Student-Athletes Who Vandalized Athletics Field Tasked With Repairs

Police in West Boylston, Mass., have identified a group of teenagers who drove their cars through a local football field over the weekend, resulting in considerable damage to the field. 

Police Chief Dennis Minnich told the Telegram & Gazette that about three teens, some of them driving their parents' cars, drove through the field over different days. Most of the damage was done Saturday, possibly harming the field's irrigation system. 

“It's a stupid thing to do,” said Minnich. Videos of a SUV and a sedan driving onto the field and then going in circles to leave “doughnuts” were used to identify the owners, said Minnich.

Minnich said police are not going to pursue serious punishment of the teenagers, but he also said that the cost of the damage could be as high as $10,000 if the sprinkler system was harmed. 

"My position is, I don't want to give a juvenile a record that follows them the rest of their lives,” said Minnich. “It was a stupid mistake. They all know that if their names come across my desk again, they will pay dearly.”

The field was used for football practice by the West Boylston Middle and High Schools. During warmer months it's used by the lacrosse and soccer teams. 

Nine students in total are being held accountable for the damage to the field, and they'll be the ones doing the work. Members of the undefeated high school football team that won the Division 8 Super Bowl in November at Gillette Stadium were among those involved, said Minnich.

“They're going to bring loads of loam, rake it out, then spread with metal rakes and replant grass,” said Minnich, noting that the work needs to be done prior to a forecasted winter storm. “And they’ve got to do it fast.”