Surgery will bring Larimore’s season to an end

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Hart linebacker Patrick Larimore will have surgery to repair a torn thumb ligament on Wednesday and will miss the rest of the season, Hart Coach Mike Herrington said.

‘It’s a big impact on us,’ Herrington said. ‘It’s a tough situation anyway you look at it because he’s our leading tackler and a leader on defense.’

The UCLA-bound Larimore suffered the injury during Hart’s 21-21 tie with Valencia two weeks ago. He recorded 90 tackles through eight games -- nearly three times as many as the next Hart player.

This is a huge blow to the Indians’ defense and I’m not sure they have what it takes to stop Saugus’ dynamic duo of RB Ryan Zirbel and QB Desi Rodriguez on Friday night. Of course, if defensive staples Johnny MacArthur, Eric Plumlee, Tyler Wachter, Keith Comrie and Demitri Diamond can limit the Centurions’ offense like Canyon did, it’s entirely possible Hart could win its first Foothill League title since 2003.

And if you didn’t get a chance to see Larimore in his hard-hitting prep career, here’s a YouTube highlight of him delivering a flying goal-line tackle against St. Bonaventure last year:

-- Austin Knoblauch