Paraclete Rides Solid Defense to Title Game

Paraclete High will play for its fourth consecutive Southern Section football championship on Saturday, thanks mostly to a defense that bent but didn’t break in a 22-6 victory over Kern Valley in a Division XII semifinal at Antelope Valley College on Friday night.

The Spirits, who won Division XI titles in 1997 and 1998 and the Division XII title last year, rolled up 374 yards, including 313 rushing. But it the defense, led by strong safety Joe Martin, that twice stopped Kern Valley on fourth-and-goal plays from the Paraclete one.

The first stop came in the second quarter with Paraclete leading, 15-6.

Kern Valley (9-4) had driven 48 yards on 11 consecutive running plays following a recovery of an Erick Jackson fumble, but Martin stuffed Brandon Holguin on a quarterback sneak.

The second came early in the fourth quarter and with the same score.

Kern Valley had to drive only eight yards after Brian Turner intercepted a Craig Herrera pass and returned it 19 yards, but Martin and tackle John Solorzano stopped Daniel Jenkins on a run up the middle.

“This defense has done that several times this season,” Martin said. “We’ve given up some big plays during drives, but stopped them when it counted.”

The goal-line stands were particularly important for the Spirits (12-1), who repeatedly messed up drives with penalties.

“The offense wasn’t clicking tonight,” said Michael Washington, who had 105 yards and two touchdowns in eight carries. “We just weren’t getting the job done, but the defense played great.”

Washington, whose 52-yard punt return set up Paraclete’s first touchdown and whose interception of a Holguin pass ended another Kern Valley drive, scored on a three-yard run with 3:43 left to seal the victory.

Kern Valley and Paraclete were heated rivals in the High Desert League until Paraclete moved to the Alpha League in 1998. The old rivalry led to a lot of unsportsmanlike conduct penalties on Friday.

“I lost my cool a few times,” said Washington, who will play in his fourth section title game. “I let them get to me.”

Paraclete, which will try to become the second team to win four consecutive Southern Section titles, had a trio of 100-yard rushers for the second consecutive game. Curtis Brown had 106 yards and scored a touchdown in 14 carries and Jackson had 100 yards in 11 carries.

Brown, who has 1,699 yards rushing and 21 touchdowns, scored on a three-yard run with 7:06 to play in the first quarter. Herrera’s two-point conversion run gave the Spirits an 8-0 lead.