Football
Favorite athlete: Calvin Johnson
Favorite team: Philadelphia Phillies
Favorite memory competing in sports: Playing the CB East-West football game.
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: Completely wiped out when running onto the field versus Souderton my sophomore year…I still am extra careful when running onto the field to this day!
Music on iPod: Rap (J Cole, Meek Mill, Childish Gambino, to name a few)
Future plans: Attend a good school and have a successful career in business.
Words to live by: “There’s no telling what today will hold, but I’m going to go out and make the most of it.”
One goal before turning 30: Graduate from college and be working in a field I enjoy.
One thing people don’t know about me: My favorite TV show is Survivor. I’ve seen almost every season since it began!
By Mary Jane Souder
With a football bloodline and a passion for the sport, Connor Pattyson was destined to excel on the gridiron.
His grandfathers, Wally Pattyson and Buddy Nask, played football at Rutgers University and Villanova University, respectively. His father – Chris Pattyson – played at Central Bucks East.
Last year, Pattyson, a senior at Central Bucks East, garnered first team All-SOL Continental Conference honors at linebacker while leading the Patriots in tackles. A unanimous choice for captain as a senior, Pattyson was back at it again this year, anchoring the Patriots’ defense when – after a rash of injuries – he was pressed into emergency duty at running back for one game.
Coming as no surprise, he excelled, but for all his talent, it is his leadership qualities that might set him apart.
“Connor, number one, is an outstanding football player, but I feel that he’s really an excellent captain, ” coach John Donnelly said. “He’s a steady kid in terms of his personality on the field where he can calm guys down if they need to be calmed down, which I’ve seen him do many times this year when guys were on the verge of potentially maybe getting a penalty.
“He’s also highly intelligent. His GPA is 3.9, and he can apply it to the football field, and he’s productive.”
Last year, Pattyson had between 70 and 80 tackles, and this year, he’s been even better.
“We actually put his highlight film together, and you kind of forget about some of the plays the guys made,” Donnelly said. “He really had some outstanding plays against high level competition like Brandon McIlwain from Council Rock North.
“He had some good plays against Josh Adams from CB South. Our defensive coordinator, Dave Perrine, always says that Connor does a fantastic job just diagnosing plays. He can very quickly dissect what is going on and react to it while his feet are moving fast, which you need to do as a linebacker.
“That comes with repetition, but just from film study and preparation, he is aware of what is happening, so it’s not new information to him. I think that allows him to be highly productive.”
The senior captain has the right make-up to excel on the gridiron.
“He’s just an all-around great kid,” Donnelly said. “Off the field, he’s as nice a kid as you could possibly want to meet.
“On the field, he plays with an edge and the kind of intensity and toughness that we want all of our players to play with.”
Pattyson’s natural talent on the gridiron was underscored when he stepped into the role of running back in East’s game against Council Rock South earlier this season.
“He’s never played running back, but because he’s such a good athlete, he came over and played running back,” Donnelly said. “He had three touchdowns and rushed for just over 100 yards.
“That’s pretty amazing for a guy who’s never touched the ball as a running back. I think it speaks of his willingness to do whatever we need as a team. He’ll do whatever it takes to win.”
It’s that team-first attitude that has helped Pattyson and the Patriots survive an onslaught of injuries.
“Every game people were going down with injuries,” Pattyson said. “It’s been crazy to see.
“This year, more than any other year, it’s been pretty much the next guy up for this team because we’ve had to deal with so many injuries and people having to step up – in some cases, it’s been difficult.
“I had to learn running back that week. This past week we had a defensive player, Jeff Circuit, come over and play offensive line. He’s never played offensive line before. I think it really speaks to the character of our team that we’re stepping up. People are willing to play new positions and pretty much learn it on the fly and do a good job.”
Another defensive player – Jack Lamb – has stepped into the role of quarterback.
“Jack is awesome,” Pattyson said. “You could put him anywhere on the field, and he’ll do a good job,
“Jeff (Circuit) did a great job last week and helped us to get the win. Stuff like that shows how this is a special team.”
As for his brief stint at running back, Pattyson admits he enjoyed it.
“It was something I never had played before, and I was kind of looking forward to a new opportunity,” he said. “I’ve played football for a while, so there’s not a lot I haven’t experienced.
“I was really excited. I had a pretty good game. The offensive line did a great job. I just wish we would have finished the game. That was a tough loss.”
The Patriots, who trailed by 26 points, roared back to make it a 46-40 game.
“Really, that game we were all working together,” Pattyson said. “We just needed one more bounce, and we could have won the game.
“It’s just about keeping a positive mindset and doing your job and letting the rest take care of itself.”
Pattyson has been playing organized football since he was in seventh grade, giving up basketball and baseball in favor of the sport.
“I wanted to play football growing up, but my parents said I had to wait until middle school,” he said. “By the time seventh grade rolled around, I was really excited to finally get a chance to play because I always played it on the playground with my friends, but I never actually played real football with pads and everything.
“Ever since then, I’ve always liked it.”
As for his future, Pattyson – who is receiving interest from colleges – is planning to stay involved in football at some level.
“I’m going to finish the year and see what opportunities present themselves as far as playing further,” he said. “If I play, great, and if not, I’ve loved playing, and I’ll still find ways to stay involved.
“I’ll play intramurals. I’ll get into coaching. That’s something I think would be a lot of fun.”
An excellent student, Pattyson, who is enrolled in honors and AP classes, places a high value on academics.
“My parents did a good job of instilling in me that academics comes before athletics,” he said. “It’s not like you can choose whether to do good or bad in school – I feel like it’s a responsibility, just like doing your job in football is. I’ve always worked hard in school.”
With an interest in statistics and math, Pattyson is looking to pursue a major in the business field.
When he’s not playing football, Pattyson is also actively involved in Athletes Helping Athletes and the Future Business Leaders of America. As part of FBLA, Pattyson has advanced to the state level in Hershey in each of the last two years and is hoping to do so again.
Despite his many interests, Pattyson admits he can’t imagine high school without football.
“It’s really enhanced my high school experience,” he said. “Just being part of a team and the brotherhood that comes with it.
“All of my best friends I’ve played football with because I spend so much time with them. I can’t really picture high school without football because so much of the stuff I have is because of football.”
