Thieves steal South Bay high school's football equipment, damage stadium lights

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- Thieves stole thousands of dollars worth of football equipment and stadium light wiring from Santa Teresa High School in San Jose.

Emily Saole, co-president of the school's Athletic Booster Club, says it happened Friday night and was discovered Saturday morning. The first weekend of the school year.

"It's like heartbreaking, you know it's just items but emotionally you feel bad for the boys and the teams," Saole said.

The volunteer parent group fundraises all year to supplement what the school or the district can't supply. Saole described what was taken from one of the storage units.

"We store in our merchandise that we use to fundraise our supplies for our concession stands. Our bright orange pop-up tents - which I didn't realize how expensive those are," Saole said.

One of their biggest money-making events is selling merchandise at home football games.

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Thieves also pulled out some of the copper wiring from the football stadium.

ABC7 News spoke with Sergio Diaz Luna, Director of Communications at East Side Union High School District.

"We also found out on Monday that some of the electrical equipment was taken out of the lights here so the lights weren't working," Diaz Luna said.

The wiring that was tampered with not only affects the lights, but it impacts the audio and the scoreboard.

Diaz Luna said a team was out assessing the damage Tuesday morning. It's a priority to get the electrical equipment back up in time for the school's first home game on Aug. 29.

"We know that for the community, for the back-to-school season, that first home game for a lot of schools - that first football is really important. It's the school spirit," Diaz Luna said.

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Brenton Gaches said playing under the Friday night lights as a senior is something he's looked forward to for years.

"Most of us have been playing football for all of our lives and it's something just so special, everybody watching you play a sport you love - it's just something special," he said.

As far as replacing equipment, you can donate directly to the football team on GoFundMe or donate directly to the Santa Teresa Athletic Booster Club that helps 21 sports teams in the district.

"Just thank you for any support will help honestly with this, this fundraiser," Gaches said.

Saole said school staff, the district, parents and alumni have all acted quickly to help these students have a better start to their school year.

"Being able to come together and bounce back and look forward - I think is what's important for us," Diaz Luna said.