Plainfield South junior Brian Stanton believes hard work will lead to reward

Plainfield South running back Brian Stanton believes in the maxim that with hard work usually comes reward.

That was certainly the case in Stanton’s sophomore season when he put up monster numbers despite the Cougars only playing four games in their spring season. It left Stanton with a lack of fulfillment, but it didn’t change his drive, a fundamental reason for why he emerged in the first place.

“We knew he was special as a freshman, I think we had about two days of practice with the freshmen, and the freshmen coaches we were like, ‘He’s gotta go play sophomores,’” Plainfield South coach Bill Bicker said. “He could have played with us as a freshman, but we were just lucky that the last few years we’ve been talented in the backfield and we didn’t need him on the varsity.”

Entering his sophomore season, Stanton was disappointed that the season didn’t begin as scheduled in the fall. But instead of finding excuses for how he couldn’t keep up his conditioning during shutdown, Stanton doubled down.

“I honestly think it was quarantine that helped the most, I had nothing to do but train for my sport,” Stanton said. “That gave me a boost over a lot of the competition, I feel like they didn’t really do anything and take advantage of the long break off.”

When games returned, Stanton was poised for a major breakthrough. And it didn’t take long for him to realize his immense potential.

Bicker has no concerns about Stanton resting on his laurels as he enters his junior season.

“It’s easy to have high expectations for the kid, because he’s the hardest working player on our team,” Bicker said. “When your best player is the hardest working player, that’s a pretty special combo.”

Stanton takes his work ethic to an extreme. Bicker is quick to point out the things that makes Stanton different than most.

“We run this drill that we call 5-10-5, it is a change-of-direction drill,” Bicker said. “You run 5 yards, you run back to the goal line, you run 10, then you run 5. He was like, “I’ll just run 100′s.” He was finishing 100′s before kids were finished with 5-10-5′s.

“He knows that are going to be people that aren’t working, and he’s dedicated himself to being one of the people that are.”

Stanton is also smart enough to find people around him that aspire to the same goals he ultimately does.

“He had a great role model for that with [quarterback] Niko Schultz,” Bicker said. “He saw what Niko was doing in quarantine, and was doing things like that. Niko worked during quarantine, and he ended up with a [track] scholarship to Nebraska.”

Stanton takes pride in his work ethic, but also feels as if it has a noticeable effect late in games.

“I think my strength is my fight in the third and fourth quarters of games,” Stanton said. “I condition myself in a way that I’m prepared for what it takes.”

He also doesn’t necessarily mind if he’s the target of opposing defenses, because if he wasn’t a known commodity in the spring, he certainly is now.

“It’s definitely something I look forward to,” Stanton said. “I kind of like the feeling that teams have to prepare for me.”

Bicker also has no concerns that his junior captain will ever suffer from complacency.

“He never takes a day off, he’s a joy to coach,” Bicker said. “Everything is a challenge to him and nothing phases him.”

Stanton also holds himself to a rigid standard.

“I have a responsibility to live up to the expectations of everybody out here, and for myself. I felt like there was a lot more, I feel like I just got to my peak in the fourth [spring] game,” Stanton said. “I feel like I have to better myself each and every day. I have high standards for myself and when I meet them, I’m really happy about it.”