Prayers Please

There are many who believe the true quest for Texas A&M-Kingsville’s fourth-ranked football team begins next weekend in the second round of the NCAA Division II Super Regional Four playoffs.

A very real fight already has begun for Javelinas sophomore defensive end Matt Romig.

While the 10-1 Javelinas enjoy a bye week in preparation for an encounter with either Northwest Missouri State or Missouri Western in the second round, the 21-year-old Romig is beginning his battle against a form of leukemia.

“They’re trying to figure out what it is. Their thinking is that he has cancer of some sort,” Javelinas coach Bo Atterberry said. “They’re just trying to figure out what it is.”

Doctors at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston now have a better handle on Romig’s condition. The talented 6-foot-4, 235-pounder underwent his first round of chemotherapy Thursday.

The Romig family has established a blog — http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/mattromig — where family, friends and fans can log on and keep abreast of the player’s condition. According to the initial posting, Romig is suffering from a form of leukemia called Blastic Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cell Neoplasm (BPDCN). Doctors tell the family it is a rare form of the disease, which affects the body’s production of white blood cells. Physicians told the family that fewer than 50 patients have been treated for it at M.D. Anderson, and that fewer than 200 cases have been reported worldwide.

“Matt is in a fight of his life. He has a positive outlook,” the Romig family blog reads. “He feels strongly that he is going to win. And we do, too.”

Romig came to Kingsville from his hometown of Bells, a town of some 1,300 people located 70 miles northeast of Dallas and a strong stone’s throw from the Red River. That seven-plus hour trek to South Texas will be nothing like the journey he is about to embark. And Romig is ready for it.

“It is a type of leukemia but very treatable and curable and (I have a) very good outlook,” Romig wrote in an email.

Romig burst onto the scene as a redshirt freshman last year, stepping into the void created when returning All-American candidate Jimmy Lugo was ruled academically ineligible. He led the team with six sacks and 11 tackles for loss.

This year, Romig led Division II at one point in sacks. With six sacks, he still leads the Javelinas and would rank among the Lone Star Conference and national leaders if he had played in enough games.

Romig was named to the all-Lone Star Conference South Division second team Wednesday. He started eight games this year, missing the Angelo State ballgame with what was then diagnosed as strep throat. That appears to have been the first domino to fall that led to his current condition.

An ailing Romig was taken to a Corpus Christi hospital on Nov. 8 for tests. Shortly thereafter, he was transferred to M.D. Anderson.

So far, Romig said via email he has received well-wishes from his hometown to South Texas to the East Coast.

“The main focus I would like to have is the overwhelming support and love I have received from my family and friends, the Javelina community and my hometown community,” Romig said in an email. “(People) that have only heard about me, who I don’t really know, and such unexpected donations from my mom’s workplace, and not only the statewide but national support I am receiving.”

A majority of his teammates have posted words of support on Romig’s Facebook page. Romig said he is anxious to return to the ballclub.

“We are in very good spirits and I’m positive I’m going to beat this and play Javelina football again!” Romig said in an email.
By George Vondracek and The Caller Times

 Please keep Matt Romig and his family in your prayers.