About The Advance. (Vidalia, Ga.) 2003-current | View Entire Issue (April 19, 2023)
April 19,2023 ®l|e Aiuianre MCHS vs. Treutlen Wed. 5:30 p.m. (H) BASEBALL RTCA vs. Frederica, Edmund Burke Thur. 4:00 p.m. (H); Fri. 4:30 p.m. (H) TCHS vs. Pierce Co. Wed. 5:45 p.m. (H) VHS vs. Appling Co., Pierce Co. Wed. 6:00 p.m. (A); Thur. 6:00 p.m. (A) Wheeler vs. Metter Thur. 6:00 p.m. (A) Treutlen vs. Montgomery Co., Vidalia Heritage Wed. 5:30 p.m. (A); Thur. 6:00 p.m. (H) Heritage vs. Treutlen, Habersham Thur. 6:00 p.m. (A); Fri. 4:30 p.m. (H) Section B Loran Smith The Masters AUGUSTA - Don’t know if you noticed that almost half the field—at least 30 or more—at the Masters last week were “for eigners.” That would include former champi ons such as Jose Maria Olazabal and Gary Player. It also included former Bulldog golfer Sepp Straka, who is a native of Aus tria. That allows for three deduc tions one could make from this. One, golf is growing at an unprecedented rate across the world and is turning out championship players in droves. Two, there may soon be a major champion from Timbuktu and lastly and more im portantly—it would be good to replace the United Nations with the PGA Tour. Don’t know where that would leave the LIV bunch, but I’m sure Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas would be able to figure something out, he, too, being a world traveler. Even though no professional athlete is exempt from greed, there seems to be more compatibility among golfers than all the rest of sports, give or take a Pat rick Reed or two. The critics, namely the media, for the most part, and those who lost loved ones in the World Trade Center attacks, are never going to retreat. There will always be a bedrock of contempt for the Saudi Arabian government which “wants it cake and eat it too.” What’s the big deal most would say? Add up all the plusses, and life on the PGA tour certainly is not too shabby. The retirement package for the Tour members and the escalating purses make you wonder why anybody would want to jump to a league which has nothing redeeming about it except that you get big checks but no prestige when it comes to winning in LIV competition. The Player’s Championship is an ex ample of a paradox. It is major in every respect: field, prize money and the best environment for championship golf. But it still is not considered a major. I would vote in favor of it being given major sta tus, but three of the four majors, as we speak, are in the U.S. It would be a hard sell to get everybody who counts to add “major” to another American tourna ment. If it is a challenge for the Players Championship to gain the “major” ap pellation, when will there be an LIV event that has anything to boast about other than a bucket of cash. As well as he played at Augusta, Phil Mickelson is over the hill. Brooks Koepka had an interesting explanation when he said health issues forced him to consider the LIV tour. Probably what influenced his decision the most was the reported 100 million dollar signing bo nus. In addition, he has won four majors which helps validate his career—two U. S. Opens and two PGA championships. If his health is as compromised as he indicates, the security of the guaran teed money would make sense in most circles. But what does money do for pos terity? It was another sunny Masters fin ish, which makes one feel good for the Please see Loran page 2B By Loran Smith TCHS Has All-Region Players Named; Girls Into 2nd Round By Mike Branch Sports Editor sports 7 advance@gmail.com The Toombs County High School soccer teams had several players and their coach named to the Region 3AA All-Region Team. TCHS Coach Jeremy Moore was named as the Re gion 3AA Coach of the Year. He led the girls to a record of 11-7-1 and 8-6 in Region play and the boys were 11-8 and 8-6 in the Region. The boys fell in the first round of the GHSA State Playoffs in a shootout to Putnam County who was 14-0-2 on the sea son and the #1 team out of Region 4AA. The girls won their first round of the State Playoffs over Putnam County, 5-0. For the players, Anyadi Colmenares was named as the girls Region Offensive Player of the Year for Region 3AA. Colmenares has nearly 100 goals in her career at TCHS, including 37 so far this season with at least one game to go. On the All-Region First Team for the TCHS girls are Josseline Zamorano, Estrella Barbosa, and Maritza Zamo rano. For the boys Gustavo Delgado, Yovanny Zamorano and Braylen Dietrich all were named to the All-Region First Team. On the All-Region Sec ond Team were Emmerson Powell and goalie Madison Cruz for the girls, and Axcel Barbosa and goalie Tucker Brodnax for the boys. Girls vs. Putnam Last Friday the Lady Bulldogs were at Putnam County in the first round of the GHSA State Playoffs and came away with the win to advance. TCHS took the lead in the first half with three goals, and then added two more in the second half. Toombs also kept the War Eagles of Put nam off the board to take the win, 5-0. Colmenares had a big game with three goals and an assist. Barbosa and Powell added one goal each in the win. This week the Lady Bull dogs are at Jeff Davis on REGION 3 AA OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR Wednesday to take on the Lady Yellow Jackets in the second round of the playoffs. The game is set to begin at 6:00 p.m. Boys vs. Putnam The TCHS boys almost pulled off the big upset of the War Eagles. Each team scored one goal in the first half of the game to send it to halftime tied at 1-1. In the second half both teams had chances, but neither could add to their totals, sending the game to overtime tied at 1-1. In overtime again nei ther team scored which moved the game to a shoot out to decide a winner. In the shootout Putnam came out on top 4-2 over Toombs to win the game and end the Bulldogs' season. VHS Over Dodge County By David Moncus The Vidalia Indians rolled into East man Wednesday, April 12, to play the Dodge County Indians. Vidalia had their best offensive game of the season as they pounded out 16 hits to take Dodge County by a 15-4 score in five innings. The win puts the Vidalia Indians at 13- 11-1 on the season and 6-5 in Region play. Vidalia used four pitchers in the game as they tuned up for next week. Veer Pa tel started for Vidalia and pitched two scoreless innings allowing two hits and getting two strikeouts. Dawson Stewart pitched one inning allowing four runs on four hits while getting one strikeout. However, Stewart did pick up the win as Vidalia rallied for five runs in the 4th in ning erasing a 4-3 deficit. Tucker Mc Donald and Walker Moncus pitched a scoreless 4th and 5th inning respectively Please see VHS page 2B Photo by Pop Pop’s Photos Cason Banks fully extends for a ball as VHS battles with Dodge County, 6th Annual BPC Southern Classic Raises Over $20,000 Courtesy of BPC On Friday, March 31, Brewton- Parker College (BPC) hosted its 6th Annual Southern Classic Golf Tourna ment, presented by Metter Ford at the Willow Lake Golf Club in Metter, Georgia. Through the generous sup port of business sponsors and local teams, the event raised over $20,000. These funds will be used to transform the lives of the students academically and spiritually. Seventeen teams competed in this year’s Southern Classic thanks to the generous support of local businesses and support from the faculty, staff, and students of BPC. The Southern Classic serves as a fundraiser for the college. Over twenty Please see BPC page 3B A SUCCESSFUL TOURNAMENT - The great weather and generous donors made this year's Brewton-Parker College Southern Classic Golf Tournament a success, L to R: Presenting Sponsor Metter Ford Representative Tim Redding, Brewton-Parker College President Steven Echols,
