No. 14 Owen Squares Off Against No. 19 Union Academy in opening round of State Playoffs

Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
November 4, 2025

The last time the lights in Warhorse Stadium were turned on for a Friday night first-round postseason matchup, legendary Owen head coach Kenny Ford was patrolling the sideline, while 2015 graduate Jager Gardner led his team to an 88-32 victory over Lake Norman Charter.

In the 11 years that followed, four head coaches and scores of players have endeavored to bring playoff football back to the Swannanoa Valley, but in his second year, John Faircloth will lead his Warhorses onto the field at 7 p.m., Friday, Nov. 7, when No. 14 Owen hosts No. 19 Union Academy to kick off the 2025 NCHSAA 3A State Football Playoffs.

Most of the student-athletes on the current roster were in kindergarten during the last dominant era of Warhorse football, which was followed by a series of seasons in which the team finished under .500. Owen was absent from the postseason under former head coach and current assistant principal Nathan Padgett until 2018, when it fell on the road to the eventual champion, Reidsville, following a 4-6 regular season performance. The next season, the No. 9 Warhorses entered the playoffs with a 7-4 mark, earning a victory on the road against West Stanly, before falling to No. 1 seed Mountain Heritage.

While Owen made it back to the postseason in 2021, the team’s 4-7 season was ended again by an opening round road loss to another eventual state champion, Shelby.

The program was coming off a combined record of 3-17 in two seasons when Faircloth accepted the vacant head coach position in January of 2024. His first season, interrupted by Tropical Storm Helene, resulted in a 1-8 mark. This year, led by a core of players that includes seniors Hayden Burpeau, Haiden Small, Rio Obispo, Tru Davis and Houston Mashburn, the Warhorses finished the regular season, 5-5, marking the team’s best showing in six years.

The players and coaching staff were confident the program would improve this season, after graduating only three seniors, but entered the campaign with “realistic goals.”

“We had a lot of things in place from last season, like the culture, and we were much further ahead, as far as our playbook and installation, than we were last year,” the coach said. “I didn’t really know how much better we were going to be. Better could have been one more win, but in this case it was four more.”

The program has been focused on the process of consistently improving since last year, Faircloth added.

“We just kept our goals realistic, and we didn’t come into the season with a goal of winning a certain number of games,” he said. “We set goals, and as we achieved each one, we then set the bar a little higher. These kids really responded to that.”

Owen opened the campaign with a 35-0 victory over Rosman, followed by a dramatic 28-27 loss on the road in Cherryville, where the team elected to line up for a 2-point conversion with no time left on the clock. While they came up short of the goal line, the Warhorses were back on the winning side the next week at Patton.

A 17-14 victory in Polk County, where a late 40-yard field goal by Burpeau boosted Owen over the Wolverines, gave the Warhorses their first Western Highlands Conference win since 2023. While the program ended its regular season, Oct. 31, with a 42-6 loss on the road against No. 1 seed Mountain Heritage, the Warhorses played winning football for the duration of the campaign.

The versatility of Burpeau, a starting wide receiver, defensive back, punter and kicker who finished the season with 1,141 all-purpose yards, has been “huge” for Owen, according to Faircloth. The Warhorse leader in rushing yards, with 607 on 62 carries, and receiving yards, with 205 on 9 receptions, has connected on 20 extra point attempts and thrown two touchdown passes.

“I try not to even think about him not being back next year,” the coach said of the senior. “He’s such an athlete and a good football player. He loves this game and wants to be the best he can be. He’s also a kid you can trust in a critical situation.”

The multi-talented player, who has recorded 12 touchbacks on kickoffs and punted the ball inside the opposing 20-yard line on 7 of 24 punt attempts, is one of three defenders with an interception this season. Burpeau also returned a fumble for a touchdown.

Younger players like junior running back and linebacker Stephen Anderson and junior quarterback Emmett Minks have demonstrated remarkable growth in 2025, as well. Anderson leads the Warhorses in rushing touchdowns with 12, while also leading his team with 132 carries, for a total of 573 yards. Two of his 6 receptions this season have been for touchdowns.

“He’s been very unselfish, because a lot of opponents have keyed in on him and tried to take him away,” Faircloth said. “Every yard he has gained this year has been earned. He’s played a lot of snaps for us, and I’m really looking forward to seeing him progress.”

Minks, who orchestrates the triple-option offensive attack, passed for 435 yards and 5 touchdowns, while rushing for 357 yards and 4 touchdowns in the regular season.

“His upside is his downfall, in the fact that he’s such a coachable kid and he wants to do everything perfectly,” Faircloth said. “For us, we want him to understand it’s OK for him to go rogue sometimes, in his position, and everything doesn’t always have to look like how we drew it up. He’s really earning everybody’s trust out there.”

Another senior receiver, Small, has found the end zone three times this season, while seven Warhorses have registered offensive touchdowns for the program.

Defensively, junior safety Emerson Autrey leads Owen with 75 total tackles, while the linebacker, Davis, has recorded 70. Junior linebacker Bear Dasher is the team’s sack leader with 3.5 and 3 hurries. None of those statistics, according to Faircloth, tell the complete story of the program’s turnaround this season.

“This year, we were plus-4 in takeaways, last year we were minus-7,” he said. “Last season, we converted 30% of our third downs, but this year we’re at 41%. Then, defensively, opponents have converted about 35% of their third-down conversions against us, while last year, it was almost half, at 48%.”

Those tangible improvements reflect the team’s ability to respond appropriately to critical situations, according to the coach.

“We’ve blocked 8 extra points this year, and we’re around 7 of 8 on 2-point conversion attempts,” Faircloth said. “All of those little hidden details are much better this year than they were a season ago. That’s really where we’ve exceeded expectations, and more importantly, it’s something we can build on.”

The Warhorses are also hoping to check another previously undeclared goal off their list by winning a playoff game at home. They will get their chance when the 4-6 Cardinals arrive in the Swannanoa Valley.

“This is a unique opportunity to play one more game, and it’s really special to do that here in the Valley,” Faircloth said. “I’m telling our players they have one opportunity to play the best game they have ever played, keep their foot on the gas and go to bed Friday night, happy with whatever they left on the field.”

Photos of Owen’s final regular season game against Mountain Heritage can be viewed in the gallery in the middle of the page.

Warhorses to host postseason football for first time in 11 years

No. 14 Owen Squares Off Against No. 19 Union Academy in opening round of State Playoffs