Las Cruces community rallies for fallen Organ Mountain player

Sep. 4—Tough little fighter.

Those were three of the words Organ Mountain football coach Steve Castille used to describe Abraham Romero, the Knights' senior linebacker who remains in a medically-induced coma in an El Paso hospital.

Romero collapsed Aug. 26 on the field during a game at Deming. He was eventually airlifted to El Paso. Romero had been thrown to the ground a little earlier in that contest when he was playing running back, Castille said, but perhaps as much as 20 minutes had passed before he suddenly, and horrifyingly, fell to the grass.

Nobody is quite certain why it occurred. What the Knights' program knows, and the Las Cruces community at large knows, is that one of their own is fighting for his life.

"It's tough," Castille said of Romero, a 5-foot-4 middle linebacker. "For us, Abe played harder than anybody. He is the undisputed captain of our team."

The Knights had Romero foremost on their minds during their 28-0 Week 3 win over Mayfield, in which the football was entirely secondary. Organ Mountain soldiered through.

"I was really impressed with our kids, overall, their focus and their intensity," Castille said. "I think our kids were pretty inspired."

Romero, the coach said, is beloved by his teammates, who already are wearing helmet decals in tribute to Romero.

The player's mother, Elizabeth Alonzo, watched Thursday's game on an iPad at the bedside of her son, the Las Cruces Sun-News reported.

And the city's other three public high schools — Mayfield, Las Cruces and Centennial — are lending their aid, emotional and financial, to Romero's family.

The four schools — even including student councils, Castille said — already have raised thousands of dollars, and other schools and businesses in the region are making efforts to help financially, as well.

"I think it's a reminder of why we all play sports," Castille said. "And why football is the greatest sport out there. There's a general respect and camaraderie here. It's a football family. This is a great city that supports kids."

Anyone who wishes to contribute their support can do so by visiting 2022.omhsfootball.com/abe.

"There is no good way to handle it," Castille noted. But he said on Friday that he sent an email to his players, commending them for the manner in which they have handled themselves during a crisis that is causing so much pain and anxiety.

"I told them that I couldn't be more impressed by (their) mental and physical toughness," he said.

Organ Mountain's next game is Friday at Rio Rancho. The Knights will continue to hold Romero close, even from 270 miles away.

DISRUPTIONS: Two Friday night games had curious endings. One was just to the southwest of Lubbock, Texas, where Eunice was playing Ropes, Texas.

The second half had barely begun when things began to spiral out of control, Cardinals coach Greg Jackson said.

At the start of the third quarter, he said, the lights began to flicker. "Like a strobe effect," Jackson said.

The lights on the visitors' side went out.

"And then, Jackson said, "because of the construction of the stadium, I see this black cloud of smoke, and subsequent flames, coming from the transformer on the ground. I really thought the transformer was gonna explode."

It didn't, but the incident was enough to put a stop to the game. Eunice recorded a 33-12 victory.

"Just a freak deal," Jackson said. "It was nobody's fault, really. Just kind of an unfortunate ending."

About 500 miles from that scene, in Farmington, another bizarre scene unfolded.

Not only did some of the lights go out inside Hutchison Stadium, where both Piedra Vista and Farmington play home games, but there were also weather delays — two of them — in each half.

Between the lights not functioning and the weather delays, Piedra Vista and Durango, Colorado, didn't finish until close to midnight. The Panthers (3-0) won, 14-13, and continue to be one of the interesting surprise stories in Class 5A.

BUIE: La Cueva senior running back Gabriel Buie has been invited to play in this year's Blue-Grey All-American Bowl. He is one of a handful of New Mexicans who have been selected, including La Cueva's quarterback, Aidan Armenta, and Cleveland QB Evan Wysong.

Buie did not play Friday night in La Cueva's 28-21 victory over Centennial, but it is believed he should return this week against Volcano Vista.