Mary Persons again mourning the loss of a student, baseball player

          For the second time in less than a year in a half, Mary Persons and Forsyth are mourning the death of a high school student and baseball player in a car wreck.

          Senior Caden Swancey was pronounced dead at the scene of his one-car accident Friday morning on the 3100 block of Juliette Road, almost halfway between Forsyth and Juliette.

          The accident occurred around 7:30 a.m. Swancey’s Lincoln Navigator ran off the road, over-corrected, and struck a tree at the bottom of an embankment. He was ejected.

          Swancey was a catcher and pitcher for the Bulldogs, earning honorable mention all-state Class AAA last year by the Georgia Dugout Preview and first-team All-Region 2-AAA last spring.

          In June of 2020, rising junior Dillon McCoy died in a single-vehicle accident on Highway 42 south of town. McCoy played baseball and football at Mary Persons. A prayer vigil was held at the school’s baseball field a day after his death.

          A similar memorial has been started at the field.

          Mary Persons head baseball coach Clae Mathis said in a Facebook post Friday paid tribute to No. 6.

          “Caden Swancey was my guy, Mathis wrote. “I’ve gone to war with him, for him, and about him. He was Mary Persons Baseball’s heart and soul. We were always thankful that he was on our side.

          “Today has been unbelievably difficult, and the days to come will be just as difficult. Please pray for his parents and his siblings, pray for his teammates, his friends, and everyone who knew him. …

“Caden, we will miss you , everyone who knew you loved you. I’ll love you forever number 6.”