Kirksey Transfers to Westlake High From Simi Valley

Tim Kirksey, who passed for more than 1,000 yards as quarterback at Simi Valley High last fall, enrolled at Westlake on Tuesday.

Kirksey, a 6-foot-1, 175-pound junior, withdrew from Simi Valley on Monday. He said his family moved to Westlake Village so that his father, Scott, would be closer to his job as an electrician in Los Angeles.

Last fall, Kirksey played quarterback in first-year Simi Valley Coach Stan Quina’s run-and-shoot offense and completed 104 of 206 passes for 1,134 yards and seven touchdowns. He also threw 12 interceptions. A rotator cuff injury limited Kirksey to five injury-free games and he finished the season as a wide receiver.

“We’ll certainly miss him,” said Quina, whose team was 0-10 last season. “Even though we didn’t win any games, he had a tremendous impact on our program. Not only will we lose his athletic ability, we’ll lose his personality. We wish him well and we’ll be pulling for him.”

Under Southern Section rules, Kirksey is eligible because his family is changing residence. But the Southern Section could investigate because Kirksey also transferred last year, from Camarillo to Simi Valley.

Kirksey said that he considered returning to Camarillo but decided it was too long of a commute for his father. His younger sister Kim, a sophomore, also enrolled at Westlake on Tuesday.

“I’ll try my best to play quarterback, but I also have a couple of years of experience at defensive back,” Kirksey said. “I’ll do whatever I can to help the team.”

Kirksey will compete at quarterback with Steve Collett, John Snyder and Ryan Field.

Sophomore Eric Bennett, who started the final two games last season, is the only varsity quarterback returning for Simi Valley.

In another transfer, Jim Cruetz, a 6-2, 210-pound junior outside linebacker from Chicago, has enrolled at Royal.