Shots halt St. Francis vs. Serra CCS Division I championship game; 2 hurt

A shooting in the parking lot outside the St. Francis-Serra CCS Division I football championship game on Friday night left two people wounded and sent terrified fans and players scrambling and diving to the ground for safety.

The sound of gunfire shortly before 9 p.m. halted the game for about a halfhour as players ducked to the turf, spectators jumped a fence lining the stands and police converged on the Westmont High School stadium.

Two people were wounded in the shooting, which happened in the stadium’s parking lot, according to San Jose police. Both of the injured people were described as adult men, and both are expected to survive.

Few other details about the shooting have been released, and no arrests were announced late Friday.

Serra had just gone up 16-12 with 2:18 remaining in the game when the sound of shots rang out. Many thought that they were firecrackers until someone started yelling out “shots, shots, get down,” said Scot Colmer, 58.

“It’s surreal — you don’t expect to be in that situation,” Colmer said.

Several people thought an active shooter had attacked the stadium. Cheerleaders for St. Francis cowered next to the stands and some players ran off the field in a moment of “chaos,” said Mike Disbennett, 49.

“I was freaking out — thought I might get shot,” said Disbennett’s daughter, Eileen, 13.

There were no immediate reports of injuries at the stadium. More than 5,000 tickets were sold for the game between WCAL rivals.

“Nothing really prepares you (for something like that) until you are in the throes of it,” CCS commissioner Dave Grissom said. “It took a while for us to find out if it was an active shooter … (or) if it was fireworks, firecrackers.”

Serra head coach Patrick Walsh quickly realized something was wrong as he saw people lying for cover on the ground.

Some members of the Serra team raced from the sideline up a hill toward a fence that circles the stadium.

“It was chaotic,” Walsh said.

CCS officials resumed the game at 9:36 p.m. after police gave the all-clear, and the teams played the final minutes of a game that secured a regional state playoff berth for Serra, who won 16-12.

“I’ll tell you what, I give the people in the stands a lot of credit,” Grissom added. “By and large, they remained calm. They stayed where they were. Of course people were concerned. I was concerned.”