St. John's [Washington, D.C.] celebrates after its defeat of Gonzaga in the 2017 Washington Catholic Athletic Conference championship. (Photo via Washington Post)

The high school football season is less than three months away, and some of America's elite programs will face ultra-difficult schedules when it begins.

USA Today Sports details the brutal slates of five such football teams: St. John's College (Washington, D.C.), IMG Academy (Bradenton, Florida), Mater Dei (Santa Ana, California), Bergen Catholic (Oradell, New Jersey) and Grayson (Loganville, Georgia).

IMG's could be the toughest. The Ascenders' three biggest challenges are on the road: at St. John’s, at defending California state champion and Super 25 No. 1 Mater Dei, and at Hoover in Alabama. They also play defending Pennsylvania 6A champ Pine-Richland (Gibsonia) and two Miami powerhouses in defending 6A winner Northwestern, as well as Norland.

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Stoneman Douglas plays first game since school shooting

Photo via Miami Herald

Thursday, Stoneman Douglas High School played its spring game against North Miami Beach, the program's first game since 14 students and three teachers were shot and killed at the school, including football assistant coach Aaron Feis and athletic director Chris Hixon. 

The Miami Herald reports it was a reminder of what was lost and the "new normal" at the school.

"It was rough to be honest with you. I can't speak for the kids, but for me, I missed Aaron," Stoneman Douglass coach Willis May said. "So many things that Aaron did, little things that I always didn't think about and I really thought about tonight a couple times. We’d come to the bench after the national anthem and Aaron was always sitting there giving me my headset. He would hand me and everybody who needed a roster a roster. At the end of the half, he was always standing there taking my headset from me.

"I missed seeing Chris. He was always running around on a golf cart. Win or lose, he always had a word of confidence to say to me and then he would go back to work picking up the pylons. It's just, damn, you miss those guys. It's never going to be the same."

As Douglas’ players entered the field for warmups, as is tradition, they touched the Eagles’ statue, now a makeshift memorial for Feis with his signature white towel, retired No. 73 jersey and a photo.

Rams hold football camp at youth correctional facility 

Cornerback Troy Hill was part of this week's event. Photo via Rams Wire/USA Today

KEYT News says current and former Los Angeles Rams players held a different type of youth football camp, when they took the field with inmates at the Ventura Youth Correctional Facility in Camarillo, California, to teach lessons that went well beyond the game.

"Football is so important to our kids that they actually stay out of trouble in order to play, and so football is a huge motivator for our youth," said facility superintendent Maria Harper.

Before on-field work, the Rams sat down with inmates to talk about their struggles, goals and self-worth. Cornerback Troy Hill said he saw himself in many of the teens.

"When I was living in Ohio and I wasn’t going to school and things like that, I felt I could relate to them," Hill said. "I just wanted to give them my knowledge on what I have been through, and what I have seen throughout my life."

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Photo via kesq.com