Friends, coaches remember Abe Romero as 'the ultimate Knight'

LAS CRUCES – Abraham Romero was remembered Saturday as a loving friend, a relentless and hard-working teammate and “the ultimate Knight.”

Several hundred people, including the Organ Mountain High School football program, gathered at Las Cruces First Assembly of God Church Saturday morning to pay respects and say final goodbyes to Romero, an OMHS football team captain who passed away Sept. 17 at the age of 17. Knights head coach Steve Castille provided a eulogy, with assistant coach Greg Mallory and senior teammate and close friend Diego Gonzalez remembering Romero as a tireless worker, undoubted leader and caring person.

Romero spent three weeks in a medically induced coma after unexpectedly collapsing between plays during the Knights’ Aug. 26 game against Deming. Doctors had initially stated they were uncertain what caused Romero to lose consciousness. The specifics of Romero's diagnoses, including cause of death, have not been stated publicly.

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The 45-minute ceremony recounted the best of Romero — what he stood for, what he believed in and what made him someone Castille proudly called “the ultimate Knight.” Romero was buried in an Organ Mountain High baseball cap, and the team wore black Organ Mountain polo shirts in a quiet statement of solidarity. Romero’s five pallbearers — all teammates — wore teal football jerseys. His mother wore Romero’s No. 22 teal football jersey.

Castille recalled Romero as someone he could always rely on, and someone who never hesitated to lead the Knights into battle or motivate his team in the weight room. When Romero was out sick or missed a day of workouts during the summer, the coaching staff would ask how they could get through the short time period without their fearless leader.

“Mentally, he was always strong. He never gave up, and he would lead the Knights into a fight at any time. Timid? Not for one second of Abe’s life. He was a 5-foot-4 middle linebacker and the captain of our football team. You can’t be timid and accomplish that,” Castille said. “He was not timid in the classroom; he was not timid in the locker room; he was not timid on the football field. He could even get it done on the dance floor.”

Castille said he laughed with Romero’s mother when Romero was named homecoming king on Sept. 15 because he knew Romero would never want to campaign for the honorary title.

“He would be proud to be the king of the Knights, but he would never put himself out there to run for homecoming king. That’s not how his mind worked,” Castille said. “I could just hear him saying, ‘I’m not about all that, coach.’ He cared about real relationships; he didn’t care about fake noise on the outside. He was mature in that respect.”

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He remembered Romero as someone whom peers wanted respect from, and who granted it to him as long as they worked hard and tried their best. He added that he was proud that one of his last individual conversations with Romero — a text message — was about how much he appreciated Romero and that he loved him.

Mallory added similar sentiment, saying Romero was always ready to be the next man up in any circumstance. He emphasized how grateful he was to coach a player such as Romero and encouraged those in attendance to tell their friends and family how much they love and care for them.

Gonzalez, one of Romero’s closest friends, remembered struggling with bullies at a young age but always feeling safe around Romero. Romero was someone Gonzalez came to love, and Gonzalez was with Romero in his final moments.

“Everything you would want in a friend, that was Abe; the one and only and unique. Everything about him was one-of-a-kind,” Gonzalez said. “I know he’s not gone. He may be gone for right now, but he’s still with us. I can still hear his voice: “Come on bro, you’re good. The sky is blue. It will always be like that. And moving forward, once we put him down, it’s just for right now. He’s still going to always be with us.”

Following the funeral at the church, area law enforcement led a procession through the city to St. Joseph's Cemetery, where Romero is buried.

Stephen Wagner is a sports reporter for the Las Cruces Sun-News. He can found on Twitter at @stephenwag22 and reached at SWagner@lcsun-news.com.