LANCASTER, Texas (WFAA) – A Texas high school is mourning the loss of one of its football players.
The school district says the 15-year-old died after a “medical emergency” at practice.
From his first plays to final farewells, Mark Badger, Bryant Young and Marcus Badger are remembering Preston Malone III.
The three previously coached Preston through his years playing football.
But Preston taught his former coaches about grit.
“He got a penalty. I said, ‘Preston, why didn’t you stop?’ He said, ‘Coach, I didn’t hear the whistle,’” Marcus Badger remembered.
While sharing memories has helped to keep them going, they still face a harsh reality.
Preston, a sophomore at Lancaster Early College High School and a junior varsity football player, died Wednesday morning.
“It’s just hard. It’s just hard thinking someone that you’ve been knowing since they were a kid, gone as a kid,” Young said.
A high school football player in Texas died after a medical emergency at practice.
The Lancaster Independent School District said Preston experienced heat exhaustion while at indoor practice Monday afternoon.
Temperatures reached 104 degrees.
Coaches and athletic trainers put him in a cold tub and called 911, but two days later, Preston died.
“It just made me realize, ‘Hey, make sure we hydrate the kids,’” Mark Badger said.
The school district says the athletes had five mandatory water breaks before Preston became sick.
The school’s indoor facility doesn’t have an HVAC unit, but four large garage doors were kept open and multiple fans were running.
When Preston was taken to the hospital, he told his team he was sorry he couldn’t finish practice, but he would be OK.
“That’s what he wanted to get back to, his brothers,” Young said.
At Meadow Creek Park, where he once played for these coaches, it’s not an end, but a continuation of Preston’s legacy.
“He wasn’t the biggest kid, so he always had to fight,” Marcus Badger said.
In response to Preston’s death, the school district canceled football practices for the rest of the week, as well as Thursday’s scrimmage.
“I know his mom. I know she’s hurting right now because we’re hurting right now,” Marcus Badger added.
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