Boylan's pitch pays off
This is the first in a series of six articles profiling the Seneca Valley Sports Hall of Fame's Class of 2018.ZELIENOPLE — As a youngster, Adam Boylan had to persuade his parents to let him play football.His sales pitch paid off in a big way.First hitting the gridiron in the third grade, Boylan went on to star at Seneca Valley High School, where he was named Team MVP his senior year before playing four years on scholarship at Indiana (Pa.) University.Boylan, a 1996 SV graduate, will be one of six inducted into the Seneca Valley Sports Hall of Fame Sept. 15.“I had to beg my mom to let me play and I don't think my dad was crazy about me getting into football either,” said Boylan. “But they let me and saw that I was having success and just let me go.”A running back/safety, Boylan was good enough to start as a sophomore under then-head coach Terry Henry in the fall of 1993. Henry made quite an impression with Boylan.“He instilled hard work in me, don't be afraid to go out and outwork the other guy,” said Boylan. “From Terry, I learned that if you stay focused on the task at hand, the only one who can hold you back is you. Playing for him was a very positive experience for me.”Boylan was named honorable mention all-conference as a sophomore, then made first team his junior season. He was a key cog in SV's potent ground attack, rushing for a combined 1,424 yards during his junior and senior seasons. But it was as a safety that he attracted Division I interest, beginning in the wake of his junior season when he intercepted seven passes.Purdue, Northwestern and Syracuse, among others, had their eyes on Boylan and it prompted him to make a tough decision.“I had played basketball since grade school, started as a guard for Seneca since my freshman year,” said Boylan. “But my senior year, I decided to focus just on football with the speed and weight training.”Boylan was 6-foot-1, 185 pounds by his senior season. He helped the Raiders reach the WPIAL football semifinals that year, then was faced with another difficult dilemma. With Division I scholarship offers sitting on the table, Boylan decided instead to walk on at Penn State.“Joe Paterno and (defensive backs coach) Tom Bradley were very influential in me deciding to go there,” he said. “I was told the opportunity would be there for me to walk on and make an impact. Plus, it was closer to home.”After one season, however, Boylan saw the writing on the wall regarding his position on the Nittany Lions' depth chart. He looked elsewhere and ended up in an unexpected place.“IUP kinda came out of nowhere, but they offered me a scholarship and it was a great opportunity for me,” he said. “For Division II, (football at IUP) is pretty high up there.”Boylan made an immediate impact for IUP and head coach Frank Cignetti. He started all four years as the quarterback of the defense and helped the Indians to a record of 19-5 in the very competitive Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference along with three straight trips to the NCAA playoffs.“Paul Tortorella is the head coach at IUP now, but he was the defensive coordinator when I was there,” Boylan said. “He had a big influence on my life and we still stay in touch.”Boylan is now the vice president of his family's business, Boylan Family Funeral Homes.“It was tough to leave the competition of football behind,” he said, “but once you step away, it's just something you have to adapt to.”Boylan does not take his selection to the hall of fame lightly.“It's an honor and I'm very thankful to the committee for choosing me,” he said. “It is something no one can ever take away from me.”
