Before Mike McDaniel became a running back machine on the football field for Bethlehem Catholic, he was a skateboarder, snowboarder and biker.

If it wasn't for the insistence of McDaniel's mother wanting him to play football, he might have another story to tell.

Instead, he became one of the area's best threats out of the backfield his junior and senior years for the Golden Hawks, as Becahi won back-to-back District 11 3A championships en route to reclaiming their football legacy. McDaniel was a huge part of that process, as he rushed for 3,229 yards during his career, capped off by last season's 1,940 yards and 34 total touchdowns.

As he migrates to Temple to become apart of the Golden Owls rising Division-I football program, McDaniel remembers how it all started for him.

"I was very good at skateboarding and snowboarding when I started in the fourth grade," he said. "I really enjoyed being on the board, but then my mom wanted me to play football and I hated it. After awhile, I got pretty good at it and decided to not skate or snowboard anymore once I got into seventh grade. That's when I really started to take an interest in football and the rest is history."

And McDaniel's place in Becahi's football history is what makes him this year's Male Athlete of the Year for Bethlehem Catholic.

But things didn't come easy for McDaniel, who remembers people doubting his football ability heading into high school, as well as the early struggles he and his teammates endured at Becahi during their freshman and sophomore years.

Growing up in Bethlehem, McDaniel always wanted to be a Liberty Hurricane, until his mom sent him to Becahi.

"People always doubted me growing up about playing football," he said. "Then when I was a freshman and sophomore at Becahi, nobody believed that we could be good too. We were 1-9 my sophomore year and then we win districts two years in a row. It just goes to show you that hard work will get you anywhere."

And through that hard work, McDaniel also learned about perseverance and trust. As the program struggled his first two years at the school, believing in what the coaching staff was selling may have been difficult, but ultimately, it paid off not only for Becahi, but for the program.

In 2013, the Hawks knocked off Southern Lehigh in a memorable overtime contest to claim their first district championship in 11 years following the 27-24 victory. McDaniel ran seven-yards for the winning score in overtime to set up a mob scene in the endzone that will always be memorable to him, as Becahi finally won their first gold medal after a decade of obscurity.

Last year, McDaniel had little trouble finding his groove, as the Hawks finished the season 12-2 and reached the quarterfinals of the PIAA 3A playoffs.

He rushed for 267 yards and three touchdowns in a 49-7 win over Saucon Valley to give the Hawks their second district championship in as many years and followed that up with 206 yards and three scores in a 42-28 PIAA first round victory over Crestwood.

"I remember the week before Crestwood, it was so cold outside for practice," he said. "All the guys would huddle around the generators that gave us light for practice because it would release exhaust and it was so warm. It was the toughest week of practice, but we all stuck with it and were able to stay focused. We executed the gameplan perfectly against Crestwood. That's something I'll always remember from last year."

But McDaniel's favorite memory over his years at Becahi, is beating Liberty three times.

"I went from wanting to go to Liberty as an eight grader, to loving to beat them," he said. "I know a bunch of their guys were talking a lot before last year's game, so it felt really good when we won [by a 56-27 margin]. If you're from Bethlehem, there's nothing better than beating one of the city rivals."

And for McDaniel, there's nothing better than to prove people wrong.

"One thing I learned through my four years at Beca, it's about battling through the struggles and how to persevere," he said. "It would have been easy for some of the guys in our class to just transfer out and go to a winning team when things were going bad for us, but we all stuck through the rough times."