By CONOR NICHOLL

cnicholl@dailynews.net

OTIS -- In seventh grade, Josh Krom started to experience back and hip pain, a problem he called "nothing big." The next year, Krom noticed the pain more often. He labeled his freshman year of high school at Otis-Bison "hard." Last season, he played in just three games because of the nagging problem, pain that runs in his family.

"The doctors actually told me that it first started when I started playing football in fourth grade because I was growing so fast and my muscles couldn't take it and they stayed wrapped up in knots," he said. "They said it started then and I never had treatment, so it just got worse and worse from there."

This fall, Krom has abated the problem through daily stretches and muscle relaxers. It's helped the junior lineman already see more time than 2008 and yielded a turnaround for Otis-Bison. The Cougars won 48-0 at home versus Cunningham on Friday and moved to 4-0. Krom finished with 4.5 total tackles and a team-leading 2.5 tackles for loss, including a huge hit on Cunningham quarterback Kyle Gridley.

"Coming up now and being healthy and actually giving it my all, it feels good just showing everybody what I have got," he said.

Defensively, Krom paces the Cougars, receiving votes in the statewide media poll, with 15.5 tackles overall and a team-high 3.5 tackles for loss. Offensively, Krom is a starting lineman for a Cougar squad that has scored 234 points, most in the state, according to preppowerindex.com. Otis-Bison is undefeated after posting a 3-15 record the last two seasons.

"During the game, you know what you are going to get out of him," Otis-Bison head coach Travis Starr said.

"He is a kid that loves to hit. He loves to make contact. He loves defense. He is a player. He is going to go as hard as he can every time he is in there."

Otis-Bison has scored at least 44 points in every game, including a double overtime win against state power Macksville in Week 3. Senior quarterback Kevin Wissman and junior running back Mike Hlavaty have over 1,100 all-purpose yards. Versus Cunningham, the Cougars averaged 13 yards per play.

"It starts with the line because if you don't have the line, you are not going to run anywhere," Krom said. "Feeling them go by you and seeing them make moves and stuff, it makes you feel so good."

The 235-pound Krom has continually come back from the pain. His dad is looking at back and neck surgery and at one time, the doctors believed Krom had arthritis.

"We got a bad gene system in our family, but you just have to play through it. It was a lot worse last year," he said.

On Otis-Bison's 2-7 team last fall, Krom tried to play as much as possible. Starr called Krom a quiet leader, but someone "who is much different" on Friday nights. Krom loves playing football.

"You knew when he got out there, his motor was always going to be running when he couldn't feel the pain as much until after the game when we couldn't hardly walk," Starr said.

Krom's problems have improved this fall with weight room work and daily stretching. He takes inflammation pills, including in the morning, after practice and after games. After practices, Krom has to stretch. At night, Krom will have muscle relaxers.

"I have to go through a lot," he said.

On defense, Krom has played well in Otis-Bison's defense that has limited opponents to 23 points a game and beaten two squads by the 45-point mercy rule. The Cougars' shutout Friday marked the first by Otis-Bison since a 36-0 win in the 2006 home opener against Bushton-Quivira Heights.

"D-line. we are putting them in a situation where they don't have to do as much reading," Starr said. "(Our) guys are big and strong and they demand a double team. That allows our middle linebacker to roam and make some plays for us. That's their job and they get off the ball well. We create a lot of havoc inside. We have got three big guys that we can put down in there."

Krom created havoc all game, especially on a 3rd-and-11 play with Otis-Bison ahead 24-0 in the first quarter. Gridley avoided a tackler and Krom immediately pounced on the quarterback with a big hit for a nine-yard loss.

Later, he picked up a four-yard tackle for loss when running back Nick Huhman ran a sweep off a direct snap, continuing a strong season after an injury-plagued career.