 solo, through 6 games as well as nine tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and two forced fumbles.
Carter Carstens, Sr., Chanhassen
Carstens is always around the ball for the Storm defense. He leads the team with 49 total tackles, and he has six total tackles, 0.5 sacks and one forced fumble through six games. He is committed to St. Thomas.
Zach Welch, Sr., Anoka
Welch had a strong 2023 season with 77 total tackles, 10 tackles for loss and two sacks. Through 2024, he has 21 total tackles and two forced fumbles while also playing running back for Anoka.
Atlee Hershberger, Sr., Fillmore Central
Hershberger had 45 tackles with seven of them for a loss. He was an all-district team member in 2024, and he is a team captain in 2024.
“Atlee has been involved with our program since the 4th grade as a manager. He is a hard working, physical athlete,” Fillmore Central head coach Chris Mensink said. “He is a leader on the offensive line and in the middle of our defense.”
Aidan Boche, Jr., Park
Boche leads Park of Cottage Grove in total tackles in 2024 with 44 through six games. He commands the center of the defense and has great instincts to find the ball.
Calan Pilon, Jr., Robbinsdale Armstrong
Pilon has great speed on the edge to get to the opposing quarterback. He is tied for the team lead in tackles for loss through seven games with six.
John Pietruszewski, Sr., Hill-Murray
Pietruszewski is one of Hill-Murray’s top players on defense.
“John is a very good athlete and one of the toughest football players on the team,” Hill-Murray head coach Robert Reeves said. “He started as a sophomore on varsity. He’s a three-sport athlete — football, basketball, baseball.
Chase Evink, Sr., Hancock
Evenk is a great athlete who stars as a running back as well. He has 29 total tackles, four tackles for loss and two sacks through six games. He is committed to North Dakota State.
Frank McAninch, Sr., Mankato West
McAninch had a strong junior season with 50 solo tackles and 21 tackles for loss. In 2024, he has 40 solo tackles and 11 tackles for loss through six games. He is committed to North Dakota.
Eli Klimek, Sr., Nevis
Klimek is a stats machine. He has 69 total tackles, 48 solo, in six games in 2024. In 2023, he had 134 tackles and three sacks for the 9-man Prep Bowl champions.
More Minnesota high school football coverage from High School on SI
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Vote: Who is the top offensive lineman in Minnesota high school football in 2024?
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Top 20 running backs in Minnesota high school football
Top quarterbacks in Minnesota high school football in 2024
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The Minnesota Yacht Club Festival is expected to bring thousands upon thousands each day to Harriet Island in St. Paul between Friday and Sunday.
“Dude, I’m excited for The Black Keys,” said Justice Czarnik of St. Paul while waiting in line to get inside.
Anticipation built on the Mississippi River before the gates opened.
“We do probably about double what we typically do on an average weekend this weekend, so it keeps us busy,” said Miranda Budach, the manager of City House, a restaurant across the river from the tunes.
“One of the stages faces directly at us so you can hear it really well,” said Budach.
The festival results in the restaurant being filled with reservations for Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
“Even leading up to the festival, we’ve had people coming over that are setting up, saying, ‘We’re from Oklahoma or Texas and scoping out the area,’” Budach added.
All for names like The Black Keys, The Lumineers, The Strokes, Matchbox Twenty, Mt. Joy and a few artists from nearby.
“Yam House!” said Patti Ekman of Rochester.
Police in St. Paul say the festival is bringing nearly 35,000 to 36,000 folks into the city each day this weekend and they recognize it’s hot out. They’re asking people to be careful.
“We’ve actually equipped the ground with two empty seat-cooling buses, misting cooling fans, more tenting, several hydration stations and more,” said St. Paul Police Department Senior Commander Jesse Mollner.
“You just fill up your water bottle, a little fan on your neck and today’s going to be a great day,” said Czarnik.
The hustle and bustle also gives some the excuse to get away.
“I appreciate it brings a lot of music fans to the island, but it’s a good time to also take a trip away from it because we’re so close to it,” said Paul Thomas of St. Paul.
“Stay cool, drink lots of water,” said Budach. “It’s gonna be hot.”
Metro Transit has multiple bus and light rail routes ready to serve the festival.
Minnesota
Wildfire smoke from Canada and Minnesota pushes further into US, engulfing DC in eerie haze
NEW YORK (AP) — Millions of people in the Great Lakes, Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states muddled through another day of unhealthy air from uncontrolled wildfires on Friday, as smoke enveloped the nation’s capital in a gloomy, eerie haze.
Air quality warnings were expected to remain in effect through Saturday across a wide swath of the U.S., but there’s potential for temporary relief with rains and storms forecast over a chunk of the affected region over the weekend.
The smoky conditions won’t be gone anytime soon, though, as fires burn unchecked across a remote region of Canada, cautioned Bob Oravec, a lead forecaster at the National Weather Service based in Maryland. Wildfires in a wilderness area in Minnesota are also contributing to the smoke.
“The source of the smoke is going to continue on for certainly a week, probably,” he said. “So in some form, there’s going to be smoke that gets transported from the fires downstream, and it’s just going to depend upon which way the wind’s blowing as to where the smoke is going to affect the most.”
On Friday, communities in Minnesota, Michigan and Illinois closest to the Canadian border and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Minnesota again registered some of the worst air quality in the world, according to IQAir, an air quality monitoring website.
Not far behind them was Washington, D.C., where the thick smoke created eerie scenes. The Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial and other national landmarks could be seen enveloped in a thick, orange-hued haze in the morning.
“Wow that Canadian smoke haze is no joke,” Stewart Verdery, a former assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, wrote on X as he shared a panorama of D.C. at sunrise. “Almost nothing visible – no sun, no monuments, no Reagan Airport.”
Air in and around Washington was expected to go from bad to worse as the day progressed, reaching “very unhealthy” and potentially “hazardous” levels on the air quality index, regional officials said.
People, particularly those with heart or lung disease, older adults and children, were urged to limit or avoid going outside as much as possible until air quality improved.
There was also concern in the New York City area about how the foul air might impact the World Cup final match between soccer powerhouses Spain and Argentina at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Sunday.
Oravec said winds will continue pushing the wildfire smoke east in the U.S., though conditions should be better on game day Sunday than on Saturday.
Just a day earlier, a thick haze tinged with orange and yellow darkened skies across several states and partly obscured Manhattan’s skyline.
Officials from New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and other Northeast states distributed free K95 face masks, canceled outdoor programming and opened libraries and other public buildings as cooling centers where people could get a respite from the sooty air.
As Friday progressed, air quality measures improved from “unhealthy” to “moderate” in some places in and around New York City.
A strong sun broke through a thin veil of smoke, and large chunks of clear blue sky were visible across much of the region by Friday afternoon.
Saturday brings a high chance of thunderstorms across much of the Northeast and mid-Atlantic, which will help dampen the bad air.
How long the reprieve lasts depends on what happens hundreds of miles north, as some 100 wildfires burn without end in sight, largely in the Ontario area in Canada. In the U.S., officials have closed the Boundary Waters while battling multiple fires.
Long-term exposure to smoky conditions can complicate existing health problems and lead to chronic and deadly issues, including respiratory illness, cardiovascular and neurological diseases and premature death.
See how the bald eagle’s story shows its enduring symbolism
As the U.S. celebrates 250 years, the bald eagle endures as North America’s native sea eagle and national bird.
The common loon, Minnesota’s state bird, is more closely related to a penguin than a duck.
Despite loons predominantly living in the northern hemisphere and penguins mostly living in the southern hemisphere, researchers consider them to be genetic cousins. Taxonomic analyses placed them in an evolutionary cluster tracing back 40 million to 50 million years ago, along with herons and pelicans.
While loons and ducks share habitat on Minnesota lakes, they aren’t close relatives. Ducks are closer cousins to geese and swans.
After sharing a common ancestor, penguins and loons developed distinct characteristics. Loons can fly, but struggle to move on land; penguins can’t fly, but waddle on land. Penguins use flipper-like wings to swim; loons use webbed feet for underwater propulsion.
They have some similar features, however, including dense bones to help dive underwater and their tuxedo coloring.
MinnPost partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.
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