By Brian Reed-Baiotto, Sports Editor At first glance, Elijah Washington is far from an imposing figure. He isn’t real tall (5-foot-10) and he’s not bulky, but over the past five months or so, Washington has put on approximately 10 pounds of muscle. Elijah wasn’t a vocal or in-your-face kind of teammate. But when he (along […]
By Brian Reed-Baiotto, Sports Editor
At first glance, Elijah Washington is far from an imposing figure.
He isn’t real tall (5-foot-10) and he’s not bulky, but over the past five months or so, Washington has put on approximately 10 pounds of muscle.
Elijah wasn’t a vocal or in-your-face kind of teammate.
But when he (along with Matt Barriga and Greg Dulcich) were selected as one of three ‘Golden Knights,’ (team captain) Washington was challenged by coaches to be that vocal or at least spiritual leader.
Before the Golden Knights took the field every Friday night, you’d see No. 25 psyching up his teammates in the corner of the end zone, and when he was done, the St. Francis players would follow their leader onto the field.
In 2016, Washington split carries with senior Jace Harrick, and they combined to make up the area’s best 1-2 punch when it comes to running backs.
He had 582 yards on exactly 100 carries, and he scored six rushing TD’s and one receiving score.
After Harrick’s graduation, Washington knew heading into his senior year that he’d get most of the carries in 2017.
Washington almost doubled his rushing yards (1,005) on 166 carries and he upped his rushing TD’s from six to 16, which was a team high for St Francis.
He also caught 20 passes for 329 yards and had a pair of scores.
Washington wasn’t done with his duties there, however, he also played both linebacker and was the long snapper on field goal and extra-point attempts.
While Washington is fast and agile, and much stronger than he might appear, what impresses most about the senior captain is how humble and bright he is, and that includes his time on and off a football field.
It shouldn’t come as any surprise, because he comes from a remarkably impressive family and he displays a character that is beyond reproach.
His father Kyle is an assistant coach at St. Francis and he’s a senior project manager at Huntington Hospital, and his mom, Nicki, is a highly accomplished employee at Caltech.
Zach Washington, his older brother was also a respected member of the SF football program years ago, and he didn’t miss many of his alma mater’s and his brother’s games.
Washington and his buddies won 21 of the 25 games they played over the past two seasons, and that included the program’s first trip to the CIF-SS Division 3 title game since 1964.
When asked what game was individually the most memorable for him this past season, he quickly mentioned the La Salle game back on October 13,
In the 49-16 victory, Washington had a career best 225 yards and five touchdowns.
The only thing more memorable to this writer from that game was the fact that every SF player that was on the field when he scored TD number five looked back at our camera and each put up one hand and said “that’s five.”
Washington is a revered and accomplished leader and those examples were just a few of the many reasons he has been given the opportunity to play for the University of La Verne in September.
An example of his selflessness?
After an early game last season, while interviewing Washington after a victory, we asked if he was disappointed or frustrated that he got very few touches.
Without hesitation or any signs that he was being disingenuous, he smiled and said, “not at all, if we win games, I’m happy.”
When he earns his degree in communications, the sky is the limit for this humble, intelligent and loyal young man.
Quotable:
St. Francis assistant coach Kyle Washington (Elijah’s father): “My thoughts on Elijah’s growth over the years are that I truly appreciate how competitive he has always been, always putting the team first before any individual accolades, yet remaining so humble. His IQ of the game has improved tremendously from the time he started out with the LC Gladiators to his senior year at SF. Over the last two years, he has grown so much both on and off the field and I attribute that to the coaches and teachers at SF. While he was recruited by a few different schools, our entire family is very excited that he chose to stay close to home and attend the University of La Verne. It means that we’ll be able to see him play in person rather than streaming it or reading about it. Most of all, we’re excited that he gets to attend such a high quality academic school and it’s all because of his hard work both on the field and in the classroom.”
St. Francis senior Elijah Washington: “I knew I’d play somewhere, I just didn’t know where. The coaching staff at La Verne made me feel welcome. I am excited to play again and do so at the next level. St. Francis helped prepare me for this me by running everything as a team. What I’d want to say to my teammates and coaches is that I’ve always wanted to be a member of that program since I was in the fourth grade. I want to thank Coach Bonds and the entire staff for making me better and helping me become the best person I can be. To my teammates, thank you for being there for me since my freshman year. I love those guys and we are going to be brothers for life.”
Elijah Washington’s Stats:
2016:
Rushing: 100 carries for 582 yards and 6 TD’s
Receiving: 18 receptions for 188 yards, one TD.
Defense: 50 tackles, one sack
2017:
Rushing: 166 carries for 1,005 yards, 16 TD’s
Receiving: 20 receptions for 329 yards, two TD’s
Defense: 48 tackles
