The Clinch County Panthers are on top of the Class A world. After claiming their second state championship since 2010 and fourth since 2002, the team is primed to make another run at the mountain. While many names have come and gone, including current University of Georgia freshman Chauncey Manac, there are still powerhouses manning the field for the Panthers. In particular, three offensive threats are ready to leave their legacy on the program. In the Game spoke with Shannon Young, Charles McClelland, and Trezman Marshall regarding their athletic backgrounds, current statuses with the Panthers, and their respective football and academic futures after graduation.
Shannon Young
As a senior for the Panthers, Shannon Young has an expectation to lead. As a running back, he knows that he plays a tremendous role in bolstering the offense.
“I picked this game up around 9 or 10 years old,” Young said. “It was my friends. They all played; I played. It was the thing to do. And those bonds are irreplaceable.”
As a junior, Young was named Class 2-A Co-Offensive Player of the Year for a Panthers team that went 13-1 and claimed the GHSA Class A Public State Championship in a 24-7 win over Irwin County on Dec. 11, 2015. His output last season also earned him a spot on the All-State First Team.
“To bring home a state title was amazing,” Young said. “There have been some great names to play in (Clinch County). And now, with this championship, our names are up there.”
Young knows that being a leader is more of an action than anything. He acknowledges that the team has moments of slack. However, there is a key reason that the team understands that focus is a 24-hour necessity to be a champion.
“Coach Dickerson,” Young said. “He expects a lot out of us. And we don’t want to let him down. He doesn’t hesitate to let us know what he expects from us, and we want to make him proud.”
Off the field, Young is also a leader in the classroom. An A/B Honor Roll student, he maintains a 3.3 GPA and recently earned a 900 (450 reading/writing, 450 math) on the SAT. He plans to attend college, and although he is currently unsure of the location, he knows that he would like to study sports medicine.
“I’m thinking possibly Kennesaw State,” Young said. “I’ve got some close friends that attend the school, so I believe that would help me in the transition to the next level of my education.”
But for the time being, the number one priority is bringing another title to Homerville. The friends that he made when he first fell in love with the game are still on the field; they have been teammates for as long as he can remember. He looks at his comrades in uniform as his family, as brothers with a common goal.
“Bottom line, we want another one,” Young said. “But it’s going to take work. I know it won’t be easy, and the team knows that too. We have to be confident, and we have to play hard.”
Trezman Marshall
A broken collarbone was believed to have ended the 2015 season of current sophomore Trezman Marshall. On the last padded practice day before a matchup against Wilcox County (which the Panthers would go on to win 66-18), the diagnosis was made that Marshall’s injury could potentially keep him out through the entire postseason.
“I was speechless,” Marshall said. “I wanted to play so bad. Once I started feeling better, I went back and forth, begging my mom to let me get back out there. I wasn’t quite 100 percent, maybe about 75 (percent), but I owed it to this team. I finally talked her into letting me suit back up, and I was able to contribute to our team.”
And contribute he did. In Marshall’s first game back from injury, a home contest against Charlton County (Folkston, Georgia), he scored two touchdowns that would prove to be the only points on the board for the Panthers in a 14-7 victory for Clinch County.
In 2015, he played quarterback, slightly hampered because of his early injury. However, this season, Marshall is seeing more time on the other side of the line of scrimmage.
“I’ve been playing more at linebacker this year,” Marshall said. “The team needs my help on defense, so that’s where I’m going. At the end of the day, I want to win, and I’m playing wherever is necessary for that to happen.”
Last year’s team only lost one game. Ironically, the fourth-week road loss to Irwin County would prove to be the ultimate motivation for the future champions.
“The Irwin game really opened our eyes,” Marshall said. “The mistakes that we made in that game were a result of our laziness in practice. It forced everybody to take initiative and hustle harder. It’ll be harder this year. It always is for defending champs. But if we give it our all, we do believe it can be done.”
College is definitely on the radar for the young star; however, he is currently undecided on where he will be going.
“Honestly, I’ll go anywhere as long as I can start,” Marshall said. “I’ve got the PSAT coming up soon, and I’m looking into programs that I can possibly play in college. On the field, I’m working hard to get faster. But in the end, I know I will go to college. That’s not a question.”
Charles McClelland
Falling in love with the game early in life was an easy task for Clinch County junior Charles McClelland. Originally from Douglas, Georgia, he watched his older brother suit up for Coffee County and immediately envisioned himself doing the same.
Eight years ago his family made the transition to Homerville, and while McClelland is in uniform for the Panthers rather than the Trojans, his pride shines the same.
“I have to make explosive plays to get the team going,” McClelland said. “Execution is key; I believe that I can be that spark that the team needs at crucial moments.”
When Trezman Marshall went down early in the 2015 season, then-sophomore McClelland was appointed his replacement under center for the Panthers. His appointment came with its share of scrutiny. Some doubted that he would be able to hold up the standard that Marshall had left.
In the end, however, McClelland’s performances proved everyone’s qualms wrong.
“Last year ‘Trez’ was our starter until he got hurt,” McClelland said. “When he went down, a lot of people were unsure of what I could do. They doubted I could cover for him. But I did what I had to do. I stepped up, and I showed up.”
Showing up is quite the understatement. In the four weeks that Marshall missed with his injury, McClelland spearheaded a Panther offense that went on an onslaught, going 4-0 during the span and averaging 49 points per game in that time.
His contributions earned him a spot on the All-State Team as an honorable mention, and more importantly, he helped catapult his team to a season that capped off with a title.
“It’s an amazing feeling,” McClelland said. “Everybody knows your name. Everywhere you go, you’re recognized. It’s hard to describe just how great it feels.”
Like his teammates, McClelland looks forward to a collegiate career after graduating from Clinch County. He currently has interest from Tulane, which has already made an offer, and Georgia Tech, but has yet to make a decision. He does know that he would like to focus on a future in either computers or business.
“I’m fast, and I play hard,” McClelland said. “I love this game, bottom line, and I know that it can help me off the field too. I believe that this game gives me an opportunity to really make something of myself.”
ITG Web Content
New Year, Same Mission: Clinch County Standouts Aim To Bring Another Title Home
Written by James A. Washington
Photo by Micki K Photography
