This time last football season, Bishop Ireton quarterback Joe
Dickinson and kicker David Cooper played on opposite sides of
the world.
Dickinson made the roster at Chapin High School in El Paso,
Texas, while Cooper played in South Korea on a high school
military base team so bad that he never got a chance to kick
a field goal all year.
Now both find themselves in Alexandria playing at Ireton this
fall for the same reason: their fathers are in the military
and recently were transferred to Washington.
And with the way Dickinson and Cooper are playing so far, it
would be hard to blame Cardinals fans if they lobbied the
Pentagon to keep them around for a while longer.
Through four games, Ireton was off to a 3-1 start. Dickinson
led all Washington area quarterbacks in passing with just
under 1,000 yards, while Cooper, a former soccer player,
booted a 42-yard field goal in the rain - no easy feat even
at the NFL level.
Both players say getting involved in sports helped with the
familiar but never easy transition into a new school. They've
both been to at least 10 different schools. Like children in
many military families, they say it never gets easy no matter
how many times you move.
"I tried out for the team in the beginning of August, and
before school we'd gone through multiple training camps and
two-a-days and team bonding," Cooper said. "So as school
approached, I was confident that I'd at least have a group of
friends who knew me."
Coach Tony Verducci, who served more than two decades in the
U.S. Marines Corps and retired as a lieutenant colonel, said
both players were unexpected additions to an already strong
roster. But it's hardly the first time that's happened, he
added.
"It's always been like that because of the turnover of the
military personnel, whether it's Fort Belvoir, the Pentagon,
Andrews Air Force Base or wherever," he said. "The reputation
that the school community has as a welcoming place has been
attractive for military families who are relocating.
"You do lose some guys because they move during high school,
but then you have some guys you weren't anticipating come
in."
Ranked first in passing yards and third in touchdowns,
Dickinson said he was considering attending Bishop O'Connell
in Arlington at first. But he chose Ireton after Verducci
assured him he'd have a chance to play.
"Coach Verducci gave me a shot, and that's all I was looking
for," he said one evening after practice.
Dickinson said for as many times as he's moved, it never gets
easy being the new kid. But being part of the football team
helped.
"I think it's huge," he said. "I came here last year in the
middle of the year, and being the new kid, you want get
involved in something so you can have a familiar group of
people."
If Dickson was used to the big crowds of Friday night
football in Texas, Cooper played on far smaller football
teams over the last few years when his father - who helps
coordinate medical supplies for hospitals - was stationed in
South Korea.
"The teams were a lot smaller and it was a lot less
competitive," he said. "But besides that, football is still
football wherever you go. It's still fun to play and it's
still fun to get to know people."
Last year, Cooper said his military base team always went for
it on fourth down and, even when the team did score, they
tried for a two-point conversion instead of kicking the extra
point. That left Cooper without much else to do but handle
kickoffs.
An unknown coming into the season, Cooper said Ireton is the
first program that's trusted him to kick field goals. Cooper
hasn't disappointed. He was 2 for 2 in the first half against
crosstown rival Episcopal, giving Ireton a 6-5 lead in what
turned out to be a 26-24 win.
They're hardly the only children from military families
excelling on the field at Ireton over the years. Perhaps the
most prominent example was 2008 Ireton graduate Andrew
Rodriguez, who won the Sullivan Award in 2011 as the nation's
top collegiate athlete and played football at West Point.
Both Dickinson and Cooper credit their teammates for
accepting them into the program, which already was expecting
good things from, among others, standout veterans like senior
receiver Drew Smith, linebacker Josh Ammon and Andrew
LaTrash, who had three rushing touchdowns over the first four
games.
Verducci said whether they've been around for years or
arrived in recent months, all of the players are part of
something much bigger.
"We try to talk about the fact that every team is its own
entity," the coach said. "Whether you're a senior and it's
your last year or you're a sophomore and it's your first year
on varsity, be in the moment. Enjoy the group you have."
And Ireton is winning after a 4-6 record last year and 1-9
finish in 2012. A year earlier, however, the Cardinals
finished 8-3.
They've already won some tough games this season, beating
Episcopal 26-24 after two years of big losses and winning
against St. Alban's 38-6. The only loss came against
O'Connell in a 54-28 defeat Sept. 6.
Smith, who has caught seven touchdown passes already to rank
among the top five receivers in the Washington area, never
played organized football until he arrived at Ireton as a
freshman.
"I don't think these first four games have been an accident,"
Smith said. "We've earned what we've gotten by working. We go
hard every day because we know it'll pay off on Saturdays."
McElhatton is a newspaper reporter and lives in Alexandria.
He can be reached at jimmcelhat@gmail.com.