A group of crooks managed to steal the spotlight from a California high school’s senior night — forcing a last-minute football game relocation and leaving families scrambling to salvage the special occasion.
East Union High School’s football team was hours away from kickoff Friday when players and families learned they wouldn’t be able to play their final regular-season home game at Dino Cuni al Stadium in Manteca because vandals had damaged the stadium’s lighting.
The sudden change caught families off guard, with some learning about the relocation through a parent group chat after the coach sent word.
“It was sad because obviously it’s senior night and you wanted to play home field,” Mindy Martinez, whose son has played football since he was 5, told KCRA.
Martinez said her son initially told her the “seniors were upset.”
“And then it was just like, okay, what do we do now?”
The relocation was particularly frustrating for families who had traveled long distances to watch their sons take the field for one last regular-season home game.
Eleshea Bass, an East Union alumna, said relatives had come from across the country for the occasion.
“We got people from the Bay. My sister from Virginia came down,” Bass said.
“At first, I’m not going to lie. I kind of dropped the phone when I read it, like, oh my God, we aren’t going to have a game tonight.”
The Lancers announced the change in a social media post, blaming vandalism at their home stadium.
“Due to vandalism at our stadium, we are unable to host tonight’s football game at East Union High School,” the post read.
“We sincerely appreciate your understanding, patience and flexibility as we navigate this unexpected situation.”
The Manteca Bulletin later reported that thieves had stolen copper wiring, disrupting the stadium’s lighting system.
Manteca Unified School District confirmed the theft forced the relocation but did not provide additional details about the damage or when the stadium would be ready to host games again.
“East Union High School’s varsity football game scheduled for this evening has been relocated to another MUSD stadium following a theft which impacted the lighting at the high school,” the district told the outlet.
“District administration is currently coordinating with local law enforcement while operations staff is diligently responding to the site damage to restore the stadium.”
And the night only got worse for the Lancers.
After losing their home-field advantage and having their senior night plans thrown into chaos, East Union was routed by Manteca, 49-0.
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