Warhorses fall short in Cherryville comeback bid
Owen Rides Emotional Roller Coaster in 28-27 Road Loss
Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
August 30, 2025
A dramatic comeback was within reach, Aug. 29, as Owen broke its offensive huddle and set itself into position for a 2-point conversion attempt with 24.7 seconds on the clock in Cherryville’s Rudisill Stadium.
As a sweep to the right side was met by a crowd of Ironmen defenders around the 2-yard-line, the Warhorses fell short, 28-27, in the first meeting of the programs.
The ending marked a bitter end to a contest in which Owen battled back from an early 21-0 deficit, rallying for two touchdowns within a minute and 35 seconds before the half. The Warhorses, led by 175 rushing yards on 13 carries from senior Hayden Burpeau, tied the score, 21-21, midway through the third quarter.
The stage was set for a climactic final frame, in which Cherryville, capped a 45-yard drive with a direct snap to junior Javarius McElhaney, who scampered up the middle for his third rushing touchdown of the night. Junior quarterback Emmett Minks began Owen’s final drive on his own 16-yard-line, before Burpeau put his team into the opponent’s territory with a 47-yard run along an animated Warhorse sideline.
Facing fourth down with 4 yards to go and 30 seconds left in the game, Minks tossed the ball to Burpeau, who rolled to his right and found sophomore Slade Gardner in the corner of the end zone. The Warhorses, given an opportunity to clinch their second victory of the young season, elected to attempt a potential game-winning 2-point conversion in the closing seconds.
The loss was difficult to accept, Owen head coach John Faircloth said.
“I have to look at myself first. There are some calls I wish I had back, and some situational stuff I probably should’ve handled differently,” he said. “I’m really proud of the effort of our kids tonight, but they just made one more play than we did.”
The Warhorses entered the contest following a 35-0 victory over Rosman in week 1, while the Ironmen hosted their home opener after a season debut in which they scored 68 points. The Owen defense, however, held Cherryville leading rusher Jackson Heavner, who ran for 262 yards in the opener, to 68 yards on 18 carries.
After a slow start to the first road game of their campaign, Faircloth’s team was determined to battle back.
“We didn’t play particularly well in the first quarter, and our guys seemed tired early in the second,” he said. “But, these players fought as admirably as they could, despite us getting ourselves in a hole early on.”
The Owen offense found the end zone four times against Cherryville, with rushing touchdowns from Burpeau, Minks, junior running back Stephen Anderson and Gardner’s last-minute reception. In addition to the touchdown pass and run he recorded, Burpeau was also a major factor on special teams, where he recovered his own onside kick in the waning seconds of the first half to set up a scoring drive. Sophomore lineman Camden McDonald also notched the first blocked punt of his career in the third quarter.
While losing an emotionally charged contest can be difficult, the Warhorses are ready to focus on their upcoming road game against 0-1 Patton, which begins at 7:30 p.m., Friday, Sept. 5.
“I told them we can’t let this game define us,” Faircloth said, following the loss. “To me, a big reason I wanted this game was to create somewhat of a playoff atmosphere with a long road trip against a team we’ve never seen before. We faced some adversity before we even got on the field, but our goals are still in reach.
“Now, we have to see what was the purpose of the hunt here,” he continued. “Making the playoffs is still in reach, we just had a minor setback. It starts with me, I just have to have us ready to play.”
Photos of the Owen game against Cherryville can be viewed in the gallery at the top of the page.