Do you think that the parents of the injured kids should be able to sue the football players or their parents for damages?
I think they should be able to sue those responsible. Whatever damages are determined should be paid for my the responsible parties in proportion to their level of responsibility for the crash. I believe that it is common in civil cases for the jury to have to determine how much each party contributed to the situation and split the damages accordingly.
The driver may not get much, or anything, if the jury decides his driving was the major factor in the severity of the accident.