Roosevelt Senior Advances in Rudy Award Voting

The Theodore Roosevelt is now among the top 50 semi-finalists for the national Rudy Award.

And it's your votes that have helped Ryan Anderson progress in the contest for the 2011 Rudy Award, which celebrates "outstanding young athletes — not because of their statistical performance, but because of their ability to inspire teammates, classmates and communities."

Anderson's mother, Sharon Zurbrugg, said there were more than 260 nominees this year.

"The voting continues into January, with the top 12 finalists being announced Dec. 11," Zurbrugg said. "The more people who vote for Ryan, the better his chances for making the finals."

Supporters can go to Anderson's page on the award website to vote for him and post comments of support.

The Rudy Award is named after Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger, who inspired the 1993 film Rudy about the young man trying for the Notre Dame football team. Of hundreds of national nominees, 12 finalists for the award will split $25,000 in scholarships. The winner will receive a $7,500 scholarship.

Anderson, a star offensive lineman, was forced to sit out his senior year this year after he was diagnosed with osteogenic sarcoma in his femur last spring. Since then, the 18-year-old has undergone surgery and almost a dozen rounds of chemotherapy.

His coach, John Nemec, nominated him for the Rudy Award for his inspiration to the team. Anderson continues to attend each game, including that put Kent into the playoffs.

In this video on TV2, Anderson talks about his new role on the high school football team.

"Even though I'm not playing, I feel like I need to be there for my teammates," Anderson told TV2.