Russellville High School senior Harrison Burch will be joining the Kentucky Wesleyan College Panthers to continue his football career.

The two-year starting quarterback for the Golden Tigers made his plans official at a signing ceremony held to celebrate his accomplishments as a student-athlete at RHS.

After moving with his family to Alabama from Tennessee, Burch has been a leader of the Russellville football team that, during his two years at the school, went 7-5 and 9-3, including two region championships and two playoff game wins. In region games alone, the Golden Tigers went 12-0 during his time as starting quarterback.

With his play performance on the field, Burch became a two-time all-region selection, received honorable mention for the 2022 5A All-State team and was the 2023 RHS team captain. For two seasons at Russellville, Burch completed 307 of 425 passes for 4,290 yards. He also threw 42 touchdown passes at RHS and was intercepted seven times. Burch has also been a star in the classroom, taking many AP dual-enrollment courses and has a GPA of 4.24.

“It means a lot to me, but it means even more to my family,” Burch said of his signing. “My dad and my mom have spent countless hours with me taking me to Nashville or taking me to training or taking me to camps to get me to this point.”

If you’ve spent time around the Burch family, you’ve likely seen their motto of “KIOTT” which Harrison and his dad Larry came up with to help him play the game the right way. “It means ‘keep it on the table.’ Play within yourself, let the other team make the mistake and don’t make the mistake for them. You’re trying to let them beat themselves,” Harrison explained.

Burch said the back-to-back region championships come to mind when thinking about some of his favorite memories as a Golden Tiger. “That’s what I’ve been a part of and they’ve had a four-pete. It means a lot more to them, but it means a lot to me to be able to come in and be a part of that win with the team. It means a lot because of the way that we work and the little things that people don’t see.”

Former RHS head coach John Ritter was at the event to show his support for Burch. “He’s a great teammate and a great player,” Ritter said. “The things that don’t show up in the stat column or show up where people can see is the work that he put in outside of the ‘normal football time.’ He did a lot of work on his own, he held his teammates to a high standard and got them to come up here in the spring and summer on days that we were off. He’s a very hard worker, he’s a great kid and he’s going to be successful because of those traits.”

Kentucky Wesleyan is located in Owensboro and is a NCAA Division II member. Tyrone Young is the head coach of the Panthers.