VALLEY / VENTURA COUNTY SPORTS : Free Spirit : Paraclete’s Michael Washington isn’t limited to one position--he can play several with remarkable skill.

LANCASTER —  Electricity will once again be in the air at Paraclete High, where the Utility Man appears to have everything wired.

Michael Washington, the Spirits’ junior all-purpose back, is rated the region’s top defensive back, but he does so much more for a program that is 26-2 since he began suiting up as a freshman starter.

He’s a one-man punt, pass and kick exhibition.

Washington is listed on Paraclete’s roster as a receiver-defensive back, but he also punts, returns kicks, plays running back and can pass, if needed.

“He will spend very little time on the sidelines during games,” Coach Steve Hagerty said.

Is there a position the versatile 6-foot-2, 195-pound junior can’t play?

“Actually, I always thought I’d make a good pulling guard,” Washington said.

One thing is certain: He has played a pivotal role in Paraclete winning two consecutive Southern Section championships.

“He can pretty much do it all,” linebacker Robert Watts said.

Playing the diamond-back position, Paraclete’s version of the slot, Washington was selected Division XII offensive co-player of the year and Alpha League most valuable player in 1998.

He rushed for 637 yards and nine touchdowns, caught 20 passes for 200 yards and one touchdown and scored six other times on kick returns. Washington had at least 10 other touchdowns called back because of penalties.

He intercepted three passes, routinely shut down opponents’ best receivers and became adept at stripping ballcarriers from behind and taking the ball the opposite direction.

Washington played only defense as a freshman, earning All-High Desert League honors while playing in the shadow of older brother Dominic, the High Desert League most valuable player as a senior in 1997 and currently the No. 2 running back at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

Michael, once known at Paraclete as Dominic’s little brother, said he sometimes needles Dominic that their roles have reversed.

But there is little sibling rivalry among the four offspring of Ed and Cathy Washington, a computer specialist for a defense company and a school teacher.

When Michael needed to bulk up during the offseason, it became a family project.

Four times a week, Ed, Cathy, Michael, Dominic, Wesley, 7, and Chelsey, 6, would join former NFL player Terry Welch, a family friend, for a battery of rigorous drills designed to improve strength and agility.

“We were all out there together,” said Michael, who added 15 pounds during the summer, mostly to his lower body. “But we do a lot of things together.”

Michael regularly attends Chelsey’s ballet and tap-dancing recitals and baby-sits for Wesley and other neighborhood kids.

“I enjoy doing it,” Michael said. “I’ve always felt that if I couldn’t go on and play football, I would want to teach.”

Washington’s increased size has added another dimension to his game.

“I wanted to give people a different look this year,” he said. “Last year, I would try to outrun someone to the outside or put a move on somebody. Now, I’d like to go over people as well as around them.”

But even when he does, some will discount the results because they came against a Division XII opponent.

“He’ll always have a chink in his armor because he’s from Paraclete, because he isn’t playing against the big schools,” Hagerty said. “Hopefully, one day he will have the chance to play at a big [college] and people will give him his due.”

Some in the Antelope Valley aren’t waiting that long.

“If he were in our league, he’d be a legitimate candidate for Golden League MVP,” said Coach Brent Newcomb of Antelope Valley High.

Said Coach Lin Parker of Highland: “Washington is a real nugget. If every Division I school in the country isn’t recruiting that guy, somebody’s goofing.”

Washington stands ready to prove himself to any remaining doubters.

“I still hear stuff from some of the guys at the big schools out here,” he said. “I always tell them that if they want to go head-up, we could always meet somewhere. No one ever does.”

That’s no surprise.