Posted at: 10/28/2009 10:55 PM

Ryan Rasell

(ABC 6 NEWS) -- Ryan Rasell and his teammates will forever be remembered at Austin high school, thanks to their 2-0 win over Lourdes in last Saturday's boys soccer section final.

This Packers team is the very first to represent Austin in the state tournament, and the most remarkable thing? We'll just say it's the reason Rasell is our Male Prep Athlete of the Week.

Michael Jordan did it. Kirk Gibson, same thing. And now you can add Ryan Rasell to the list.

"I mean, with a 102 degree fever? I didn't know how high it was. That was something they didn't really want to tell me. But I knew that he wasn't feeling very well," Austin Head Coach Jens Levisen said.

"I kind of just went in hoping our defense ... just the whole team can play their game so I'm not needed as much as usual," Rasell said.

That's right. Rasell had a 102 degree fever during Saturday's win over Lourdes in the Section 1A Final. And all he did was shutout the Eagles, and help Austin advance to state for the first time ever.

"For him to go out and play like he did ... he didn't drop a ball or give up any rebounds, which is huge," Austin senior midfielder Jacob Brehmer said.

"Everything just seemed to stay in my hands. Everything just stuck. Nothing bobbled. It was nice. Right in there, perfectly," Rasell said.

"He gets it in his head that he's ready to play, and it's a mental thing. He goes through his own warm-up before the game. He's all jacked-up. He doesn't care who we play. He just knows what his job is. He knows that his defense is there to help him out in doing his job, and when he needs to come up with a big play or come up and win the ball, he's gonna do it," Levisen said.

And he's ready for the trip to state.

"I think we're as ready as we're gonna be. I think we've got the skill we need, so I think we can just go up there and show them what we've got," Rasell said.

Ryan Rasell ... our ABC 6 Sports Male Prep Athlete of the Week.