A youth football team in South Carolina lost over $30,000 worth of equipment after a fire destroyed the shed where the equipment was stored.
According to head coach Hiram Brown, the Capital City Ravens, a Pop Warner team out of Columbia, had equipment such as padding, helmets, and jerseys stored in the shed.
"We’re talking about not just a football organization, but a part of the fabric of this neighborhood," Craig Smith, parent of a former player, told the local CBS affiliate. "To hear that something that they hold near and dear has been attacked and vandalized, it struck a nerve with a lot of parents."
Trophies that the team had earned over the course of its 10-year history were also found smashed and in pieces.
"It’s kind of devastating being that when we first started out here, there was nothing in that shed, and over the years, we built it from the ground up," Brown said.
The Ravens plan to rebuild, and the Columbia-Richland Fire Department is still investigating the cause of the blaze.
"It’s very heartbreaking, I tell you, very heart breaking. But just like I tell my kids, as far as my players and cheerleaders, it's half time," Brown said. "We're down 0-0. Now, it’s time to rebuild. Let’s try to finish the game strong. We’re gonna get together to come up with a game plan, and when that clock hits 0-0-0, the Ravens will be back."
