The Classical Academy’s state championship loss to Mountain View in 2024 has stuck with Kelsey Peterson ever since. 

In that game, Peterson, The Titans’ quarterback, threw five interceptions for the Titans to finish scoreless against the Mountain Lions in the final game of flag football’s first year as a CHSAA-sanctioned sport. It stung, and Peterson was determined to return to the championship with a different result. 

A year of growth and hard work from Peterson helped TCA capture its first state championship, but the junior wasn’t just doing it for herself. 

“From the beginning of the season, we enjoyed being together,” Peterson said of the team. “We laughed so much at practice, we just had so much fun. That’s what makes a team. You can all want to win games, but if you don’t love each other, you won’t go as far.”

Peterson, a junior, is the flag football Peak Performer of the Year for the second year in a row after a standout season that included 4,103 passing yards and 71 touchdown passes. She also had 23 interceptions, 10 fewer than in 2024, and 259 rushing yards, up from 59 that first season. 

“One thing she has learned in her high school career is that if you are struggling, you go back to the fundamentals,” Josh Peterson, TCA flag football assistant coach and Kelsey’s father, said. “She has learned that those details matter and uses those to refine her game.”

While Peterson’s improvement is noteworthy, there is more to her beyond the statistics, as first-year Titans head coach Dale Meyerrose put it. 

“Kelsey is definitely the leader of our team,” Meyerrose said. ”She embodies everything of a student-athlete and a leader. She has the ‘it’ factor. She supports her teammates and knows how to interact with them so that she helps them, and they help her.”

Part of TCA’s success this season was the team culture and love for each other, and Peterson has helped cultivate that culture.

A shining example of Peterson’s leadership was in the semifinal game against Green Mountain. The Titans led 21-0 at halftime, but fell behind in the third quarter, which included two interceptions by Peterson. Instead of becoming frustrated as she did in the 2024 title game, Peterson refocused the team and led the Titans to a 27-24 comeback win. 

Peterson made sure her injured teammate, Brinley Mezey, slapped the team’s name on the bracket after the Titans’ victory. 

“She puts teammates first, would do anything for them, and they would do anything for her. On or off the field,” Meyerrose said. “They play for each other. Really fascinating to watch. They want to win, but they want to do it with each other. A lot of them didn’t know each other, but have developed into a cohesive team.”

Peterson has been a basketball player since third grade, but her experience and growth in flag football have made it her new favorite sport.

“Basketball has been a lifelong love, but that was before I knew flag football would be a thing,” Peterson said. “I love the community our team has so much. We are good friends outside of the sport so that makes our connection on the field that much stronger.”

“That’s what makes flag football so special. Our paths wouldn’t have crossed without it, so getting to know them through the sport has been such a fun experience.”

Peterson was able to share the state championship with her father, who helps coach the flag football team in addition to the 2024 state champion TCA football team. It was a special moment for the Petersons, who share a lifelong bond of football. 

Football was already a big part of Peterson’s life, but playing it with her team the past two years has brought it to a whole new level. 

“Since I only ever expected to play basketball, it was an experience I never thought I would get with him,” Peterson said. “I ran over and gave my dad a big hug. He has been such a big supporter my whole life and a big reason I gained a love for football. After all those years of wanting to play football or loving to watch it, it was special to share that with him because I never thought it would be an opportunity.”