Football
Favorite athlete: Christian Hackenberg
Favorite team: Penn State Nittany Lions (football)
Favorite memory competing in sports: Winning the league championship this year in our homecoming game.
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: Getting lifted about three feet in the air by a blocker my sophomore year.
Music on iPod: A mix of genres.
Future plans: Attend college at Penn State, MIT or Princeton to study math.
Words to live by: “Nothing worth having comes easy.”
One goal before turning 30: Be on a path to be doing something I love.
One thing people don’t know about me: I’ve always been interested in the mathematical side of sports.
By GORDON GLANTZ
He is the star quarterback with the near-perfect SAT and a member of the Homecoming court.
He is the proverbial big man on campus at Plymouth Whitemarsh High.
He is the guy in those old John Hughes movies of the 1980s that you are not supposed to like.
But in the case of Connor Hanlon, that is where well-worn stereotypes end and reality begins.
For starters, Hanlon is 5 feet, 8 inches and weighs in at 160 pounds, and that hardly equates to being a big man on any campus.
It is more the size of his heart, soul and character that make him who and what he is to friends and family; to coaches and teammates.
“I don’t have anything to complain about,” is a common refrain, when asked about the physical and mental toll placed on him on a weekly basis as a two-way starter for the Colonials or the time he spends perfecting his craft in the film room.
The self-made signal caller could relish in his meteoric rise to prominence in his first year under center in the triple-option attack of head coach Dan Chang, but that is not his style.
Hanlon is quick to share the spotlight -- or even elude it, like a would-be tackler. He gives credit to fellow seniors for easing the leadership burden, and to his offensive line for creating the holes to run through and the time to throw.
And he traces it all back to his family – like parents Brian and Kerrie, and older sister, Kyra, who is currently at Georgetown University -- that is bonded closely together by the fact that his younger brother, 15-year-old Sean, is afflicted with cerebral palsy.
“Sean has always been an inspiration to me,” he said. “He has been through so much, with hospital trips, and has endured so much pain.
“It is a lot of my motivation. I know that Sean never had opportunity that I have now. He can’t walk or talk, but I like to think that I have a typical brother relationship with him. I just treat him as my younger brother.
“I think it brings us closer together as a family. When he is in the hospital, at CHOP, we go there and do tailgate parties for the Penn State games.”
When Hanlon was in eighth grade, Brian Hanlon suggested his son follow his path by playing quarterback.
“My dad played quarterback at Wissahickon. He graduated in 1984, I believe. He didn’t play in college. He went to Penn State, but he had a great high school career,” he said. “He instilled a great work ethic in me. He told me that it’s not always the end result, but it’s how I do it that matters.”
Bloodlines did not mean an automatic road to stardom for Hanlon, who has been no stranger to overcoming adversity.
“It is definitely how I was brought up,” he said. “I know I have to work for everything I get. I had to work hard to be successful.
“My dad always says that you have to work to put yourself in an opportunity to be successful, and that is how it has been for me.”
A year ago, as a junior, Hanlon lost out on the quarterback battle. He was mainly a reserve defensive back and a mop-up quarterback, keeping himself ready, when opportunity knocked. Due to an injury in the defensive backfield, he started at cornerback midway through the season and seized the opportunity by not relinquishing the role.
This season, the quarterback job – and the built-in leadership that goes along with it – was his to lose.
Hanlon, who is not sure if he will pursue football at the next level, prepared himself with a rigorous weight lifting program during the week and passing league games on the weekend.
“I worked hard in offseason to add muscle, improve arm strength and add speed,” said Hanlon, who is looking at Penn State, MIT and Princeton to study mathematics or statistics.
Speaking of stats, Hanlon has – in the literal sense -- taken the ball and run with it.
The hard work has paid dividends.
Heading into this weekend’s playoff tilt against CB West, he has rushed for 610 yards and a team-high 10 touchdowns and thrown for 898 yards and 9 scores.
“He is a tremendous leader for us and a guy that others look up to,” said Chang. “His work ethic and preparation is second to none. He's really developed into a legitimate threat for us with the ball in his hands.”
Again, Hanlon deflects the praise for piloting a balanced attack that has scored more than 30 points six times – including four games over 40 points – this season.
“Coach Chang has always pushed me to do better,” he said. “He does a great job of teaching me the game. He keeps telling me that no matter what I do, I can always do it better.”
The Colonials have also clinched their league title, pretty much locking it up with a big Homecoming win, 28-23, over a previously unbeaten Upper Dublin squad.
In that game, Hanlon rumbled for three scores.
“It really was a big win for us,” he said. “It was great atmosphere. We had a great crowd show up. We were on the bubble for playoffs. It was Homecoming. Upper Dublin is a tough team. We held them off at end.
“I had three rushing touchdowns, but that wouldn’t have happened without the offensive line and blocking by the backs.”
The way season began for the Colonials, a league title and playoff berth seemed like a stretch.
They started 0-2, taking humbling beatings at the hands of two district playoff squads - Perkiomen Valley (33-0) and Abington (34-12).
That’s when he and some fellow seniors held a team meeting.
“We knew we could still be successful in our league,” said Hanlon, who also plays outside linebacker and/or safety, depending on the game plan or the situation in the game. “I think I’m a leader. All seniors are leaders. We don’t have a big senior class, so it’s important that we all lead in our way, whether it is by example or by being vocal.
“After the Abington game, when we had that team meeting, we all said it’s not end of season. At the same time, we can’t comfortable with losing. We just kept morale up and stay focused.”
The following week, against Downingtown West, the Colonials pulled out an overtime thriller, 36-34. They haven’t lost since.
“We started off losing to two very good teams, in Perkiomen Valley and Abington,” he said. “But they pushed us. We rallied around. When we beat Downingtown West in overtime, it turned our season around.”
And it has made the stereotypical big man on PW’s campus hard not to like.
