Drought prevents Santa Cruz football team from hosting games

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KGO) -- California's drought is having a major impact on Santa Cruz High School's football team. They've been told they may not be able to play any games at home all season.

But now there's a glimmer of hope for the team.

The Santa Cruz Cardinals knew it was coming. "We found out that we weren't going to be allowed any water way back in May, the start of spring football. So we knew that the field was going to get bad," team manager Zeebo Gouldon said.

But they had no idea how bad. City water restrictions meant they could only water the field once a week. By the end of summer, it resembled the surface of Mars.

"The field was lumpy, bumpy and there were cracks in the surface," school principal Karen Edmonds said.

Even the principal wasn't prepared for what came after that. The local Football Officials Association came out to look at the field and said it was unsafe to play on.

"They said that the turf was hard, which could potentially cause concussions," Edmonds said.

With the season fast approaching, the school and the district petitioned the city and won an exemption to start watering the field daily. It has made quite the difference.

But parts of the field still have problems -- big problems. The officials said the field still isn't playable.

Once again, the school had to make a deal to play its home games at nearby Soquel High School, which has artificial turf.

"Soquel High has a very good field and a very good stadium. The only problem is it's going to be a little longer of a drive for people who live on the west side, so it might be a little harder to get fans to come in to games," Gouldon said.

That could hurt fundraising for the school's athletic programs, but it hasn't broken the team's spirit. If anything, it has invigorated them.

"Because they're traveling, they're warriors. So far, so good," Edmonds said.

The Cardinals (1-0) play their home opener against Watsonville (0-1) on Saturday night at Soquel High at 7:30 p.m.

Still, they're still holding out for their home turf. "I think it would be nice to give our seniors one last chance to play at their home field," Gouldon said.

They hope it's the first game in November, the one against their arch rival -- Soquel High.