The varsity men’s soccer team’s bus was robbed on Oct. 10, sometime during their 4:00 p.m. soccer game against Archbishop Curley High School.

“I walked on the bus and I realized my backpack, which had my laptop and all of my school supplies was gone,” junior Matt Becker, who plays wing, said. Becker believes that as much as $30,000 worth of books, laptops, accessories, money, and phones were stolen.

According to multiple sources on the team, the bus driver left the bus locked, but unattended in order to watch the game. When the team returned, the locks were broken, and the belongings of those sitting at the front of the bus were missing.

“We think they must’ve got on and got right off,” junior and midfielder Jake Dengler said.

“After a terrible loss to Curley, going back to the bus depressed, then finding all of 8 teammates’ stuff completely gone, including my own, was awful,” junior Daniel Bonsack, who plays left midfielder, said. “My iPhone, my computer, my headphones, my wallet, and my Sperrys [were] all gone.”

“I luckily didn’t have anything stolen or missing, but I was hurt that 10 of my teammates’ stuff got stolen. It’s sad that we can’t go to an opposing team’s field and trust that our stuff will be secure,” Dengler said.

According to Dengler, some of his fellow teammates were crying in shock and disbelief that someone would do such a thing

“I personally lost about $2,500 worth of stuff, my teammate and friend [junior and center midfielder] Hayden Delpi had a stack of money and watch stolen, while [junior and right midfielder] Quinten Petro lost about $3,000 worth of stuff which included his school laptop, clothes, accessories, wallet and phone,”  Becker said.

“We put 100 percent trust in the bus driver to watch over our stuff while we represent JC in the best possible way on and off the field. I don’t think there is anyone to blame other than the bus driver for this incident,” Dengler said.

The players are unsure of what will happen, but they were told there’s a possibility that the bus company will pay for the lost items through insurance. The assistant coach has not responded yet to requests for comment on the subject.

According to Bonsack, administration from both Curley and JC are talking with the bus company to try to resolve this issue. The Patriot will update this story with new information as it develops.

[Updated 10/16]

“The school is going to make sure all academic items are paid back to the families. Academic items include any books, calculators, and laptops students may have lost,” Vice Principal of Student Affairs and Technology Brian Powell said.

The potential insurance claims students will file are a way of covering stolen items and according to Powell the claims will be made with the assistance of the school.

The bus is owned by the Scheeler Bus Company. Owner of the Scheeler Bus Company Glenn Morgan will meet with the administration next week to discuss the robbery.

“It’s an unfortunate situation and totally shocking,” Morgan said.

While Morgan chose not to discuss the bus driver, he said that all of the drivers Scheeler hires are trustworthy, reliable, professionals, and very experienced.

“I know the robbery occurred when [the bus driver] went to the restroom. It was fine when he left the bus and when he came back the robbery had occurred,” Morgan said. “You can’t expect anyone to stay on the bus for such a long time without using the facilities.”

“Well the bus driver wasn’t on the bus,” assistant soccer coach Rodney Johnson said.

The relationship between the school and the bus company was started in 1976. In that 38-year span, no robbery or event like this has ever occurred according to Morgan.

Curley has not been contacted by Scheeler, and Scheeler does not plan on initiating talks with Curley because the issue involves JC and Scheeler. However, according to the bus company a security guard was patrolling the area in which the bus was parked and the driver had introduced himself and stated the bus was there for the soccer game.

“We don’t know where [the patrol officer] was [when the robbery occurred],” Morgan said.

This is the first time in the that a robbery has happened to the Scheeler Bus Company. They ensure they’ll do everything in their power to make sure nothing like this happens again. To do so, they asked for the cooperation of the students and the school.

“Had the bus driver stayed on the bus which was parked on the campus of [Archbishop] Curley [High School], in the middle of the hood, none of this would’ve happened,” Johnson said.

According to Morgan, the bus company will not be talking to any parents or students because the school will be taking responsibility for it.

Correction: An earlier version of this story stated that the bus driver left the bus locked. The bus is a school bus which, by law, is not allowed to have locks in case of emergency situations for the safety of students.

Kishan Patel is a Sports Editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.