Two St. Patrick coaches receive MHSFCA Coach of the Year honors

Two football coaches from St. Patrick School in Portland recently received impressive recognition from their peers.  Varsity football head coach Patrick Russman was named as the State Coach of the Year for MHSAA 8 Man Division 2 Coach of the year by the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association (MHSFCA).  Assistant coach Aaron Thelen was named one of the associations 2025 Assistant Coaches of the Year.

Russman has been coaching high school football for 31 years.  He started as an assistant varsity coach at Bellevue in 1995.  From 1996-2006 he served as assistant varsity coach at the JV and varsity levels at St. Patrick, and he has held the varsity head coach position at St. Patrick since 2007.

As a player, Russman played football at St. Patrick 1991-1994, and at Olivet College 1991-1994.

Russman’s teams have qualified for the MHSAA playoffs 13 times, winning regional titles in 2012, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2025.  His teams were state runners-up in 2017, 2019, and 2020.

Russman told the Beacon, “I really appreciate Sr. Patricia Ann and Sr. Maureen for giving me the opportunity to be the varsity head coach at St. Patrick School.”

When asked about this award, Russman said, “It is an honor to receive The Coach of the Year Award on behalf of the Team.  Coming from the coaches association I truly appreciate this Award as I know the organization is filled with people who understand the gift of football. This year's parents, players, coaching staff and administration have made this accomplishment possible and I appreciate them. Special Thanks to Fr. Weber for his ministry to the team this Parish this year.”

Russman added, “I am so appreciative of the opportunities that my parents Joseph and Peggy Russman gave me in allowing me to attend St. Patrick School.  In being a parent and grandparent myself now I am beginning to understand what they did for me and am eternally grateful.  I appreciate my wife Stacy Russman and kids Summer, Payton, Bella and Joesie. who inspire and support me to continue to improve.  St. Patrick School and Parish and Portland Community are amazing and places that I am proud to call home.  I appreciate being able to share my Catholic faith with the team and see it grow each week as we set work to meet our weekly goals.  I appreciate the experience I gained from each coach along my way.  Especially Coaches Wes Davids, Ron Adams, Chris Schrauben, Tony Costello, Mike Coyne and Coach Al Schrauben who I learned much from early on at St. Patrick football.  Coach Dan Weller has always been an amazing person to work with and appreciated.  My current staff: Aaron Thelen, Todd Davlin, Ben Cross, Sam Hodge, Kurt Pline, Colin Pline, Ross Schneider, Bryan Scheurer, Brad Leonard, and Joe Cook and Kenny Hartwick are truly amazing.”

Russman also went on to say, “I appreciate Portland High School for the help and support they have given our program.  The Portland Community is blessed with many great coaches. We will continue to work to be part of that special community.  Thank you to our parents who send their student athletes to St. Patrick School continue to amaze me and bless us with hard working student athletes that are a joy to coach.”

Thelen has been on the football coaching staff at St. Patrick for 10 years.  He also spent four years coaching JV baseball and this Spring will mark his eighth year as the varsity golf coach for the Shamrocks.

A graduate of St. Patrick, Thelen played three years as a defensive end and wide receiver for the Portland High School football program before transferring.  He said, “My time spent within the Raider program was a great foundation in fundamental, tough football. “

Regarding this award, Thelen said, “This award isn’t possible without a great group of coaches around us. All the way down to our JV staff of Sam Hodge and Kurt Pline. Coach Russman is an incredible head coach and pushes us all to be better and I credit a lot of our success to our special teams and conditioning coach, Todd Davlin. Ben Cross and Brad Leonard deserve the lion’s share of the credit for our defensive dominance this year. We spend a lot of time outside of practice breaking down film and discussing scheme. I thought we really hit our stride as a defensive coaching group this year and it showed.”

Thelen added, “I just want to say thank you to the administrators at St. Patrick. Mrs. Lenneman, Mr. Hodge and Fr. Weber are incredibly supportive of us and our students. I’d also like to say thank you to the community. We were as well represented in Marquette as the other team that only had an hour drive and that was amazing to see. It still gives me chills to recall how loud our fans were up there.”

The 2025 St. Patrick football team finished the season with a perfect 13-0 record and were the 2025 MHSAA 8-Player Division 2 State Champions.

The Michigan High School Football Coaches Association (MHSFCA) has been devoted to the promotion of high school football since its inception in March of 1972.