You may know him as the quarterback who flipped over two players and scored during the last Branding Iron game. Or you may know him as the star varsity football player who led Diamond Bar to success all three years at Diamond Bar. Senior Tyler Peterson is known by many around campus for his success as a leader on and off the field.

Born into a family of football players, Peterson was heavily influenced by football and took up the sport at the young age of eight. Peterson began playing after his father took him out of soccer and placed him in Diamond Bar’s Pop Warner team. He played around the community for six years before he finally began his career as a Brahma.

This venture turned out to be a huge success, as he landed a spot on the varsity football teams in his sophomore year and has been the driving force behind the success of the DBHS football team since.

“It can be a lot of work sometimes, but I really like the sport so it’s definitely worth it,” Peterson said.

Among his many accomplishments in football, his favorite memory is the school winning its first freshmen Hacienda League title in 10 years his freshman year.

“We were seven and two going into the championship game and we were playing against another seven and two team and when we went in, they were beating us 20-7 at halftime. But then, our friend [and teammate] Brandon Rice gave us a really effective pep talk and we just powered through it after that. We ended up winning 27-20 at the very last minute of the game,” Peterson said.

Another warm memory Tyler recalls is this year’s Branding Iron game against the rival Walnut Mustangs. His flip, the clear highlight of the game, was covered by ESPN and NBC.

“The front flip was so unanticipated. If I were to try to front flip right now, I probably wouldn’t be able to. The adrenaline took over and I just did it,” he said.

Along with football, Peterson has also been pursuing basketball for seven years, and is beginning his second year on the Diamond Bar’s varsity basketball team. He currently plays the forward position and has been one of the best defenders on the team.

Since the two sports are back to back, Peterson has a harder time than would a single sport athlete.

“It’s really difficult. You’re constantly tired and you don’t really have time for yourself until spring,” Peterson said.

Despite his hectic schedule, which often involves him coming home at late hours, Peterson manages to juggle a relatively rigorous academic schedule. The quarterback maintains an unweighted GPA of 3.3.

Peterson hopes to continue playing football in college, but he wishes to pursue a medical career after college and help the community around him as a doctor.

He looks up to his grandfather, who played at UCLA and encouraged Peterson to play as a youngster. This heavy involvement in football motivated Peterson to continue pursuing football in college.

“There were always hurdles [in football]. People would say I’m not good enough, but it just motivated me to try harder,” Peterson said.