Whether it’s a simple Ping Pong game with friends or leading the Westlake defense, Elliott Schaper thrives on competition.

It’s one of the reasons the junior linebacker excelled for the Chaps this season and plays into why he was selected as the American-Statesman's defensive player of the year on the 2023 All-Central Texas Football Team.

Described by Westlake coach Tony Salazar as the “quarterback of the defense,” Schaper terrorized opposing offenses with 108 tackles, nine sacks, nine quarterback hurries and two interceptions as part of a dominating defense that had five shutouts and yielded more than 14 points only three times. Westlake finished 14-1 and reached the Class 6A state semifinals.

And while Schaper will find contests in every-day activities like racing teammates to a car, it’s being on the football field that brings out the best in him.

“Being at linebacker you do everything on defense: play the run and pass, sack the quarterback, cover a running back or wide receiver, and call plays,” Schaper said. “And being a competitive person, I love it.”

Though Schaper makes doing the responsibilities of a linebacker sound simple, he’s the rare breed that can do it all. Salazar noted that he’s athletic enough to go from stopping big running backs at the line of scrimmage to covering fast wide receivers down the field.

“It takes a special skill set to do that,” Salazar said. “There were so many big games this season where he was making six or seven plays in a row. … And in a lot of those he wasn’t the guy that was free to make the tackle but somehow found a way to.”

Schaper (6-foot-3, 215) has the physical traits that should have college coaches come calling this summer — he already has an offer from Texas State — but Salazar said it’s his ability to lead a defense that sets him apart.

“For us, there’s a lot of responsibility and preparation that comes at middle linebacker with understanding how the framework of our defense fits together,” said Salazar, who earned Central Texas coach of the year honors. “A lot of those alignments and decisions are Elliott’s sole responsibility to get correct in the heat of the moment. And the last two years he’s been able to do just that. … For a linebacker, he checks all the boxes.”

Schaper has another year to improve and make life miserable for quarterbacks and other skill players, and though he said personal accolades are nice, he’s more interested in continuing Westlake’s lofty football tradition with his teammates.

“I’ve been playing football for a long time, and my teammates and family are what’s motivation,” he said. “It's important to keep up what’s been going on here, and that starts with the leaders of the team. This year, we had a bunch of guys that were great leaders. If we don’t have that, then failing is possible. And we don’t want to see that.”

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Westlake's Schaper is our Central Texas Defensive Player of the Year