Lassiter’s 24-21 overtime loss to Brookwood in the opening round of last year’s playoffs was likely the primary motivating factor for this year’s No. 1 seeded Trojans. However, a new source of motivation is fueling Lassiter after its first-round opponent, Peachtree Ridge, vandalized the Trojans’ field and campus on the eve of their first-round clash.
Graffiti with pro-Peachtree Ridge diction and inappropriate illustrations painted the field, field house, press box and surrounding areas as Lassiter students and staff arrived on campus Friday morning. Before any of the damage could be cleaned up for the teams’ televised game on GPB, Lassiter’s campus officers handled the initial investigation.
According to Cobb County’s Communication Specialist Doug Goodwin, the cleanup cannot begin until after the initial investigation.
“Any time a school building or facilities are vandalized that is a criminal act and it is unwelcomed and so obviously the authorities are going to be pursuing and identifying those who are accountable and responsible,” said Goodwin. “But at this point Lassiter’s focus is returning back to its instructional day and on their football game tonight.”
Maintenance crews arrived before 7 a.m. Friday morning to get to work and will be working through lunch to get everything cleaned up.
“Our maintenance department was right on it and it is mostly gone at this point thankfully,” said Goodwin at 11:30 a.m.
Within the police report, the vandals were reported as causing “extensive damages” to campus and authorities believe the intruders must have spent a significant amount of time on the scene. The press box was the most heavily hit area.
Goodwin did not say there was a need to increase security for the game.
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