Frome Is Playing for Fine Quartet

It’s the final high school football game for Chris Frome of Newhall Hart High, perhaps the best two-way lineman in school history.

He’s 6 feet 5, 240 pounds, committed to Notre Dame, has a 4.2 grade-point average and is seeking his fourth consecutive Southern Section Division III championship ring tonight against Valencia.

“I never expected myself to be such a player,” Frome said. “It’s awesome. I’m loving it.”

Empowered by exceptional speed, intelligence and athleticism, Frome has been at his best in his senior year as an offensive and defensive tackle.

“He had a block that was probably the best by a lineman I’ve seen in my 14 years,” line coach Dan Houghton said. “He pummeled an outside linebacker, kept going, then hit the cornerback and knocked him down.”

Houghton and Frome have an interesting relationship. Houghton yells, Frome reacts. Houghton yells again, Frome responds. Houghton yells again, Frome delivers.

“He’s definitely the most influential coach I’ve had,” Frome said. “I owe everything to him. His voice echoes on the field. You try to block it out and you can’t. I wake up to nightmares, but I’m going to miss it.

“I’m still intimidated by him. The parents are intimidated by him. He wouldn’t let me accept anything but perfection. I remember I’d get so mad at him. The littlest mistake I’d get yelled at, but it really gave me all the things I have now.”

Earlier this year, Frome organized a group of Hart players to drive to Houghton’s house in Simi Valley to run a birthday party for the coach’s 7-year-old son.

“You can’t find many high school kids willing to give up a Saturday afternoon to sign autographs and run a whole party,” Houghton said.

Soon, Frome will be off to South Bend, Ind. No one’s worried, because they know he loves cold weather as much as a polar bear.

“I get cold, but when it comes to football, you can’t wear sleeves,” he said. “That goes against [linemen’s] beliefs.”