Fairfax Quarterback Abruptly Quits Team

Fairfax quarterback Thomas Herringshaw, who threw for 2,618 yards and 20 touchdowns last season, will not return to the team.

Coach Shane Cox said he spoke on Tuesday to Herringshaw’s father, who informed Cox that his son would not play. Cox said the father was concerned his son would get injured.

“The family felt that it was not in their son’s best interests to play football,” Cox said. “They wanted him to concentrate on other things.”

Cox said the senior continues to receive recruiting letters and that he doesn’t understand the decision.

“I feel absolutely horrible for Thomas,” Cox said. “He’s a wonderful kid. He deserves to play, but we have to respect the wishes of the parents.”

Sophomore Troy Jackson will start for the Lions at Sepulveda Monroe on Friday night.

Eric Stephens

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Justin Hawkins, a 6-foot-6 forward from Lakewood Mayfair, has committed to Utah.

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Bobby Brimmer, who guided the L.A. Ribet Academy boys’ basketball team to the Southern Section Division V-AA finals in his first year as coach, has been fired because of his players’ academic shortcomings, Ribet Chief Executive Ronald Sires said.

“Academics are first, athletics are second,” Sires said. “Mr. Brimmer never understood that.”

Brimmer, who coached the Fighting Frogs during the summer and had signed a contract for the upcoming season, said he was shocked by his dismissal and would try to force the school to pay his coaching salary. Sires said the school does not have to pay Brimmer because he violated the contract “by not adhering to our principles.”

Dan Alon, the Ribet girls’ basketball coach last season and the boys’ coach three years ago, has been selected to replace Brimmer.

Ben Bolch

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Dianne Matias, the Southern California sectional champion in the U.S. Tennis Assn.’s girls’ 18 division as a 15-year-old in 2000, will play for a school team for the first time this season at Carson High.

Matias, 17, who had been enrolled in a Mission Viejo-based independent-studies program the last three years, is currently No. 3 in Southern California and No. 24 in the girls’ 18 national rankings.

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High hopes for the Granada Hills girls’ tennis team’s upcoming season took a double blow when its top two players recently decided not to compete.

Jessica Nguyen, the City Section singles runner-up as a freshman last season, is not attending Granada Hills and will enroll in a home-schooling program instead, according to Coach Ron Wood. Junior Christine Dao is attending school but will concentrate on academics and junior tournament play, Wood said.