New Hope football team's bus burglarized during game

A New Hope High School bus was burglarized during Thursday night's ninth-grade football game in Louisville.

According to New Hope coach Michael Thorn, seven players had their phones, laptop computers, jewelry and shoes stolen from the bus while they played.

"They stole whatever they decided they wanted to take," Thorn said. "What they could find quickly, they cleaned out."

Thorn said the team returned to its bus after a 38-0 loss to Louisville to find the back door slightly ajar. The back door of the bus doesn't lock, Thorn said, for safety purposes.

Louisville's administration immediately called the Louisville Police Department, Thorn said, and a report has been filed.

Ken McMullan, superintendent of the Louisville School District, said the district is taking full responsibility for the incident.

"We're just, to be honest, embarrassed about it and working diligently to work get back the stuff that was taken," McMullan said. "We're very apologetic of it happening on our campus."

McMullan said three security officers were at the game but they're working "diligently" to make sure something similar doesn't happen in the future.

Thorn said his players were devastated when they discovered their belongings had been taken.

"It's just very distressing," he said. "The kids are upset; the parents are upset about it. I don’t blame them. You see these kids every day in class, in the hallway; you try to encourage them about life, and then things like this happened. These are expensive things that they feel fortunate to get anyway."

The Louisville Police Department did not return calls seeking comments

Contact Sarah Fowler at sfowler@gannett.com or 601-961-7303. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter.