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# Paci, Salem football ready to take advantage of opportunity
- URL: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/paci-salem-football-ready-to-take-advantage-of-opportunity/
- Published: 2018-08-23T12:30:04.000Z
- Updated: 2018-08-23T12:30:04.000Z
- Description: There are a lot of new names and new faces suiting up for the Salem High School football team this preseason. But for the Blue Devils, the 2018 season presents an opportunity for players who may have been overlooked in the past to shine. "Everybody knows our team was mostly seniors (last year)," Sal
- Author: Joe Marchilena
- Tags: Division I, Dom Paci, football, NH High School Sports Insider, Salem, slider, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-18 04:44

There are a lot of new names and new faces suiting up for the Salem High School football team this preseason.

But for the Blue Devils, the 2018 season presents an opportunity for players who may have been overlooked in the past to shine.

"Everybody knows our team was mostly seniors (last year)," Salem's Dom Paci said. "Now that they’re gone, the juniors and sophomores are coming up and we’re not losing much."

Count Paci among those incoming seniors who are ready to take on a larger load.

The running back got his share of the spotlight last season, stepping up when Josh Sibanda missed a stretch of games in the middle of the season, and helping Salem finish the regular season undefeated before falling in the semifinals.

And it wasn't the first time he's been called on to help the Blue Devils replace injured players. Paci also stepped up to fill in as a sophomore, most notably in the playoffs. 

"He was forced into duty in a couple of games, most notably, in our playoff game against Bedford.," Salem coach Rob Pike said of Paci's fill-in duties. "He was great. Our fullback got hurt and couldn’t play, and he was excellent.

"We lost that game, but we rushed for over three hundred yards, and he was a big part of that both running and blocking. We knew there that we had a player and he was going to be a good one for us. And last year, he was excellent as a junior."

Paci knows that that success last season will likely mean teams focus on shutting him down, at least in the first couple of games until someone else proves they can step up. 

"It’s going to be tougher," he said. "Most teams keyed on (Sibanda), which left me open a lot. They’re going to change their focus to me, but that’s just going to make me play harder and give me motivation."

Pike has seen that from Paci going back to his freshman year, and this season, he's added the leadership qualities that the coaches have come to expect from their seniors.

"He’s taken on a good leadership role," the coach said. "All summer, and he’s not alone, but he’s been one of the guys to rally support from the young guys, to call kids to encourage them to come to the weight room or get to practice on time. He’s been a vocal leader for us and that’s been great."

While Paci, who started playing football in fifth grade, focused mostly on offense last season, he knows this year he'll have to put in time on the defensive side. During the preseason, the coaches have focused on him at defensive end.

"I’ve wanted to play more defense," he said. "It’s not that I don’t like playing both ways, but it’s good to be fresh. This year, I’m working hard to get my conditioning, and hopefully, I’m able to play both sides none stop."

Paci has experience playing defense, although in another sport, as he's a defenseman for the Salem boys lacrosse team. While he enjoys both sports, football would be the one he'd decided to play beyond this year, if he takes that route.

Pike believes his work ethic would make Paci a good catch for any program that wanted him.

"He puts in a ton of work in the weight room," Pike said. "He’s also fast, and that’s because he’s out here running speed drills. Now that we’re into camp, he works hard like everybody else does on the team. He’s a student of the game, too. He’s trying to get better at all aspects."