A pair of Dawson County athletes and cousins, celebrated with friends and family on Saturday, June 20, while signing their letters of intent to play collegiate sports. 

Bryson Broadway, a three-sport athlete at Dawson County High School, signed to play Division 1 football at Eastern Illinois University, an Ohio Valley Conference school. 

Broadway, an offensive lineman, said he chose the EIU Panthers because he thought it was the best opportunity for him closer to home and believes this will give him a chance to start as a freshman.

“It’s a place where I feel like I'll have a good chance to excel at a high level as an incoming freshman and be able to change the culture there,” Broadway said.

Broadway’s cousin, Marlie Townley, a Lady Tigers basketball player who tallied 500 career rebounds, also signed her letter of intent to play at Reinhardt University in Waleska on Saturday. 

“I felt like I fit in there with my teammates and the staff, and the atmosphere really drew me in,” Townley said. 

Like most college students, Townley is most excited to make new friends at the new school but says she’s nervous about not knowing anybody at first and not getting to see her family so frequently. 

Both Broadway and Townley credit the coaching staff at the high school with pushing them, never letting them lose the belief that they could play collegiately and making them better people the last three years of varsity sports.