Beach Boy Peters airs it out in Billings

The last thing Kasey Peters thought he’d be coveting on fall days in Billings, Mont. is ice. But when his week-day practice regimen calls for a couple hundred spirals a day, the junior trigger man for the Rocky Mountain College football team’s spread offense said his arm can sure use any restorative measures available.

“On game days, my arm is never tired, because of the adrenaline,” said Peters, a former Newport Harbor High quarterback who led the NAIA in passing entering Saturday’s home loss to defending national champion and No. 1-ranked Carroll College. “But after some practices, my arm can be freakin’ hanging.”

Those who remember Peters at Newport Harbor and Santa Ana College could attest to the fact that one might hang laundry on the vapor trails left by his powerful passes.

But since he threw for 2,140 yards and 23 touchdowns (completing 156 of 274 passes) to lead the Sailors to a 12-1-1 season that ended in the 2004 CIF Southern Section Division VI title game at Angels Stadium, Peters has also left a trail of frustration, broken promises and disbelief that his ample aerial statistics failed to generate the Division I scholarship he coveted.

After being named Sea View League and Newport-Mesa Offensive Player of the Year and also earning All-CIF recognition in his final prep campaign, the 6-foot-3, 215-pound quarterback had no scholarship offers, he said.

He decided to play at Saddleback College.

He won the Gauchos’ starting job, but was sidelined early with a broken arm.

He said he soured on the school after that and ventured to Santa Ana to play as a sophomore. There, he completed 203 of 363 passes for 2,588 yards and 25 touchdowns while leading the Dons to a bowl game and earning second-team All-Mission Conference National Division honors.

Peters said he was expecting his long-awaited Division I scholarship offer to come from Idaho, but an off-season coaching change at the school left him scrambling for leftover options.

With time running out, he accepted an offer from Grand Valley State, an NCAA Division II program in Michigan with a rich tradition of success.

“They promised me a chance to start, but when I got there, the coaches didn’t really do anything they said they were going to do,” said Peters, who after just one game made the decision to transfer when the 2007 season ended.

“I wanted to come back to Southern California and I called up [Santa Ana Coach Geoff] Jones,” Peters said. “I asked him to call around and see if there was any interest.”

Peters said he considered Division III Whittier College, but the lack of athletic scholarships at that level made the cost daunting.

Rocky Mountain Offensive Coordinator Brian Anderson said he had been talking to Jones about one of Santa Ana’s cornerbacks, when Jones mentioned Peters might be able to help the Battlin’ Bears as well.

“He kind of fell into our lap,” said Anderson, who immediately installed Peters in the pocket, then watched in awe as he carried the offense.

“There isn’t a throw on the football field he can’t make,” said Anderson, who through seven games, saw Peters amass 2,404 passing yards and 20 TD passes, completing 223 of 357 with 10 interceptions. “And the thing that really separates him is his ability to see the whole field and anticipate where guys are going to come open.”

Peters and Anderson said his growing comfort with the offense has allowed the signal caller to have significant freedom when it comes to play calling.

“At this point in the season, the offense is really his,” Anderson said.

Peters said he is having the time of his life throwing “like 60 times a game.”

“At Newport, Coach [Jeff] Brinkley teaches you to be smart with the ball and it’s more conservative,” Peters said. “Here, I’m kind of a gunslinger, running around and making plays.”

Peters, with a reputation as somewhat of a plodder (the Sailors used a shotgun formation to help him spend more time finding receivers than shuffling to set up in the pocket) said his improved scrambling ability is one thing Sailors’ fans would notice if they saw him play now.

“I’ve had a couple long runs, which has been a lot of fun,” Peters said.

“I still wouldn’t say speed is one of his strengths,” Anderson said with a laugh. “But, like I tell him, fear [of being sacked] is a great motivator.”

The 59-13 loss to Carroll Saturday dropped Rocky Mountain to 2-6 (2-5 in the Frontier Conference), but Peters said most of the team will return next season, prompting optimism.

“The losing has been tough, especially since we’ve been so close in a couple of the losses,” said Peters, who also notes the mountain climate is another thing he is getting used to.

“Guys here are always teasing me and calling me ‘SoCal’ or ‘Newport,’ or ‘Beach Boy,’ ” said Peters, who is on track to graduate in the spring of 2010 and said he wants to one day be a college head coach. “Sometimes before a game, they ask me, ‘Are you going to show us Montana farm boys how to throw the ball?’ ”

When asked his favorite thing about Billings, Peters’ pause is longer than one of his deep balls. “They’ve pretty much got everything you need and the people are just so friendly and nice,” he finally said.

Anderson said Peters displays a similar affability, which immediately helped endear him to his teammates.

Peters said he is thankful to have finally found a collegiate home. Now, if his arm can just hold up under the workload.

BARRY FAULKNER may be reached at (714) 966-4615 or at [email protected].