Tireless Romberger Keeps Village Christian on Run

There is nothing flashy about David Romberger, which is precisely why Village Christian High football Coach Mike Plaisance likes him so much.

Romberger, a Village Christian running back, doesn’t have the breakaway speed of Notre Dame High’s Justin Fargas, or Fargas’ Porsche-like acceleration.

What Romberger does have is 933 rushing yards, second only to Fargas among running backs in the region. He also has 14 rushing touchdowns, again second to Fargas, who has 16.

Romberger has accounted for 59% of Village Christian’s offense, and he will be heavily relied upon in the Alpha League’s “Bible Bowl” showdown tonight matching the Crusaders (4-1) against L.A. Baptist (4-1) at 7:30 at Kennedy High.

“He’s perfect for our offense,” said Plaisance, who preaches a smash-mouth running style. “He really isn’t a speed merchant; he’s a blue-collar runner. I don’t like the flashy thoroughbred types, I like Clydesdales because they like to work, work, work, work, work.”

Romberger is definitely a workhorse. He has 149 carries in five games, an average of almost 30 a game. Against Flintridge Prep last week, he carried 43 times for 235 yards--both school records.

“I love getting the ball,” Romberger said. “It makes me feel more powerful, more in control.”

And that’s just fine with fullback Young Joo, who spends most of his time on the field blocking for Romberger. Joo has only 20 carries this season.

“I’d much rather be the one hitting someone than getting hit,” Joo said. “If Dave likes to get hit, then let him.”

Romberger’s fast start is in contrast to last season when he didn’t start until the sixth game, which happened to be the Alpha League opener against L.A. Baptist.

After breaking all of the school’s junior varsity rushing records as a sophomore, Romberger began last season as Aaron Funk’s backup at tailback.

But for the L.A. Baptist game, Plaisance chose to use Funk exclusively on defense.

“I came under a lot of fire for that decision,” Plaisance said. “But David was ready. I was bringing him along in spots so he could get acclimated to the offense. He had shown all the signs of a good running back but the worst thing you can do is put him in too soon.”

Romberger didn’t disappoint, carrying 30 times for 128 yards and helping the Crusaders dominate the first half.

“Romberger surprised us,” L.A. Baptist defensive coordinator Tim Curlee said. “They came out and did a few things differently and it took us a while to adjust.”

The Knights adjusted in the second half and won, 14-10, on two second-half touchdowns. But L.A. Baptist coaches came away impressed with Romberger.

“He’s a good back,” Curlee said. “He’s got very, very good balance and he’s always moving forward. I’ve never seen him lose yards.”

From then on, Plaisance made him the full-time starter at tailback and Romberger went on to rush for 1,122 yards, leading Village Christian to the Southern Section Division XI semifinals.

Approaching the one-year anniversary of his coming-out game, Romberger never dreamed he would be within striking distance of Jake Funk’s single-season school record of 1,394 rushing yards.

“I remember watching Jake during my ninth-grade year,” Romberger said. “I thought he was awesome. It wasn’t my goal at the beginning of the season, but I think I’d like to break his record.”

Romberger said he tries not to look at the statistics, “but my mom always shows them to me.”

“I don’t want [statistics] to be the focus now--there’s a time and a place for that,” he said. “But it’s a lot of fun when people come up to me and say, ‘Hey, Romberger’s in the paper.’ ”

Plaisance jokes that Romberger’s true calling is playing the unglamorous positionof long snapper. Romberger has been the long snapper on every punt, field goal and extra-point attempt for the past two years.

“Since he’s been doing it, we haven’t had a bad snap,” Plaisance said. “If he doesn’t make it as a running back, snapping might carry him.”

Last year, those snaps were crucial to the Crusaders, who won three games on last-second field goals, including a quarterfinal upset over Big Bear in double overtime.

“I’ve practiced it so much that I don’t even think about it really,” Romberger said. “I find it fun knowing I had such an important part in a big play.”

A few small colleges have begun showing interest in Romberger, who says he’d like to play in college but realizes that he isn’t going to go farther than that.

“I don’t think I’m this fantastic running back,” he said. “But that’s not what this team is about. It’s about feeling unity and playing as a team.

“We’re a grinding running team, none of this big-play junk. I fit that well.”