BOLLER'S SEASON PROBABLY IS OVER.

Byline: Matthew Kredell Staff Writer

Baltimore Ravens rookie quarterback Kyle Boller likely will miss the rest of the season after injuring his left leg in Sunday night's loss to the St. Louis Rams.

The former Hart High of Newhall standout tore his quadriceps just above the knee in the second quarter of the Ravens' 33-22 defeat.

Boller's father, Bob, reached at his Santa Clarita home, said his son would have surgery today or Wednesday. In even the best-case scenario, he would not be able to return until late December.

The 19th overall pick in the NFL draft last April out of California, Boller earned the starting spot in training camp and steadily improved.

Relying on defense and the running of Jamal Lewis, the Ravens (5-4) allowed Boller to learn on the job and asked only for him to limit mistakes.

Boller completed 115 of 223 passes for 1,250 yards, seven touchdowns and nine interceptions in nine games. In the past four games, he had five touchdowns and three interceptions.

Bob and Karen Boller, who travel to many of Kyle's games, were in attendance in St. Louis. The injury occurred in the second quarter, either when Boller banged knees with Baltimore fullback Alan Ricard or upon being hit while rolling out toward the sideline.

``I don't even really remember the exact play,'' Boller said Sunday night.

Boller finished the half, but was replaced by backup Chris Redman at the start of the third quarter with Baltimore trailing 21-19.

He had every intention of returning for the second half Sunday night until team doctors forced him out after noticing he couldn't put any weight on his left leg.

``It was tough to watch,'' Bob said. ``We didn't know how serious it was. He went two or three series with it, but we could tell he was in pain. At halftime, there was no way he could even push down on it. He had been playing on a lot of adrenaline.''

That grit has earned the respect of his teammates. Boller hurt his shoulder in a game against Cleveland last month, but played in pain and refused to be removed.

The Bollers stayed in St. Louis to find out the results of Kyle's MRI on Monday morning.

``It's difficult for him,'' Bob said. ``He's a competitor. He wants to play. The worst thing you can hear as an athlete is that you can't play.''

Ravens coach Brian Billick said Monday that Boller could be placed on injured reserve as soon as today. Redman will start Sunday against the Miami Dolphins and Anthony Wright will move up the depth chart to No. 2.

Boller hobbled around on crutches at the Ravens' training complex Monday, obviously upset over the snag in his development as an NFL quarterback. He planned to have surgery as soon as possible and go to Miami to support his teammates this weekend.

``He was thinking things were getting better and better for him,'' Bob said. ``He was getting more and more comfortable. But you're always one injury away from being done. The good news is I don't think it's real serious. It's fixable and he'll be 100 percent when he comes back.''

Boller is no stranger to adversity. He didn't become the starting quarterback at Hart until his senior season. But he made that one year one of the most memorable in area history, earning California State Player of the Year honors by passing for an all-time state-best 4,838 yards.

Boller started as a freshman at Cal but struggled with a 38.6 percent completion percentage. He severely separated his shoulder near the end of his sophomore season, then had to hide his face underneath a hood while walking on campus during a 10-loss junior year.

But Boller bounced back with a breakout senior year, attracting more attention before the draft by kneeling on the 50-yard line and throwing a ball between the goalposts. The Ravens made him their first-ever quarterback selected in the first round.

One reason Billick chose Boller as his starter was to allow the quarterback to learn firsthand about running an NFL team. Unfortunately, the educational process was cut short ahead of schedule.

``We're disappointed as an organization, disappointed as a team, and disappointed for the young man,'' Billick said. ``He feels like he's let his team down, and he knows there are experiences that he's going to miss in the second half of the season.''

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Matthew Kredell, [phone]

matthew.kredell(at)dailynews.com

AT A GLANCE

A look at Kyle Boller's first season in the NFL:

Games: 9

Pass Att.: 223

Pass Comp.: 115

Pass Yds: 1,250

Pass TDs: 7

Interceptions: 9

QB rating: 62.1

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- color) KYLE BOLLER

Ravens quarterback from Hart High injured his knee in Sunday's loss at St. Louis.

(2) Kyle Boller played in just nine games in his rookie season, but all were as a starter for the Baltimore Ravens.

James A. Finley/Associated Press

Box:

AT A GLANCE (see text)