Queen Creek running back
Chim Nga has never heard of former Kansas City Chiefs running back Christian Okoye, but he could easily adopt his nickname: The Nigerian Nightmare.
Nga has terrified defenses every Friday night this season with a combination of speed, elusiveness and hard-hat collisions.
Queen Creek High's Chim Nga.
File photo by Mitchell Reibel
"He just has a great body on him," Bulldogs coach Joe Germaine said. "He's got that great mix where he's fleet and nimble and can make guys miss, but he can also run through tackles."
Through eight games, Nga (6-foot-1, 195 pounds) has carried 167 times for 1,451 yards (8.7 yards per carry) and 20 touchdowns for No. 2 Queen Creek (7-1). His yardage total is the third highest in the state for big-class schools (4A and 5A) and it's all the more impressive when you consider Queen Creek has faced the defending state champs in both 4A-I (Oro Valley of Canyon del Oro) and 4A-II (Cactus of Glendale).
Not bad for a kid who's largely been overlooked by colleges. But there's a reason for that.
Nga didn't start playing football until halfway through eighth grade in the Seattle suburbs. Then he took ninth grade off because his father enrolled him in a prep school that had no sports.
Nga didn't become a full-time running back until this season at Queen Creek. He played outside linebacker in his first season at Queen Creek (last year) before first-year coach Joe Germaine took over the program and realized he had a hidden gem.
"He was in track last year but he wasn't even running. He was a thrower," said Germaine, who quarterbacked Ohio State to the 1997 Rose Bowl and played three NFL seasons with the Rams, Chiefs and Bengals. "I don't think anyone's really worked with him. It's just natural ability you're seeing, which makes me think that 4.5 he runs in the 40 could easily become a 4.4 or better."
The same can be said of Nga's game instincts.
"He just has a feel for the position," Germaine said. "He has great feet, he understands blocking schemes, he can read blocks, he sets up defenders for blocks and he catches the ball well out of the backfield."
So how did Nga come by all those abilities?
"I watch a lot of college football," he said. "I'm like a sponge. Whatever I watch, I learn from it and work hard to do it."
Like father, like son. Nga's dad, Ona, left Nigeria and brought his entire family to New York when Chim was a small child. The goal was simple: a better life.
"The country was going bad," Ona said of Nigeria. "The economy was going down and I was worried about my family's future. I just felt there would be more opportunities in America."
Ona had been a banker in Nigeria, but when he arrived in New York he had to start over again, going back to school. That meant a limited income so the family lived in a crime-ridden neighborhood of the South Bronx.
"It was not the America I wanted my children to grow up in," Ona said.
With degree in hand, Ona moved the family – Chim has a mother, an older brother and a younger sister – to the Seattle area where he found work as a financial manager. But after 15 years in the rain, Nga opted for a climate more in line with his Nigerian upbringing.
"It was more bitter than sweet when we moved because I felt like I was leaving everything behind," Chim said. "But now it seems like it was a great decision to come down here. My team was not doing so well in Washington so I would not have had the exposure I'm getting here."
Not that Nga is getting much. Germaine said the coaching staff is working furiously to put together tapes and make colleges aware, but the process only started in earnest this season so Nga is facing a bit of a time crunch.
Germaine believes Nga has the entire package of skills and a scary upside based on his lack of formal training. But it's Nga's tireless and efficient work ethic that inspires his coach.
"Our motto for the program is: Pay the price," Germaine said. "Chim has definitely paid the price."
He's also delivered the goods on a consistent basis. Two weeks ago, Queen Creek built a 28-0 lead over Chandler Seton Catholic, then allowed two touchdowns late in the first half. When he got the ball back, Germaine opted to run out the clock and regroup in the locker room, so he ordered quarterback Adam Brzeczek to hand off.
"The first play, Chim gains 35 yards and runs out of bounds," Germaine said. "The second play, he went all the way for a touchdown. That was probably the best two-minute drill we've ever run."
Nga desperately wants to play college ball.
"If God permits," he said.
But the only way he can accomplish that goal is to keep doing what he's doing – sacrificing his body and mind for the team, and making big plays.
"We believe in hard work," Ona said. "So I always tell him 'You have two choices in life: be better or be bad.' To be bad is much easier. To be good takes hard work and I live it every day so my son will do the same."
Craig Morgan is a freelance writer who has covered professional, college and high school sports in the Phoenix area for the past 18 years. He currently serves as the Phoenix correspondent for CBSSports.com, covering the Arizona Cardinals and other local teams. He also writes a weekly column and other features for The Arizona Republic. You can reach him at craigsmorgan@gmail.com.
