MADISON - Whenever Wisconsin Lutheran's players needed a spark this year, they turned to linebacker Damon Campbell. And he always delivered, combining intensity with a sense of humor to fire up his teammates. "Silly stuff," Campbell calls his motivational mini-speeches. Like what? "Hey, we're all going to jail," Campbell said. "Because we're about to KILL this team!" Silly? Sure, but it worked. Campbell led the Vikings to yet another Division 3 state championship this season, making a whopping 142 tackles along the way. In recognition of Campbell's dominant performance, a statewide panel of media members named Campbell the 2007 Associated Press Wisconsin Player of the Year. Also nominated for the award were Arrowhead defensive tackle Nate Gross, Stevens Point running back Mitch Sutton and West Salem quarterback Dan Schneider. Arrowhead's Tom Taraska was voted AP Wisconsin Coach of the Year after leading the Warhawks to an undefeated season and a 31-7 upset victory over Homestead in the Division 1 title game. It was sweet payback for Arrowhead, which lost to Homestead 35-0 in last year's Division 1 championship game. "They had worked so hard and had dreamed such large dreams," Taraska said. "And to be honest, we walked out of Camp Randall last year with those dreams kind of squashed." The state title, combined with the success of former Arrowhead players Tyler Donovan and Nick Hayden at the University of Wisconsin this year, made for what Taraska called one of the best years of his life. "It seemed like a movie -- am I watching a rerun of 'Friday Night Lights?'," Taraska said. "But you're living it." Taraska has been at Arrowhead 26 years, also leading the Warhawks to state championships in 1993, '94 and '96. While he has had offers to move on to other jobs over the years, he just couldn't bring himself to leave. "The truth of the matter is, there never was a class that I could look at and say I wanted to leave," Taraska said. "There's always another kid you want to coach." Now he's even beginning to coach the children of his former players -- just another aspect of the thing he enjoys the most about coaching at the high school level. "The kids, the families, the brothers that you coach -- and the sense of the community," Taraska said. Besides, Taraska said he doesn't really consider what he's doing a job. "It's nice that they pay me," Taraska said. Also nominated for coach of the year were La Crosse Aquinas coach Dan Coughlin, Stratford coach Cal Tackes, Eleva-Strum coach Warren Behn and Campbell's coach, Wisconsin Lutheran's Kirk DeNoyer. DeNoyer said Campbell's respect went beyond the football field to include classmates and teachers at the school. "He's a good kid," DeNoyer said. "He's respected. He's a natural leader because everybody looks up to him -- not just football players." Sensing a void in last year's team that failed to make the state finals after winning back-to-back championships, Campbell came into this season determined to become a more vocal leader. "I had to," Campbell said. "Last year, our seniors didn't step up the way they should." But speeches don't mean much if they aren't backed up by actions on the field, and Campbell certainly did. He was at his best in the Division 3 title game, registering 12 total tackles, four tackles for losses and returning a fumble 31 yards for a touchdown that put the Vikings ahead 28-0. "You've got to play that perfect game, and that's what we tried to do," Campbell said afterward. The game represented the end of Campbell's high school career, though perhaps not the end of his playing days. "It was very emotional," Campbell said. "I've been on this team four years." Campbell said he has drawn some interest from several major college football programs -- including Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Northern Iowa and Colorado -- and recently received strong hints of a firm scholarship offer from coaches at North Dakota. "It's very exciting," Campbell said. "When I was a kid, I looked at high school players and college players and said, 'I would love to be in that position."' DeNoyer said Campbell has everything it takes to be a successful college player. "I think he will be," DeNoyer said. "It's hard to predict that. Certainly, he's got all the physical tools." DeNoyer said Campbell just needs to find the right college environment, something he certainly seemed to find at Wisconsin Lutheran. The Vikings often broke huddles with the chant "1-2-3, family!" -- which Campbell thought was appropriate, because DeNoyer probably spent more time with the team than he did with his own family during the season. Campbell said he'll miss his teammates and coaches, including one typically stoic defensive coach who broke character only 30 seconds into the championship game and told Campbell how enjoyable it was to coach him. "It was a great year," Campbell said. "It went by very quickly." (Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)