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The sweltering heat that is cooking the country has taken a deadly toll on some of the people suffering through summer football practices.

DonTeria Searcy, a 16-year-old high school student, died Tuesday after he passed out after a morning practice at a Florida football camp, the local sheriff's department said.

Another 16-year-old student, Forrest Jones, died Tuesday in hospital after he passed out during a football practice at an Atlanta-area high school, school administrators said.

And on Monday in Texas, Wade McLain, 55, an assistant football coach, collapsed during a morning practice and heat was ruled as a factor in his death, CNN affiliate WFAA reported

The heat wave, now in its second month, is responsible for record-setting electricity use in Texas and dozens of deaths across the U.S. heartland.

But this time is tough for young football players who don heavy equipment and brave rising temperatures while practicing.

"It is tough and this was an unfortunate incident for us," said J.D. Hardin, a spokesman for Georgia's Henry County School District, which oversees Jones' high school. "But our coaches have a lot of ways to deal with this. We try to hydrate the players and if they have to move the practices to the morning, I know they will."

As Texans attempted to keep cool, the state set a new record for electricity demand Tuesday afternoon, breaking a mark established a day earlier.

"Due to the high temperatures and high electricity usage expected this week, we are continuing to request that consumers and businesses reduce their electricity use during peak electricity hours ... for the remainder of the week," said Kent Saathoff of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which manages the state's power grid.

The council is forecasting a third straight day of record demand on Wednesday.

The blistering temperatures have been blamed for dozens of heat-related deaths across the region, mainly in Texas and Oklahoma.

Wednesday is expected to mark the 33rd straight day of 100-plus-degree temperatures in Dallas. http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/08/03/heat/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

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