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IF IT’S PLAYED, WE’VE GOT IT COVERED
MARY PERSONS BULLDOGS
'ATtH'BETtE
ifjpIEa & State Farm
CONDARIUS ALFORD • TRACK
281 Tift College Drive • Forsyth, GA 31029
478-992-9945
Hours: Monday - Friday, 9 am - 5:30 pm
TOMMY JOHNSTON, STATE FARM INSURANCE
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DOGS NEED TO
SPRING SPORTS
CALENDAR
TODAY
4 p.m.
JV Basebal
(vs. Perry)
5:55 p.m.
Varsity Basebal
(vs. Perry)
THURSDAY. APRIL 12
FRIDAY. APRIL 13
5:30 p.m.
Varsity Girls Soccer
(vs. Spalding)
7:30 p.m.
Varsity Boys Soccer
(vs. Spalding)
SATURDAY. APRIL 14
SUNDAY. APRIL 15
MONDAY. APRIL 16
3 p.m.
Varsity Girls & Boys Golf
(Brickyard Invitational @ The
Brickyard Golf Club)
5:55 p.m.
Varsity Basebal
(vs. Upson-Lee)
TUESDAY. APRIL 17
4:30 p.m.
C-Ieam Basebal
(vs. Upson-Lee Middle)
5:30 p.m.
Varsity Girls Soccer
(vs. Perry)
7:30 p.m.
Varsity Boys Soccer
(vs. Perry)
After recent defensive
and hitting struggles,
Mary Persons will rely
on its leaders, like junior
third baseman Austin
Mock (above) to bust
out of its recent slump.
The Bulldogs will try to
get back on the winning
track against Perry on
Wednesday. (Photo/Kim
Holderfield)
April skid dooms
MP’s title dreams
By Richard Dumas
forsyth@mymcr.net
The reeling Mary Persons Bulldogs baseball team has put its state playoff hopes in jeop
ardy by dropping its fourth straight contest in a 1-0 shutout loss at Perry on Monday night.
The Panthers scored their lone run in the bottom of the first inning on an RBI double by
Jacob Hunt. And with Panthers’ ace John Micah Taw limiting MP’s bats to just three hits
See BASEBALL • Page 2B
MP track preps for region meet
By Richard Dumas
forsyfh@mymcr.net
The Mary Persons varsity boys track
team placed 15th against some of the
state’s top competition at the Friday
Night Lights competition in Fayette
ville on March 30.
MP achieved 12.5 points while fac
ing off against 26 programs from all
classifications in a meet held at Starr’s
Mill’s Panther Stadium.
East Coweta was the boys meet
champion with a total of 68.5 points,
followed by Auburn in second place
with 59.5 points. Carrollton finished
in third place with 57.5 points.
MP boys athletes who scored points
at the meet included: Justin Wachtel,
who placed third in the 3,200 meters
with a time of 9 minutes, 43 seconds
and eighth in the 1,600 meters with
a time of 4 minutes, 30 seconds,
Jamar Fagan, who placed seventh in
the 110-meter hurdles with a time
of 15.84 seconds, Deadrek Alford,
who placed eighth in the 110-meter
hurdles with a time of 15.9 seconds,
and Condarius Alford, who placed
seventh in the high jump with a leap
of 6 feet.
Other MP boys participants in
cluded: Caileb Ussery, who placed
35th in the 100 meters with a time of
11.83 seconds, Tadamian Sands, who
placed 46th in the 100 meters with
a time of 12.19 seconds, Condarius
Alford, who placed 20th in the 200
meters with a time of 23.47 seconds,
Malik Davis, who placed 48th in
the 400 meters with a time of 58.07
seconds, Myles Johnson, who placed
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MP senior distance runners Carrie
Neal (left) and Kayley Dale are ex
pected to compete for the Lady Dogs
in the Region 2-AAAA meet starting
Friday. (File photo)
35th in the 800 meters with a time
of 2 minutes, 15 seconds, Ty Brown,
who placed 54th in the 800 meters
with a time of 2 minutes, 26 seconds,
Kenneth Mantle, who placed 62nd in
the 800 meters with a time of 2 min
utes, 32 seconds, Connor Battles, who
placed 40th in the 1,600 meters with
a time of 5 minutes, 4 seconds and
42nd in the 3,200 meters with a time
of 12 minutes, 27 seconds, Jaquez
Watkins, who placed 13 th in the high
jump with a leap of 5 feet, 8 inches
and 14th in the long jump with a leap
of 19 feet, 9 inches, Bralen Harvey,
who placed 15th in the pole vault
with a vault of 9 feet, Nick Joseph,
who placed 26th in the long jump
with a leap of 18 feet, 11 inches and
24th in the triple jump with a leap
of 37 feet, 5 inches, Deadrek Alford,
who placed 21st in the triple jump
with a leap of 38 feet, 5 inches, Daniel
Lavelle, who placed 22nd in the shot
put with a heave of 39 feet, 1 inch and
16th in the discus with a throw of
110 feet, 7 inches, Derrick Goodson,
who placed 28th in the shot put with
a heave of 35 feet, 10 inches and 35th
in the discus with a throw of 80 feet, 8
inches. Also, MP’s No. 1 4 x 100-me-
ter relay team of Deadrek Alford,
Fagan, Ussery and Condarius Alford
placed 16th with a time of 44.41
seconds.
Other boys teams in attendance in
order of highest to lowest finish in
cluded: Alexander, Starrs Mill, Fayette
County, Sandy Creek, Pike County,
Drew, Richmond Hill, Wheeler,
Whitewater, Eastside, Douglas
County, North Cobb, McIntosh,
Rome, Banneker, Allatoona, Paideia,
Spalding, North Springs, Franklin,
Northgate and Druid Hills.
The MP varsity girls track squad
also competed in Fayetteville on
March 30 but failed to score any
See TRACK • Page 2B
FROM THE PRESS BOX
In defense of Masters
champ Patrick Reed
F or a professional golfer, winning The Masters is perhaps
the greatest achievement that can occur in a career short
of induction into the World Golf Hal of Fame.
Masters champions are not only given a Green Jacket
and a lifetime of memories but are also feted with status and rev
erence within the game that are often eternal. The simultaneous
perks and pressures that come with being a Masters champion
are often why it sometimes takes Masters winners time to “come
down” from their immense high. For example, Phil Mickelson
didn’t win a tournament for the rest of the year in 2004 after he
captured his first major. And the last two Masters champions,
Danny Willett and Sergio Garcia, are still seeking their first PGA
Tour wins since they won in 2016 and
2017, respectively.
But usually the Masters champion
at least gets to enjoy a honeymoon
period, where he is widely celebrated by
golf pundits and fans alike for having
reached the pinnacle of his profession.
I’m not sure that is the case for the 2018
champion, Patrick Reed, and I’m not
sure that’s fair.
I first saw Patrick Reed in person at
Monroe County’s Brickyard Country
Club in the fall of2008.1 was in the
midst of studying for my graduate
school comprehensive exams and took
a day off to walk the fairways alongside
the Georgia golf team at a course I once
worked at many years ago. Among the UGA luminaries com
peting that day were four other subsequent PGA Tour winners,
Harris English, Stratford’s own Russell Henley, Brian Harman
and Hudson Swafford. All four of those players were known
commodities in college golf, but the 18-year-old in their midst
remained a mystery. One of the top recruits in UGA golf history,
Reed was late joining the Georgia golf team that year because he
enjoyed a remarkable late summer ran to the semifinals of the
2008 U.S. Amateur. Even at 18, Reed was an imposing physical
presence with an ability to compress a golf ball that few of his
peers could even comprehend.
What could have been a decorated UGA career turned out to
be short-lived as Reed at best mutually parted ways with UGA
coach Chris Haack (at worst, was kicked off the team), and that
day at the Brickyard was one of fewer than a handful of times
Reed suited up for the red and black. A year later, he turned up at
Augusta State, teaming up with FPD alum Taylor Floyd (son of
former MCH CEO Kay Floyd) to win the 2010 NCAA Champi
onships. One year later, Reed had emerged as perhaps the most
clutch performer in college golf, and he got revenge against his
former UGA teammates, beating English for the championship
point in a 2011 title showdown at Oklahoma States home course
Karsten Creek
I never knew why Reed left UGA, but from rumors I heard
about his tumultuous relationships with teammates and coaches
alike, I could have guessed. It really wasn’t until Reed had
established himself as a force on the PGA Tour in 2015 that I
got answers. In a brilliant look at the young guns of the PGA
Tour entitled “Slaying the Tiger” author Shane Ryan reported
that Reed was booted from the UGA golf team for a series of
incidents, including an underage drinking arrest, and more
egregiously, an alleged cheating incident during a UGA qualify
ing tourney.
Since Reed has never publicly refuted (although his associates
threatened Ryan with a lawsuit), one can only imagine that at
least the majority of Ryans claims are true. It’s also widely known
that Reed, who married at 22 years old in 2012, has not spoken
to his parents or younger sister since prior to his wedding.
Reed has done little as a pro to clean up his tainted image, once
calling himself a “Top 5 player in the world” before had ever
competed in a major championship (he’s still never been ranked
higher than 6th), trolling the European fans at a Ryder Cup, get
ting caught uttering a gay slur during a tourney round, playing
a role in his parents being ejected from a U.S. Open round, and
never apologizing for much of any of it
But most of these incidents happened at least four years ago
when Ryan was writing his book, and I thought that most of this
stuff was in the past. Well, as soon as Reed, who made a pair of
spectacular Saturday eagles, took a three-shot lead into Sunday
at Augusta, Reed’s past came right back to the forefront. As I
perused Twitter on Sunday, I was surprised and dismayed by the
vitriol with which Reed was being attacked. One Sunday tweet
from a well-known sports talk radio host stated: “Just a remind
er. Jordan Spieth is annually voted nicest guy on tour. Patrick
Reed hates his own mother)’ while adding the hashtag “gospieth”
Another tweeter wrote: “Patrick Reed is THE most punchable
person I’ve ever seen.” Other posters took to task his portly phy
sique while still others criticized his wife Justine’s flashy attire.
Not many of us who watched the Masters personally know
Patrick Reed. I know that despite his successful Ryder Cup
partnership with Spieth, few of his peers feel like they know
him well either. Reed has elected, as is his right, to go the route
of Tiger Woods and limit his fraternization with his contempo
raries. Reed has a close circle consisting of his wife Justine, caddie
(his brother-in-law), his agent and a few others. It’s fine if he
doesn’t want to be all over Instagram hanging out the beach with
matinee idols Spieth and Rickie Fowler. His job is to win golf
tournaments, and he’s doing a pretty good job of that.
Despite lacking the power of current No. 1 Dustin Johnson,
Reed has emerged as one of the top competitors in the game.
With his exquisite wedge skills and putting prowess, he is a beast
in the Ryder Cup and a rising force in majors. His cutthroat
mindset and Sunday red shirt reminds many of his hero Tiger,
but it also reminds me of several other former golf legends who
were labeled as arrogant or surly in their early days, Payne Stew
art and Lanny Wadkins. Both of those players were killers in
the Ryder Cup, and they managed to combine for a pair of U.S.
Open and a pair of PGA Championship titles. I could easily see
Reed achieving many of the same things down the road.
The alleged cheating incident, the underage drinking arrest
and most of his self-centered comments all happened when he
was still at a formative age for most young men. As for his family
travails, that’s really personal between Reed and his parents even
if gossip hounds like myself might be curious to know more.
Now that he’s proven he can back up his bombast on the course
with a freshly minted green jacket, Reed deserves to be viewed
with a blank slate by the public. He didn’t cheat to win this major.
He grabbed it by the throat from playing partner Rory Mcllroy
and never let up. If he screws up again, then the hating public
will get its chance to say, “I told you so.”
But for now, Patrick Reed is the 2018 Masters champion. He’ll
be the one making the talk show rounds and selecting next year’s
champions dinner menu. He earned it, and he deserves all of it.
Everyone else can deal with it.