Spencer Romney making comeback splash for Pleasant Grove football

Pleasant Grove, Utah — Tormenting opponents in all three phases of the game comes naturally for Spencer Romney. The senior receiver offers a jolt of energy for Pleasant Grove on offense, defense and special teams.

Romney does not waste an opportunity to showcase his game-changing abilities. He offered a textbook example of what he can do in a 45-14 victory over Maple Mountain two weeks ago.

Pleasant Grove scored 42 unanswered points to open the game largely because of what Romney did on special teams. He took a pair of punt returns back for touchdowns in the first quarter — each one going for 55 yards. Romney came close to taking a third one to the house as well.

His feat marked the first time since 2007 that a Utah high school player had scored two touchdowns on punt returns in a single game — and Romney did it in just one quarter.

Making these sorts of plays is Romney's way of getting the opposing team's attention.

"I hope it's getting in their heads," Romney said. "That's part of the strategy in my game."

What Romney does on the field is certainly enough to make a host of coaches burn the midnight oil trying to figure out how to contain him.

Few receivers can match Romney as a deep threat. He has 544 yards and four touchdowns on just 18 receptions, and leads the state with a 30.2 yards per catch average.

"We throw him on screens and he'll take it for a touchdown," Pleasant Grove coach Les Hamilton said. "We throw him over the top and he catches an 80-yard bomb. He's got the ability to do both. I've got to get him the ball more."

Romney is the quintessential jack-of-all-trades when he steps onto the football field for the Vikings. He lines up at receiver on offense and then drops back into the secondary on defense. Romney also gets involved both ways on special teams. He is the team's punter, but he is also the punt returner.

The only people who spend more time on the field are the officials. And Romney absolutely loves it.

"I love being able to be everywhere on the field, being able to help out my team any way that I can and being able to use every skill I have to help us," Romney said.

If it seems like Romney is trying to make up for lost time, there's a good reason. He appeared to be headed for a similar breakout campaign a year ago before injuries derailed his junior season.

Romney led the state in interceptions when he broke his collarbone in the third game of the season against Timpanogos. He pushed himself hard through rehabilitation and returned near the end of the regular season against Bingham. Romney came back too fast, though, and broke his collarbone a second time.

The twin collarbone injuries made him determined to create a different blueprint for his senior season.

"It was really frustrating, especially not having junior film to show recruiters," Romney said. "That was really frustrating to me. All I did in the offseason was work really hard to get back to where I was and, hopefully, better than that."

Romney added 15 pounds of muscle to his 5-foot-10, 175-pound frame before this season. He enhanced his strength to the point where he won the Utah State Powerlifting Championship for his weight division. Romney can power clean 265, bench 270 and squat 400.

Positive momentum has continued for Romney into a season where he has earned the right to play everywhere he is needed. Hamilton praises Romney's leadership and believes his team is much better because of the example he sets on and off the field.

Seeing his senior enjoy a breakout season that was delayed a year is no surprise.

"I would say it's all attributed to his work ethic," Hamilton said. "He is the hardest working guy in our program. I'm glad the younger guys get to see a guy like him and what it takes to be a great player."

John Coon covers Utah high school sports for MaxPreps.com. He is a former prep sports reporter with the Salt Lake Tribune and the Deseret News. You can contact him at john_coon@hotmail.com or follow him on Twitter at @johncoonsports.