West Catholic wasn’t going to let the near freezing temperatures slow them down tonight, as they took on Berrien Springs in the first round of playoffs. West Catholic took advantage of great field position several times in the first half and put things out of reach early. In the end it was West Catholic with a 41-6 point victory and a head full of steam heading into round two. 

On the first pass attempt of the game David Fox was able to intercept Johnie Boone at the 40-yard line and returned it inside the 20-yard line. Travis Russell started hot right out of the gates and found Charlie O’Connor for 29 yards. Russell then called his own number from the 1-yard line for the touchdown. 

The Falcons' defense then stepped up again as Drew Hernandez sacked Boone on a big third down play that really set the tone for West Catholic. 

Russell took advantage of a short field and threw a strike to Conner Nemmers from 21 yards out to give the Falcons a two score lead. 

The Shamrocks tried to get things going but Brody Heitzman sacked Boone again on a third down, forcing Berrien into another punting situation. 

Russell and the offense struck for a third time as the offensive line gave him plenty of protection, finding Neville from 11 yards out. The Falcons took a 21-0 lead to end the first.

Berrien was able to find some holes in the West Catholic defense as they trucked into Falcon territory. It was a forth-down gamble that troubled the Shamrocks as they were turned over on downs, Boone was hurt on the play and did not return. 

Bryce Witham got in on the mix as he busted through the line to block a punt, recovered it and took it to the house to give the Falcons a 34-0 lead heading into halftime. 

Berrien Springs challenged the Falcons' defense twice in the 2nd half, but were unable to put the ball into the end zone until Sibande found Rago on a 28-yard touchdown.  

McIntyre, Nannfeldt and Crawford ran tough for the Shamrocks in the second half. The defense, led by Phillip Paea and his 5.5 tackles, were able to slow down the offensive attack for the Falcons and left it all on the field. 

Russell racked up another five touchdown game as he found three scores coming on the ground and two through the air. Russell finished the game 8/13 with 118 yards passing and tacked on 129 yards on the ground on 14 carries.