South Carolina high school football player dies of heart condition

HARTSVILLE, S.C. — A coroner says a South Carolina high school football player died as a result of a sudden irregular heartbeat brought on by an enlarged heart.

Darlington County Coroner J. Todd Hardee said Saturday that an autopsy revealed 18-year-old Ronald Rouse suffered a fatal sudden cardiac arrhythmia resulting from a congenital enlarged heart.

Rouse was a 6-foot-3, 320-pound lineman for Hartsville High School who collapsed during the second quarter of the team's homecoming game Friday night against Crestwood. School officials say Rouse called time out and collapsed, and then collapsed again after being revived and trying to walk off the field.

He was treated by four physicians and two athletic trainers, who used a defibrillator to try shocking his heart. Rouse was pronounced dead at an area hospital.