At an early age, Dillon Danner assumed leadership positions in the sports arena. Quarterback. Point guard. Catcher.
The Santa Cruz High star not only retained those roles as he got older, he continued to blossom and shined brightest this season as a senior. He led the Cardinals football team to the league and Central Coast Section Division V titles as well as an appearance in the school’s first CIF NorCal championship bowl game. And he led the basketball team to a repeat trip to the CCS D-IV final and NorCal playoffs.
Danner, voted the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League’s second-best catcher last season, didn’t get a chance to shine in baseball because the season was cut short by the coronavirus pandemic, but his accomplishments during fall and winter went unrivaled. For that, he is the Sentinel’s Male Athlete of the Year.
“I always knew I had it in me if I worked hard,” he said. “There are a lot of athletes who are good in youth sports and peak there. I didn’t want that to happen to me. I knew if I kept working hard I’d be able to be the player I am today. And I always had good coaches pushing me too, telling me I can be something.”
Danner was Santa Cruz’s Mr. Everything, including one of the school’s valedictorians. He earned a 4.53 GPA and will play catcher next year for College of Idaho, an NAIA program.
“Starting guard and captain, quarterback and captain of the football team, captain and catcher of the baseball team,” said Lawan Milhouse, Santa Cruz’s basketball coach. “Those are a lot of leadership spots. That’s a lot of weight not too many kids can hold. And he did it. And he did it to where his teammates were loving him. He was their heartbeat.”
Among Danner’s many accolades this year, he was named the CCS Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year and a National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame scholarship award winner.
He was also named the Pacific Coast Athletic League’s Cypress Division Offensive Player of the Year after leading the Cardinals (10-4, 5-1) football team to the league title. He passed for 2,300-plus yards and 25 touchdowns against 10 interceptions and ran for 11 touchdowns.
“Nothing Dillon does surprises us anymore,” said Bubba Trumbull, the Cardinals head football and baseball coach.
He passed for four touchdowns in a win over Gonzales and ran for three scored and passed for two others in a win over King City. When the playoffs rolled around, he was poised to hurt opponents with his dual-threat talents.
He threw an 83-yard touchdown pass in a 20-7 win over Leland to help the Cardinals claim their first CCS title since 2007.
No defense was ever comfortable when Danner was flushed out of the pocket. That was his playground. He gathered a fumbled snap and showcasing some deft footwork, scrambled 69 yards for a touchdown against eventual state champion Salesian in the NorCal Division 6A bowl game, a 35-14 loss.
Milhouse said he and his assistant Robert Shipstead watched Danner shine on the field.
“I told Robert, ‘He’s not that fast on basketball court — and he’s juking,’ ” Milhouse said of his 5-foot-11, 185-pound guard. “He’s more heart and ability. You put those together and you can do special things. And he did.”
Danner was second-team all-league selection in basketball. The Cardinals (16-15, 7-3) tied Soquel for second place behind Aptos in the SCCAL but found another level in the CCS playoffs. Danner scored a game-high 15 points in the Cardinals’ biggest victory of the season, a 45-38 win over Palma, the unbeaten PCAL Gabilan Division champion, in the section semifinals. Santa Cruz advanced to the title game for a third straight season, but lost to defending champion Carmel 64-31.
“When we needed something, he gave it to us,” Milhouse said. “That’s what type athlete he is and what type individual he is.”
Danner knew it wasn’t going to be easy. He woke up at 6 a.m. each day for 7 a.m. workouts, got home around 7:30 p.m. and studied until 10 or 11 p.m.
“I really pushed myself,” he said. “I’m glad I did because I learned a lot about myself. It prepared me for college and the real world.”
