RITE OF PASSAGE

Bob Boller is a Burbank fireman. He’ll enter a burning building if someone is in distress. He’ll administer CPR to a heart attack victim. He’ll break out the jaws of life to free a passenger from a crushed vehicle.

But there is one thing he will not do--catch passes from his son, quarterback Kyle Boller of Hart High.

“I’ve given up on that,” he said. “He hurts me too much.”

Sprained fingers, bruised chests, broken nails--they’re all symptoms associated with trying to catch passes from Boller’s powerful right arm.

“I always tease him, ‘Come on, throw it, give me all you got,’ ” Hart Coach Mike Herrington said. “Then when he starts to do it, I go, ‘No, no, no.’ ”

It is no stretch of the imagination to see Boller throw a football 75 yards. Add a “little tiny gust” of wind, and 80 yards is possible.

“He has the strongest arm of any player I’ve ever coached,” offensive coordinator Dean Herrington said.

Expectations are rising almost as fast as Boller is growing. He has yet to start a varsity game at quarterback, but the 6-foot-3 senior projects as the region’s No. 1 passing threat based on his summer development and immense physical skills.

He has the advantage of taking over a Hart passing attack that has produced All-Southern Section quarterbacks the last 13 seasons.

“The main thing you worry about with new quarterbacks is how they are going to be with people rushing at them,” Dean Herrington said. “The best thing about Kyle is he’s unflappable in the pocket. . . .

“That’s the toughest thing to teach quarterbacks--not to look at the pass rush. He has a lot of courage back there.”

For three years, friends and family of Boller have eagerly waited for him to grow into his body. On a wall near the kitchen in the family home are marks that indicate Kyle has been growing like a stalk of corn.

The first mark is from 1995, his freshman year, showing him at 5 feet 6. In January of 1997, it’s 5-10. In August of 1997, it’s 5-11 1/2. By July of this year, the height mark reached 6-3. That’s a growth spurt of almost four inches in 11 months.

“I figure he’s going to be 6-5,” Bob said. “We’ve always told him he’s going to get tall and he’d say, ‘When?’ Oh, man, he’s going through pants like crazy.”

Jerry Owens, Hart’s preseason All-American receiver who has played football with Boller since fifth grade, said, “He used to be almost like a little boy in ninth grade. His arms hung down to his knees. You knew he was going to grow. You just didn’t know when.”

Said Boller: “The first person I started measuring myself against was my grandma. I was 5-3. I finally passed my grandma, then I passed my mom, then I passed my sister and now I’m about even with my dad.”

The increase in height, weight and strength is starting to show. He has dropped his 40-yard time from 5.1 seconds to under 4.8.

“Last year I felt so clumsy because I knew I was growing,” he said. “I felt I couldn’t run anywhere. I was like falling on my feet. By getting taller, I feel I can do things better.”

As the backup quarterback to David Neill last season, Boller completed 15 of 28 passes for 385 yards and three touchdowns. He provided a peek at his potential against Loyola, teaming with Owens on a 79-yard touchdown play. Now Owens and Boller are hoping for a repeat of their flag football days from grade school.

“He was the quarterback and I was the wide receiver and we went deep on almost every play,” Owens said. “He could always throw it.”

Owens and Boller dream of playing football together in the NFL.

“We always talk about it and how awesome it would be,” Owens said.

Starting with Hart’s opening game against Quartz Hill on Sept. 11, Boller will begin the process of molding himself into a quarterback prepared for anything.

It doesn’t happen overnight, but that’s the kind of challenge he relishes.

“There’s always going to be pressure,” he said. “There’s always going to be nervousness, but after that first play, it’s fun. You get to show your stuff and show what you’re capable of doing.”

Boller, who has a 3.87 grade-point average, envisioned himself playing for UCLA, but the Bruins have already received a commitment from quarterback J.P. Losman of Venice.

Colorado and Arizona State are the schools most actively recruiting Boller, with others expected to join the pursuit as he gets the opportunity to display his skills.

“He has all the potential in the world to go as far as he wants,” Mike Herrington said.

SNEAK PEEK

First in a nine-part series. Today:

Quarterbacks. Kyle Boller of Hart

Friday: Running Backs. Manuel White of Valencia

Saturday: Tight Ends. Mike Seidman of Westlake

Sunday: Wide Receivers. Jerry Owens of Hart.

Wednesday: Offensive lineman: Tony Sanchez of Sylmar

Sept. 3: Defensive lineman. Carl Cannon of Taft

Sept. 4: Linebackers. Jorge Tapia of Hueneme

Sept. 5: Defensive backs. Corey Neal of Sylmar

Sept. 6: Kickers. Jason Geisler of Camarillo