The Corona boys’ basketball program captured history in route to its four-peat from 2012- 2015, tying the state record for most ever in a top division. However, Corona has also seen a “five-Peat.” The Aztec community is familiar with the last name Peat, with five of the seven members of the family having come through Corona. While they were not exclusive to just basketball, they have all had remarkable athletic success.
Todd, Andrus, Cassius, Leilani and Keona all hail from Marion Todd Peat Sr., who had a six-year career between the NFL and World League of American Football (NFL Europe). Peat Sr. was a guard and tackle for the St. Louis/Phoenix Cardinals (1987-1989), the Los Angeles Raiders (1990, 1992-1993) and the Frankfurt Galaxy (1995) — located in Frankfurt, Germany.
Todd Jr. graduated from Corona and played for Nebraska, Eastern Arizona College and Texas A&MCommerce. Andrus went on to play as an offensive lineman for Stanford before being drafted No.13 overall in the 2015 NFL draft. He is currently entering year nine of his successful career with the New Orleans Saints. Cassius had a successful career on the gridiron for Corona as well before going on to play for Scottsdale Community College. Leilani is oldest daughter, she played basketball for the Aztecs before signing with the University of San Francisco and now the Seattle University women’s basketball teams.
Keona is the latest Peat to come through Corona, having played football and basketball. He signed with Arizona State in April and is following the tradition of playing Division I collegiate athletics. However, Keona’s story is different from the rest. During the summer before his junior year, Keona almost lost his life. “I woke up and they told me something bad had happened,” he said. During a summer basketball game, Keona went up for a steal when his left leg snapped and required surgery. What should have been a routine procedure, turned into a life-altering experience for him. “It (the medication) put me into anaphylactic shock, so right away my body was reacting to it in a certain way,” he recalled. “My oxygen levels just completely dropped, then I coded out three times.”
They were trying to intubate me because I had stopped breathing and my oxygen levels were dropping and then all this liquid started to flow into my lungs. They immediately had to take out the intubation tube and suction out all this liquid in my lungs and then keep trying to put the tube in. When they did that, they damaged my vocal cords.”
Not only did the shocked and damaged vocal cords leave Keona with temporarily paralyzed right arm, but left him unable to eat, drink and talk for three months. During his two-week hospital stay, he said he dropped roughly 45 pounds. Keona credits his family, especially his mother who stayed by his ide the entire time, for helping him through the experience, which he said was “was probably the worst time of my life ever.”
“There were days where I just wake up, throw up on myself and can’t talk, can’t call for anybody and can’t move…It’s really hard to go through that at as a young kid because I feel like it matured me a lot,” he said. “Noticing that everything can be stripped from you at once, like this might be the end of my career.”
After numerous procedures and missing his junior year, Keona made it back onto the gridiron and basketball court for his senior year, helping him earn an offer from Arizona State. With the guidance and experience from his older brothers, Keona was able to work through the slow recruiting process and sign with a Division I program.
“I really feel like I wouldn’t be anywhere without them,” Keona said. Todd was his flag football coach before beginning tackle in high school, and once he began tackle, his brothers were there every step of the way. “When you literally have five professional or collegiate D1 guys watching my film and breaking it down and telling you what to do and not to do, you kind of just fall into your technique and it makes you a better player,” he said. Andrus said it is “pretty special” to have his younger brother play the same position and strives to follow in his footsteps.
“I try to give him pointers and stuff like that just from my experience,” Andrus added. “It’s pretty cool that were both offensive line, in the trenches.” With graduation coming up, Keona will be the fifth Peat to graduate from Corona and go onto play collegiate sports. With that remarkable family history, Keona said he doesn’t feel any additional pressure to succeed. As long as he stays disciplined and continues to work, he says, he will have a successful career at ASU and perhaps beyond.
“It just makes you want to go harder,” Keona said of his last name and the history behind it. “Everyone in my family has worked hard for what they got and when you have that last name on you. I’m not just a Peat, I’m myself, but working hard.” Andrus coincided with Keona, saying that ‘Peat’ as a last name is everything, including legacy.
“We definitely take pride in sports as well as giving back to the community and having integrity.” While Keona had offers from other programs, he chose ASU because it felt like home. “The funny things is, I kind of see a little bit of Corona in ASU,” he said, drawing comparison to the way Barro led the Aztecs last season. “Just because of the culture, I’m literally watching the practices on my phone and it just seemed like it was home. The culture Kenny Dilllingham’s building is almost identical to like Corona.”
Keona plans on trying out for the music and arts program at ASU, having a background with the trumpet, piano and some singing. But most importantly, he is ready write his own story and continue the proud family legacy with the Sun Devils this fall.
