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Tampa Catholic Athletics Buildings Burgled Before Game

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By BILL WARD | TBO.com

Published: December 5, 2008

TAMPA - Hours before its Class 2A state semifinal football game against Miami Gulliver Prep, Tampa Catholic High School had its football field house and gymnasium burglarized.

Principal Tom Reidy said the break-in likely occurred early this morning, and officials still are determining what's missing. So far, it appears the thieves took mostly electronic and personal items from both buildings.

"Right now, we're just scrambling to secure our buildings before the weekend," Reidy said. "But it looks like they were only after things they could carry out of there, and the damage doesn't seem to be too serious."

Whoever broke in came through a gym door and got into the field house through a small hole in a boarded-up window, bursting through a wooden locker on the other side of the window, Reidy said.

Items such as DVD players and video equipment were taken.

Reidy said neither building was trashed.

The campus is on North Rome Avenue.

Football coach Bob Henriquez said his staff will have to wait until later today to determine whether any game jerseys are missing. On Thursdays before games, the jerseys are hung in the lockers. Some players take them home to wear to school the next day; others leave them in the locker.

If jerseys are missing, Henriquez said, the team can use junior varsity jerseys. He said he likely will bring his DVD player from home because players usually watch last-minute game film on game days.

The burglary is a distraction, Henriquez said, but something more important is at stake in tonight's game: a berth in the state title game next week in Orlando.

"Obviously, Gulliver Prep is trying to take something away from us we value even more, our Southern Region championship," he said. "But I've told the players this week we're observing the '90-10' rule. There's 10 percent of your life where you have to deal with things you didn't anticipate and have no control over. The 90 percent is how you react and deal with that 10 percent."

Reporter Bill Ward can be reached at (813) 259-7456.

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