Panthers Defeat Portal by 20 Points in 2026 GHSA Class 1A-Division II Title Game Under Head Coach Terrence George
The Clinch County High School boys basketball program won its first state championship in 37 years with a dominating 20-point win over Portal in the GHSA Class 1A-Division II title game earlier this year.
It was the third state title in the history of the school’s boys basketball program and the first under head coach Terrence George, who served as the Clinch County girls basketball head coach prior to taking over the boys program 11 years ago.
George said he thought the success of last year’s 22-win season and the overall returning talent meant this year could be even better.
“Yeah, I thought we may have a chance to be a pretty good team, but our goal was to go out and repeat as region champs,” George said.
Clinch had won its region in 2024-25 with an undefeated 14-0 record, and the team wanted to see if it was capable of doing it for a second straight season.
According to George, the team’s goals changed after the midway point of the season when a big win caused the Panthers to reconsider just how good they could be the rest of the way.
Win Over Coffee County Becomes Turning Point of Clinch County’s 2026 Championship Season
“The turning point of our season came when we beat Coffee County on January 24,” George said. “We had played them earlier in the season, and they beat us, so when we played them again, we beat them this time, and that was a real eye-opening experience for us.”
After falling to the Class 5A Trojans 69-51 on Jan. 6, Clinch rallied in the second meeting three weeks later and defeated Coffee County 61-47.
George said the team used that game as a motivating factor for the rest of the season. It gave the Panthers a new focus and a major boost of confidence.
“If we could play like that the rest of the season, we felt we had a good chance at going a long way,” George said.
The Panthers won 10 of their next 11 regular-season games, including the region title game over Turner County, to reach their initial goal.
Once they reached the state playoffs, the team took their renewed focus and stormed through each of the four rounds until reaching the state championship, where they did not slow down, defeating Portal by 20 points in a 63-43 win.
