RIALTO, Calif. – In this turf war, Rialto High School athletes have engaged an opponent more sinister than any team rival, one that has chased them off their fields.

They are venomous red imported fire ants and they pack a powerful sting.

“They’re from South America,” said Syeda Jafri, spokeswoman for the Rialto Unified School District. “How they got here, we have no idea.”

The school called in exterminators to get rid of the ants

A groundskeeper discovered the ants last week and thought they were unusually large, Jafri said.

The school canceled a freshman football game and called the state Department of Agriculture, which confirmed they were the poisonous fire ants.

Jafri said the school expects the fields to be clear by Friday.

University of California, Riverside, entomologist Les Greenberg said the infestation was not to be taken lightly.

“A small percentage of the population is allergic to the venom, just as with bees or wasps,” Greenberg said. “This could range anywhere from a nuisance to a health threat.”

Man who exposed himself at pastry shop pleads guilty

YORKTOWN, N.Y. – A man who took his pants off before going out for doughnuts at a shop just north of New York City has pleaded guilty to public lewdness.

John Greco admits he exposed his genitals in February while placing an order at a Dunkin’ Donuts drive-through in Yorktown.

Court Clerk Kathy Dickan says Greco will be sentenced Dec. 11 on last week’s guilty plea.

Police say Greco was tracked down because a doughnut shop worker noted the make of his car and his license plate number.

Greco hasn’t returned a telephone message left at his Croton-on-Hudson home. He said shortly after his March arrest he had no comment on the police report.