The Roman Empire : Lincoln High will need more than Gerardo Roman’s record-setting arm to be conquerors.

Gerardo Roman lives in a small two-bedroom apartment in the William Mead Homes housing project, an East L.A. development nicknamed “Dogtown” after a local gang. Few teen-agers from Dogtown try out for the Lincoln High football team, and even fewer survive an entire season.

Said Coach Randy Rodriguez: “Some drop out of school because they have to get a job, and others quit because they get frustrated because they’re not playing well.”

The exception has been Gerardo Roman, a senior quarterback who has set three school passing records in two years.

With Roman as quarterback, the Tigers have won two consecutive Northeastern League championships and qualified for the City 4-A Division playoffs. After leading all area quarterbacks with 2,120 yards passing in 1992, Roman hopes to build upon his success this year and lead Lincoln to its first City championship since 1935.

Three weeks into this season, Roman leads the area with 340 yards passing. But without an experienced, exceptional supporting cast to surround him, the Tigers have lost their first three games, including a recent 49-0 shellacking to Garfield. “It has been a hard season so far,” Roman said. “Winning used to come so easy.”

There was a time when he was the novice. In his first varsity game, the 1991 season-opener against Bell, Roman was the one who learned a valuable lesson.

Unhappy with the performance of his starting quarterback, Rodriguez substituted with Roman, an inexperienced sophomore. Rodriguez instructed Roman to throw a quick post pass to the short side of the field. In layman’s terms, Roman was supposed to throw a pass to his right while his receiver ran straight up field and then toward the right goal post.

However, Roman took the snap and threw to the wide side. A Bell defensive back picked off the pass and returned it for about a 20-yard touchdown.

“What play did I call?,” Rodriguez asked Roman.

“Quick post pass right,” Roman responded.

“Then why did you throw it left?” the coach said.

“Because I thought I could complete it,” Roman said.

The Tigers eventually lost, 15-7.

Rodriguez was chagrined. And Roman learned from his mistake.

Two years later, Roman has developed into the most prolific quarterback in the school’s history. He has set passing records for most yards in a game (390), most yards in a season (2,120) and most yards in career (3,772). And he has accomplished all this by throwing more passes to his right than his left.

“He never throws to the wide side of the field,” Rodriguez said. “Even if I call it again during a game. He smiles and runs a different play. He learned not to make the same mistake twice.

“That was his awakening. From that point on, he became a very coachable player.”

Eighteen-year-old Roman is the youngest of five children. His father died in a car accident when Roman was 4; his mother, Bertha, supports herself and Roman on Social Security. Roman’s two brothers and two sisters have moved away, but they also contribute money to the family.

“I never really felt like I had a dad, because he died when I was small,” Roman said. “I don’t know what it is like to live with one. I know there are advantages to growing up with a dad, but I never had the opportunity to find out.”

Roman, “Lalo” to his friends, sees former classmates who have quit school to join local gangs, but no one disturbs him. “If a guy goes to school, they leave you alone,” he said. “It’s been pretty quiet in the neighborhood. Last year, there seemed to be shooting almost every night.”

Rodriguez said he gets nervous driving his star player home. “I won’t take him all the way home because he lives way inside the projects,” Rodriguez said. “I drop him off at his bus stop. They don’t bother Lalo. You grow up there, you’re OK. People recognize your face like you’re part of the houses.”

Roman also has become a familiar face to opposing coaches.

“He’s big and has a good arm,” Franklin Coach Ed Elias said. “He has the potential to be a Division I quarterback, but he’s got to work on improving his (foot speed). I can see him playing on Sundays. He could be someone.”

Roman has received recruiting letters from San Diego State, Colorado and Washington. And he does want to continue his football career.

Rodriguez compares the 6-foot, 205-pound Roman to former NFL quarterback Roman Gabriel (6-4, 220), who played with the 1962-72 Los Angeles Rams.

“He is tall and throws the ball like Gabriel,” Rodriguez said. “He was a raw talent and had a helluva arm for a ninth-grader. He threw the ball better than the varsity quarterback. I was licking my chops waiting for him to get big enough to play.”

The varsity quarterback then was Gaspar Ortega, who led the Tigers to the 1990 3-A Division championship game, where they lost to Poly of Sun Valley. The team’s best receiver was Gaspar’s younger brother, Marcelo, who was a sophomore.

After his brother graduated, Marcelo Ortega threatened to quit the team because he was frustrated by Roman’s wild throws. It took a year of practice before the two developed into the area’s best quarterback-receiver combination.

While Roman led the area in passing in 1992, Ortega was the top receiver with 71 receptions for 1,085 yards and 10 touchdowns. The Tigers were co-champions of the Northern Conference with a 6-1 record, 9-2 overall. They lost to Carson in the City Section 4-A playoffs.

“I wanted to be a quarterback, but I wasn’t ready to be thrust into the position,” Roman said. “There was so much to learn, like not panicking in the pocket and adjusting to defenses. I spent so much time with Rod, watching films, especially as a 10th-grader, that I don’t make the same mistakes.”

Roman the student has become Roman the tutor.

Once a quarterback who threw only hard passes, Roman is learning to throw with a softer touch. He also has softened his approach to his teammates.

“I see things happen at the line of scrimmage and I want to change the play,” Roman said. “But I can’t make changes because our receivers are new and I don’t want to confuse them. These guys are still learning.”