Windsor High's crumbling football field deemed unsafe, unplayable

Windsor got a “big smack in the nose” Monday when the football team learned the high school’s field is unplayable.

Crummy timing, given their home opener, a nonconference game against Petaluma, was scheduled for Friday.

Maybe it’s “crumby” timing. The crumb rubber topping on the football field is worn out, coach Tom Kirkpatrick said.

“Our field has been deemed unusable because of compaction,” he said. “The testing comes up that it’s not safe to use.”

The Mondoturf all-weather field was installed in 2009 at the cost of $2 million after Windsor voters approved the Measure B bond financing scheme.

The crumbs - little black rubber pellets, usually made of ground-up tires - deteriorate over time and need to be replaced occasionally.

“They have to suction out all those pebbles that have disintegrated and put new pebbles of rubber on it to soften it up,” Kirkpatrick said.

“Right now it’s hard … like old Astroturf.”

Friday’s game has been moved to Cardinal Newman High School, whose Cardinals play at Fortuna this week.

The Jaguars have two away games and a bye scheduled, hopefully allowing enough time to resurface the field before the next home game, Kirkpatrick said.