High school football: Central Bucks East family mourns loss of former teammate
When long-time Central Bucks East head football coach John Donnelly had to deliver the tragic news to his team about the passing of former teammate Connor Boyle last Friday, Ethan Shine knew just what to do.
"Knowing Connor, and we go all the way back to Pop Warner football at Lenape when we were in first or second grade, he would have wanted us to practice," the senior running back/linebacker said. "That's just the way he was. It was always about the team for him. Whatever we could do to get better, that's what he wanted to do.
"With everything he went through with the cancer, it was always the same. We have guys that don't want to go to practice and here he was, in a lot of pain, doing whatever he could to help the team."
Boyle, a 2022 East graduate, died on Aug. 19 after a courageous three-year battle with cancer. He was 18.
"Connor was just an inspiration to anybody that knew him," Donnelly said. "A lot of times, people point to their heroes on TV or sports figures, but they don't have the stuff that Connor has.
"He scheduled all of his chemotherapy around school, maintained a 4.0 average and just kept going. He had over 20 rounds of chemotherapy and spent over 100 nights in CHOP and had probably 10 different surgeries, but refused to miss school.
For subscribers:We rank the top 10 big-school football teams in the Courier Times/Intelligencer area.
"And, he went to prom and graduation and was just an inspiration. I have known the Boyle family for over 15 years and they should be proud of the high level of character and hard-working values they instilled in their son."
Boyle, who also played baseball for the Patriots, was playing on the junior varsity football team when the cancer was discovered.
"It was in October of 2019 during a JV game and he was having trouble breathing," Donnelly said. "They did a battery of tests and that's when the aggressive form of bone cancer was discovered."
Remarkably, Boyle never stopped being part of the football program and gave his teammates, coaches and family a thrill during the 2020 season.
"One of the big highlights of our 2020 season was Connor, with a rod in his leg, running out onto the field with the team for our game against Pennsbury after an incredible amount of chemotherapy and surgery," Donnelly said.
"Then, he held the ball for us on an extra point against North Penn. It's just unbelievable how determined he was. And even in his senior season in 2021, after a lot more complications, he still helped out as a video coordinator and remained an integral part of our program."
Shine and the Patriots plan to honor Boyle with a decal on their helmets this season. Central Bucks East opens its season on Saturday night with a road game at Chambersburg.
"We're going to put a white cross on the 'E' on our helmets so we can remember Connor as the brother that he was to us," Shine said. "He was such a big part of Central Bucks East football. He was such a great person, a really good player at quarterback, and a true friend. It's just a shame he had to leave us so quickly."
For subscribers:We rank the top five small-school teams in the Courier Times/Intelligencer area
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Central Bucks East football mourns passing of Connor Boyle
