Stansbury football: Colton May profile

In late January, I interviewed Stansbury (Utah) linebacker Colton May, who led the Stallions' defense and was a big part in the team's success in only the school's fourth season. Here is the article that will appear in the Stansbury 2012 football yearbook.

Colton May:

 He came into the season motivated

and led Stallions’ best-ever defense

By Bruce Smith

Matchup
 
            Colton May left the Stansbury football program as one of its most well-decorated.
            It almost didn’t happen that way. But because he approached the 2012 football season so motivated, success couldn’t help but follow – for him and the team.
            As a junior, the 6-foot, 200-pounder was a stalwart on the Stallions’ 2011 team, which won their first region title, finished the season with a 9-2 record and made it to the second round of the 3A playoffs. Even though Stansbury had an impressive run in only its third year of existence, giving up just 12 points per game, only Jeremy Café made first team all-state.
            May had a team-high 103 tackles and made three interceptions but, surprisingly, he didn’t even make honorable mention.
            He put that snub to good use.
            “I felt deprived,” he said. “It was one of my goals to get all-state and break my record of tackles that I had last year. I also wanted to average in double figures in tackles per game.
            “I worked very hard this year to get that recognition,” he added. “Being elected first team all-state was my best highlight.”
            May played almost entirely on defense. At linebacker, he was all over the field, and was often able to relax late in games after Stansbury built comfortable leads.
            However, he appreciated the close games more, and that’s where he made his mark. That was never more noticeable during a midseason stretch of games. It started in the Stallions’ 29-28 overtime win over Morgan, where May broke his own record with 16 tackles.
            The following week, he achieved even more as Stansbury defeated Desert Hills 12-7, avenging the playoff loss from the year before. That win gave the Stallions a lot of confidence.
            “Revenge was sweet, that’s for sure,” May said. “But our team really came together at that point. It was very memorable.”
            “He had a great season,” said Stansbury coach Clint Christiansen. “He was our leader on defense and had a great attitude. We had a lot of team speed and he was part of it.”
            Another memorable moment for May came at Grantsville, even though he wasn’t part of it. On the Cowboys’ “Senior Night,” the Stallions averted a loss when Iosua Opeta and Ronnie Hill blew open a hole on an extra-point kick and Jackson Clausing blocked it, which led to Stansbury’s eventual 14-13 victory.
            May grew up playing many different sports. He began playing competitive football in fourth grade with guys like Clausing, Chandler Staley and Cole Merseth and became great friends with them. Together, they helped the Stallions go from a low-level squad to a 3A championship contender.
            “It was really exciting to see what we could accomplish,” May said.
            He said he could see Stansbury’s potential during his sophomore year. Playing sub-varsity against 4A teams at the time, he relished the challenge of going up against the bigger schools. He said Christiansen kept most of the underclassmen off the varsity at that time to prepare them better.
            “Coach was kind of grooming us,” he said. “Coach broke us down and made us more disciplined. He made it so we wanted to work harder.”
            On defense, there was no harder worker on the field. May finished his Stansbury football career with an amazing 234 tackles, a record that likely will be difficult for anyone to break. As a team, the Stallions also improved. They won another region crown, finished 11-1 and the defense held opponents to an average of 10.5 points per game.
            There were also four shutouts, including a 55-0 pounding of county rival Tooele. May said the only lowlight was Stansbury’s 20-13 loss to eventual champion Dixie.
            With football over, May said he planned to compete in the short sprints (100, 200 meters) on Stansbury’s track and field team. After graduation, he hoped to go on an LDS Church mission and then earn a scholarship to play football at Dixie State in St. George.
            “They showed a lot of interest and I like the coaches down there,” he said. “The weather is great and I’d like to stay in state close to my family.”