Out of all the sports David Stanton plays — football, basketball and volleyball — it’s the latter where his athleticism transfers over best.
That much was apparent when the San Benito High boys’ volleyball team played Seaside on March 27, a match the Haybalers lost in four games. However, it was no fault of the 6-foot-1, 180-pound Stanton, who finished with a team-high 17 kills.
Time and again, Stanton, a San Benito High senior, displayed an impressive vertical leap, rising above the Seaside blockers. Even though the Spartans, who are threatening to run away with the Monterey Bay League championship, blocked a lot of shots and were getting tips on a number of San Benito attacks, their middle blockers rarely got a hand on Stanton’s balls.
Sure, the players in Seaside’s back row dug Stanton up several times, but that was more of a testament to the Spartans being perfectly positioned on defense and their cohesiveness.
“David is aggressive, he wants to hit the ball hard and he wants to hit it down for the kill,” Balers coach Veronica Companion said. “But the No. 1 thing about David is he’s a tremendous athlete who knows what it takes to win, and that’s a great asset to have on a team.”
Stanton, 18, isn’t just a one-trick pony. He excels in the passing game, and he routinely produced digs against the Spartans’ big hitters. Early in Game 4, Stanton dug a ball up, then immediately looped around the left side to pound a ball down for a kill.
Stanton has always excelled in volleyball, but this is the year where he’s basically the go-to hitter on a team loaded with talent. The last couple of years, Stanton was essentially the backup to former Balers standout Robert Henderson, who was last year’s MBL Most Valuable Player.
Even though he received a lot of playing time, Stanton learned a lot more by watching Henderson in action.
“It was kind of one of those things where I wanted to be like Robert, because he did everything right on the court,” Stanton said. “He taught me how to play hard, and watching him made me want to play better.”
Despite having one of the more talented teams in the MBL, San Benito entered the week with just a 3-4 record in league play. The Balers consistently make the CCS playoffs, and they’re hoping they can overcome a slow start by peaking as the season goes along.
“We have potential, but sometimes we can’t close teams out,” said Stanton, a four-year varsity player. “We have the talent to do it, but sometimes things don’t come together the way we want it to.”
Stanton, who only has two months left until he graduates, said he’s going to cherish the rest of his senior year. For the last four years, Stanton has had a routine: Wake up, attend classes, go to practice.
But when Stanton attends college, there will be no official practices to attend. Stanton has been accepted to San Diego State and San Jose State, neither of which has offered him a scholarship or preferred walk-on status.
“I could try out for the club volleyball team at San Diego State and if I choose San Jose State, I don’t know if I would try out for the football team there,” he said. “Those are things I have to think about before I decide where to go for college.”
Whatever happens, Stanton will leave the school with fond memories. He’ll be forever entrenched in San Benito history, when, as a junior, he was put in as quarterback when then-starter Josh George got hurt in the third quarter of the first game of the 2012 season.
All Stanton did was lead the team to a Central Coast Section Division I championship that season, making several clutch passes on the game-winning drive in a 35-28 win over Milpitas in the title contest.
“That was a pretty amazing feeling, coming in and making it all the way,” Stanton said. “It was like, ‘Wow, I can’t believe we just did that.”
Even though quarterbacks take a beating running the option, Stanton never missed a single game, spanning 26 contests. That’s not an easy thing to do in today’s high school game, where players are bigger, stronger and faster than ever.
The collisions are more ruthless and violent, and occurring with greater frequency.
However, Stanton was able to stay injury-free by absorbing hits well, meaning consciously or not, he was able to maneuver his body at an angle so opponents didn’t crush him on every tackle.
In the end, Stanton will be remembered for being durable, a solid leader and a player who always maintained a positive attitude even in times of adversity.
