Lyford quarterback Aidan Olivas-Romo spent his first two varsity seasons at safety, amassing 90 total tackles and two interceptions.
This past offseason, however, Olivas-Romo was asked to move to the offensive side of the ball and take over the starting quarterback duties.
Though hesitant at first, Olivas-Romo thrived during his lone season as the Bulldogs’ QB1, finishing fourth overall in the RGV in passing yards while leading Lyford to a 9-2 overall record.
Olivas-Romo is The Brownsville Herald/Valley Morning Star Sub-5A Player of the Year.
“Kind of going back to the beginning of the year where I said I didn’t really want to play quarterback and then having the year that I had … it really is just thanks to my coaches, the fans and my fellow brothers – especially the receivers,” Olivas-Romo said.
The transition from safety to quarterback was almost seamless for Olivas-Romo, who threw for 306 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 136 yards and one score during a Week 1 win over Port Isabel.
He continued to build off the early season success, surpassing the 1,000-yard passing mark just four games into the regular season.
Olivas-Romo finished with a 62.6 completion percentage en route to 3,228 passing yards and 21 passing touchdowns in 11 games played.
Olivas-Romo’s arm wasn’t the only weapon he deployed. The 5-foot-10, 160-pound quarterback displayed the same speed he did as a safety from behind center, slashing his way through defenses for 854 yards and eight touchdowns on 138 carries.
The dual-threat athlete ended the year with 4,094 total yards and 29 total touchdowns, helping the Bulldogs to a second-place finish in District 16-3A DI and a bi-district playoff appearance.
Olivas-Romo praised offensive coordinator Douglas Ames and the offensive staff for making sure he was prepared to have a terrific season.
“They molded our offense to fit the players we had and I think it worked out really well,” he said.
