Minus Its Star, Paraclete Has Found a Plus

The Paraclete football team took a big hit when running back Sal Iabichella unexpectedly quit the team three weeks ago, but replacement Dominic Washington has done his best to ease the pain.

Washington, a junior, has led the Spirits (5-2) to three consecutive victories by rushing for 720 yards and six touchdowns since taking over at tailback.

Perhaps even more staggering than his yardage total is the number of carries he’s had in those games--a number that has increased from 28 to 32 to an astounding 44 last week in a 30-27 victory over Bishop.

“The kinds of things he does are not any different than we expected,” Paraclete Coach Steve Hagerty said. “We didn’t want to see Sal leave, but we knew we still had quality.”

But Hagerty might not have had that luxury.

When Washington was a freshman, he took a big hit to the jaw during a junior varsity game against Kern Valley. The blow knocked out his two front teeth and cracked several others.

Hagerty said he didn’t think Washington would come back after that, but three caps and seven root canals later he is grinding out huge chunks of real estate in an effort to help Paraclete win the High Desert League championship.

“I had a little second thought about playing after that,” Washington said. “But I saw it as a challenge to come back. Nothing was going to keep me from doing what I wanted to do.”

Washington says he tries not to think about that accident, but sometimes he can’t help it.

“Every once in a while I can’t feel my teeth,” he said. “I have to touch them to make sure they’re still there.”

Opponents of Paraclete are well aware that Washington is there. Defenses have heard about him, Hagerty said, and have stacked eight or nine defenders near the line of scrimmage in an effort to stop him.

But Washington, a 5-foot-10, 175-pound power runner, manages to elude even though his best time in the 40-yard dash is 4.8.

“He’s a good marriage of power and speed,” Hagerty said. “He’s one of those kids that plays faster in a game than his time.”

Washington, who played fullback before Iabichella’s departure, said he just rose to the challenge at tailback.

“I was shocked when he left,” Washington said. “We had one of the best teams we’ve had in a long time. Then it was like people started looking to me.”

So far, so good.