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Let’s set the scene that could have been a viral high school football moment if Southern Section Division 3 hurdles champion and windmill dunker Davis Benson of Moorpark had not remembered hurdling in a game is illegal.
Benson, one of the best athletes in the state, had just received a screen pass. The Camarillo safety surged forward and got so low Benson knew the defensive back was going for his legs.
At that moment Benson was tempted to use his vertical leap of more than 40 inches to simply glide over him like going over hurdles in a 110-meter race. But in a split second, he remembered jumping over a standing person results in a 15-yard personal foul penalty. So he stood down, depriving the internet of a highlight reel that would have made him famous.
Except he’s already famous in the track and field world. Prep track guru Rich Gonzalez calls him “the best athlete in the state.” At last season’s Southern Section Division 3 finals, he won the 110 hurdles, the long jump and finished second in the high jump. He’s nearing under 14 seconds in the hurdles, gone 6-10 in the high jump with a bad ankle and is nearing 25 feet in the long jump.
In 2027, he’s going to try the decathlon for the first time.
As a 6-foot, 165-pound senior receiver for Moorpark, his quick first step combined with his jumping ability is making Musketeer fans think of their greatest athlete, NFL receiver Drake London.
“I’ve seen a lot of athletes over the years, but he’s one of those people who has the talent and the work ethic to go with it,” Moorpark football and track coach Christian Dearborn said. “He has it all.”
With A’s on his report card and the energy and determination to never stop improving, Benson is headed on a path that could take him in many different directions. He has track and field recruiting visits to Brigham Young and Utah coming up, but football remains in the equation. Remember that London was an outstanding basketball player who went to USC and later decided to focus on football.
“I think last season, I had a good season as a receiver, but I don’t think it was speaking to the level of track season I had, where I had three events at the state finals,” Benson said. “Recruitment for football was a lot slower than track.”
He remembers watching BYU football games with his father at home since he was 6 and can run off a list of names of former BYU quarterbacks. But when asked about Rafer Johnson, one of the world’s greatest decathlon competitors who won a gold medal at the 1960 Olympic Games, Benson said, “I guess I don’t know of him.”
He promised to learn more.
To understand how Benson got so good in so many events, he thinks back to when he was a third-grader and wanted to win a youth track award given to the athlete who competes in the most events in a season.
“I wanted to get that award, so I did every single event,” he said.
Benson competed in the 100, 200, 400, 800, 1,600, long jump, shotput … and earned his award — a baton.
Now back to the hurdle in a football game that could have been.
“Obviously I wanted to take off,” Benson said. “I mean, I wanted to jump.”
Then the smart gene kicked in, remembering it’s a penalty.
“It’s not like, in the back of my brain to try to hurdle someone,” Benson said. “But it would be cool. I always see those highlights.”
He’ll have to wait until college or the pros to show off his hurdling skills in a football uniform.
Videographers, keep your cameras aimed at Benson, because you never know what highlight he might produce jumping, running or leaping.
