Romero Gets Grip on Championship : Division X final: Pure athleticism of L.A Baptist wide receiver apparent in three touchdown catches.

Jim Romero has caught more than six passes in a game before, but they never meant as much as the six he caught Friday night at Birmingham High.

His catches went for three touchdowns and 195 yards. And, coming mostly during a 27-point second quarter, they led to L.A. Baptist High’s 43-21 victory over Brethren Christian in the Southern Section Division X championship game.

“There’s nobody in this division that can cover him,” Knight quarterback Zack Hernandez said. “He’s a great athlete. Short stuff. Deep stuff. Everything.”

Hernandez quickly figured it would be a big night for Romero when he noticed on the Knights’ first offensive play that the senior wide receiver was covered by a single defensive back.

“When we saw that, we realized we could do pretty much what we wanted,” Hernandez said. “Most teams have success double-covering him. That’s when we throw to other guys.”

Michael Harriman was the defensive back charged with trying to cover Romero. He saw firsthand what he had seen only on film.

“I had my best week of practice and he still beat me,” Harriman said, “so he has to be good.”

Several times, the 5-foot-9 Harriman and the 6-foot Romero jumped for balls. Not surprisingly, Romero came down with them.

He is, after all, the defending Southern Section Division IV high jump champion. Romero also finished sixth in the state meet last spring with a high jump of 6 feet 10 3/4 inches. “I had practiced all week going up for balls,” Romero said. “I guess it paid off tonight.”

One of Romero’s touchdown catches was a fade into the corner in which he simply outjumped Harriman for the ball. That score, Romero’s third in the game, gave L.A. Baptist a 27-7 lead with 4 minutes 52 seconds to play in the half.

With 6:11 to play in the second quarter, Romero, who runs the 40 in 4.6 seconds, took a pass near the sideline five yards beyond the line of scrimmage.

He faked right, faked left, then bolted for an 81-yard touchdown, giving L.A. Baptist a 21-7 lead.

The only one of L.A. Baptist’s four first-half touchdowns from scrimmage not scored by Romero, a one-yard run by Dana Berg, was set up by Romero’s leaping 32-yard catch on the previous play. He tried to backpedal into the end zone but was stopped just short.

Romero did not catch a pass in the second half, but it didn’t matter: L.A. Baptist was comfortably ahead and did not complete a pass.

Romero’s contribution in the third quarter was a 31-yard run on a reverse on a third down. He crisscrossed the field and broke about six tackles, setting up a field goal that rebuilt L.A. Baptist’s lead to 16 points after Brethren Christian mounted a slight comeback.

Romero, a first-team Times’ All-Valley selection, finished the season with 86 catches for 1,663 yards and 14 touchdowns. For his career, he caught 147 passes for 2,945 yards, both school records.

His next stop is Tucson, Ariz. Romero is leaving for a recruiting trip to the University of Arizona at 10 a.m. today. He said he is also likely to take trips to Washington, Tennessee and San Jose State.

Should he sign a Division I letter of intent, once again the team will be counting on him.

“I told him when he signs Division I,” Hernandez said, “he’s got to get me season tickets.”