The South is known for many things, but none more prolific than football and summer heat.

August is the month that brings both of these entities together in a dangerous mix.

For high schools across the state this week marked the opening of football practice, as teenage athletes strapped on the pads and put on their helmets to run, block and tackle in temperatures near 100 degrees.

That mixture has already led to tragedy in this early part of the season.

According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Forest Jones, 16, of Locust Grove High School in Henry County suffered a heat stroke following practice a week ago passed away Tuesday night. Then, the AJC reported DJ Searcy, a junior at Fitzgerald High School died Tuesday morning after a practice in Columbia County Florida