At Stoneman Douglas, football season comes with heavy hearts
PARKLAND, Fla. — The first practice of the new season was over, and the only sound on the campus of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School was dozens of football players screaming in delight.
It was 2:15 a.m., and they were having a water balloon fight .
At last, on a campus shaken by tragedy, there was joy.
The Eagles — now ambassadors for a school and community still reeling from the Feb. 14 massacre that left 17 people dead, including assistant football coach Aaron Feis , who was killed while trying to use his body to shield students from the cascade of bullets — took the field for practice at 12:01 a.m. Monday.