Sam Romano has had his share of highs and lows during the past year.

 

After three stellar seasons as a stellar wide receiver at Notre Dame High School, he ended up at Bridgeport High School after the Fighting Irish were forced to fold their program.

 

BHS with its dominant power running game is not exactly a haven for receivers, however Romano ended up being a huge contributor to the Indians’ Class AA state title run.

 

Also, a standout baseball player at Notre Dame, Romano was slated to be a substantial addition to the Indians who were supposed to be going after their seventh straight Class AA state championship.

 

But of course, the COVID-19 pandemic ruined those BHS baseball plans as well as all other spring sports in the state.

 

On Tuesday though, Romano had a pretty good high to cap his prep athletic career as he signed his Letter-of-Intent to attend Glenville State where he will play both football and baseball.

 

The signing took place at Frank Loria Memorial Field, right around the pitching mound area where he had several stellar outings while at Notre Dame, in front of a crowd of family and coaches.

 

“It was a little bit of a crazy decision on my part,” Romano said. “But I just couldn’t give either of them up. The toughest thing will be be trying to maintain school while playing two sports but it’s a blessing and I’m really excited for it.

 

“Baseball not sure yet, but most likely I will be playing outfield and pitching. Football is just receiving. I’m excited to just get back into the swing of things.”

 

Romano, who is leaning toward majoring in accounting but hasn’t 100 percent decided, said that he had offers on the table from other schools but a few of them just wanted him for football and a few wanted him for just baseball. The Pioneers however, were looking to add a two-sport star to their program and that played heavily into his decision.

 

“I love everything about Glenville,” he said. “I love the coaches. I love the facilities. I love the environment and it’s nice to be close to home."

 

Harrison County’s own Mike Kellar is entering his second season as the head football coach for Glenville State and already during his tenure and has already brought in several in-state talents and that is something else that Romano is excited about.

 

“I love Coach Kellar,” Romano said. I love what he has done with the team, all the kids he’s brought in from around here. I’ve got a ton of friends from Byrd, a few friends from Bridgeport and all the local schools that will be playing there so that should be pretty fun.”

 

In his lone season with the Indians, Romano caught 11 passes for 290 yards and two touchdowns, returned 13 kicks for 373 yards (28.7 yards per return) with another TD, 13 punts for 178 yards (13.7 yards per return), and had 16 punts for an average of 39.9 yards per punt.

 

“Definitely in special teams that was something he exceled at,” BHS football coach John Cole said. “Having an athlete at punter, that’s something teams had to plan for. Also, when we wanted to spread our formation a bit, when you put Sam out there, teams had to respect that so maybe the way they adjusted their defense opened up room for us to run.

 

“He had some big returns for us and Sam’s got a great Thankfully we didn’t have to punt a whole lot, but when we did, he did a nice job at it. He’s going to have to work at the next level but he has the frame. He’s 6-3, 6-4 and he’s still growing."

 

Although he didn’t get the opportunity to coach him in a game, BHS baseball coach Robert Shields was familiar enough with what Romano brought to the table from his time at Notre Dame and in Legion ball in the summer that he would have been a welcomed addition to the roster.

 

“In the nine practices we had, I was looking forward to someone coming in who was that athletic, to give me another left-handed hitter and another good arm plus being a senior who had a lot of experience.”

 

John Calvert, who coached him at Notre Dame, said Romano has the skillset to succeed at the next level.

 

“He’s a great kid,” Calvert said. “Definitely watched him grow up from just a little kid as a freshman and you see him now, he’s a full-grown man. He was a joy to coach, he always came to field with a smile on his face, was a leader in the clubhouse and just the tools are off the chart. The arm, the speed, hits for average. I think he can hit for power as well. Plus, his glove out in the field, he can cover some ground.”

 

Editor’s Note: Pictured in the top photo (from left to right): John Romano, Sam Romano, Jack Romano and Beth Romano. Bottom picture of Sam Romano celebrating during Bridgeport’s Class AA state championship game victory against Bluefield is by www.benqueenphotography.com.