Here's Connor Brains, wit and football define Siloam Springs senior

SILOAM SPRINGS -- There is so much more to Connor Broyles than just football.

Broyles, a senior, is the starting center for the Siloam Springs football team, which plays a key 6A-West Conference football game today at Panther Stadium against El Dorado. The winner will take a big step forward to advancing to the Class 6A playoffs.

But many students simply know Broyles as the star of "The Monday Show," a weekly broadcast that is produced by Siloam Springs High School's Film and Television students.

Or they might know him as the president of the Mu Alpha Theta club, or as the brilliant-minded kid who made a 34 on the ACT.

Some youngsters know him as a volunteer football coach for a third-grade team at the Boys and Girls Club of Western Benton County. He also helps out at Sager Creek Community Church.

"Many people know him either for his brains, for his wit or for football, but few see how well-rounded he is unless they really know him," said Megan Denison, who is the Film and Television teacher at Siloam Springs.

Broyles said getting more involved in different activities has forced him to learn how to manage his time.

"You can't do everything at once, and you can't put off everything until the last minute," Broyles said. "Freshman and sophomore year, I was the world's worst procrastinator. I waited until the last minute on everything. So now, I've kind of learned to spread everything out and budget time accordingly."

Anchoring the line

When it comes to Broyles' time, football definitely takes up a large chunk of it.

He's started on the offensive line for two seasons now, and he also played some as a sophomore for the Panthers.

Broyles is the Panthers' most versatile player up front with the ability to play all five offensive line positions, which isn't an easy thing to do his coaches say.

"Connor's impressive," said Siloam Springs coach Bryan Ross. "He's a great student, great football player. He's a guy that can play all five O-line positions up front. He's that smart. He's had a good senior year for us so far. We're pleased with what he's done and hopefully we can take it a step further the next few weeks."

Ross said Broyles could also have been a good defensive player for the Panthers, but they chose to utilize him on offense instead.

"With his intelligence and ability, I think it really lent himself to playing on the offensive side," Ross said. "He's not disappointed us. He's been a good player for us."

Siloam Springs offensive line coach Jonathan Johnson said coaches look for a guy with mental prowess to be able to handle important duties on the offensive line.

"Really that's what we look for year-in and year-out from our center," Johnson said. "Whether or not he has the physical ability to play those spots within the dynamic of the other players around him, we look for that kid who has the capacity to know every job up front. I think that's what anybody looks for in their center."

'The Monday Show'

In previous years at Siloam Springs High School, "The Monday Show" was essentially a broadcast of announcements.

"Just five solid minutes of announcements," Broyles said.

He said a student in the broadcast program back in the spring had the idea of revamping the show.

"If we have to make the show anyway, why not make it fun?" Broyles said. "Why not make it a fun thing for the kids to start their week with? So we ran with the idea and it's kind of morphed into almost an SNL-style ('Saturday Night Live') show."

Turns out the comedy and improv are right up Broyles' alley.

He spends multiple hours a week writing copy, filming and producing the show with his classmates as part of the Film and Television class.

Typically the show features a goofy, comedy sketch, with has included students, teachers and administrators on a wide variety of subjects.

Most of the broadcasts feature Broyles in the lead role.

"It's been a lot of fun to get to do it, and it gives me a lot of experience because I see this as the field I might be interested in," Broyles said. "It's been an experience I've enjoyed, not just on the fun side but on the technical side, too."

Denison said Broyles is certainly talented and bright -- almost too bright.

"Connor's one of the best writers I've ever met," she said. "Even though we differ on our political opinions, his humor is timely and it's incisive. And I've actually had to tell him to dumb it down a little bit, because a lot of the freshmen weren't understanding the references he was making or the jokes he was making. We've had to change quite a bit of his writing because it was at such a high level. They weren't getting it."

Denison enjoys the problem of having to rein in a student rather than having to push them along.

"I can only push a kid so far," she said. "When you have a kid that you have to pull them back, that's an amazing feeling because you know that kid is already at a level far beyond what you're doing in the classroom. I have no worries about Connor going off to college and being successful. That to me is fantastic."

Episodes of the "The Monday Show" are available online at www.themondayshow.com.

A bright future

When Broyles was in middle school, according to Johnson, his classmates used to say "Connor's going to be president one day."

"He's intelligent, social," Johnson said. "He's perfectly fine in the spotlight. As we can see from his work, he has a character about him that kind of drives him in that direction."

Broyles doesn't know about being president, but he does enjoy writing and discussing politics for 'The Monday Show.' In fact the most recent episode featured a presidential debate between himself and SSHS history teacher Cecil Nichols.

Broyles made a 30 on the ACT in his first time taking it as a high school student, and since then he's improved it four points to a 34.

He's very interested in attending renowned academic institutions like Vanderbilt or Northwestern. His ultimate goal is to be on TV.

"My goal is to eventually be in front of the camera, but obviously you can't start out there," Broyles said. "You've got to work your way to the top."

His coaches and teachers think he will be just fine in whatever he does. As he's shown on the field and in front of the camera, he can handle tough pressure.

"There's not as much humor in the free-block zone as there is in front of the camera on 'The Monday Show,' but at the same time, that's a spotlight that's on him to direct everything, make sure everything's going in the right direction with those big guys up front," Johnson said. "Being in front of the camera once it's on, you've got to be in character."

Sports on 10/21/2016