The Clinton Dark Horses’ postseason run came to an end Tuesday night in the 4A East Regional, falling 2–1 on the road to the Southwestern Randolph Cougars after a scoreless first half.
Both teams went into halftime locked in a 0–0 defensive battle, with Clinton matching the Cougars stride for stride in a physical, tightly contested opening period. But after the break, Southwestern Randolph — who had won the previous meeting — capitalized on their chances, building a lead the Horses couldn’t fully erase.
Clinton struck first with a second-half goal, but back-to-back goals put the Cougars ahead, and the equalizer never materialized. With the loss, the Dark Horses close an exceptional season at 25–3 overall, including 9–2 on the road and a flawless 10–0 conference run.
A complete, in-depth story with coach reaction and a full breakdown of the match will appear in Saturday’s edition of and will be available seven days later on clintonnc.com.