Travis Russell and West Catholic stepped up their game after a tough 1-4 start in 2013, winning 9 straight games on their way to a Division 5 State Championship. Russell threw 2 touchdowns vs Menominee in the title game, rushed for over 100 yards, and added a TD on the ground.

At Ford Field in 2013, on the biggest stage, Russell was impressive in the 27-14 win over Menominee. He was very accurate throwing the ball down the field, which led to some huge plays for West Catholic.

I must give major props to Russell and West Catholic for bouncing back from a 1-4 start. Not many high school teams could pick themselves up from a 1-4 record, but that's exactly what the Falcons did. They averaged 36 points per game over their 9-game win streak to finish the season.

Even after all of his success so far, I expect Russell to have his best season yet in 2014. He's an experienced "gunslinger" who can also take it to the house with his legs as he had double digit touchdown runs in 2013.

Russell is all over the school record books as he holds 7 single season or career records including career passing yards (5,066) and passing TD (44). As one of the top quarterbacks in West Michigan, expect Russell to have another big season as he leads a dynamic Falcons offense this fall. One thing Russell and his teammates showed last season, you can never count them out.

By the numbers (2013):

2,448 passing yards, 22 touchdowns

687 rushing yards, 10 touchdowns

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