Vandals disrupted East Union High School’s senior night in California, forcing officials to move the final regular-season home football game at the last minute and leaving families scrambling to preserve the celebration.
The Lancers were only hours from Friday’s kickoff when players and relatives learned the team could no longer play at Dino Cunial Stadium in Manteca. Damage to the stadium’s lighting system had made the venue unavailable.
The abrupt relocation caught many families by surprise. Some parents said they found out through a group chat after the coach shared the news.
“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 that the seniors were upset.
“And then it was just like, okay, what do we do now?” she said.
The change was especially disappointing for families who had traveled significant distances to see their sons play one final regular-season game at home.
Eleshea Bass, an East Union alumna, said relatives had traveled from across the country for the milestone event.
“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 venue change on social media, citing 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 stated.
“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, knocking out the stadium’s lighting system.
Manteca Unified School District confirmed that the theft prompted the relocation but did not disclose the full extent of the damage or say when the stadium might 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.”
The difficult night took another turn for the Lancers.
After losing their home-field advantage and seeing their senior night plans thrown into disarray, East Union suffered a 49-0 loss to Manteca.
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