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Ironmen Sports

Ironmen Fall to Lincolnton 61-25 in Conference Football Opener

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By: Roger Sigmon - Wise News Network

Lincolnton, NC (WNN) - Cherryville had the unfortunate scheduling of facing the Lincolnton Wolves in the conference opener for both teams. Lincolnton is currently 3-0 and 1-0 and has outscored its opponents 146-50 in the first three games. Those games were against quality opponents; they beat Maiden 30-10, North Lincoln 55-15, and now Cherryville 61-25. The Ironmen have scored half of the points that the Lincolnton defense has surrendered thus far this season. The Wolves and the Ironmen both have explosive offenses, and this game basically came down to a few mental mistakes, turnovers, and depth.

The game was played at Von Ray Harris Field at Lincolnton Memorial Stadium. Game time temperature was near 90 degrees at kick off and hovered around 88 for most of the game. The crowd was estimated at around 1,000 people, and many of them traveled from Cherryville and were very vocal in the early stages of the game. The Ironmen came out red hot, taking the opening kickoff down the field on a quick strike for a touchdown when Jayden Adams hit Enijahe Whitworth in stride for 40 yards. The Cole Kelly point after made it 7-0.

Fuller and Co Construction” style=

Cherryville High School vs Lincolnton High School - Von Ray Harris Field at Lincolnton Memorial Stadium - Lincolnton, NC - September 4, 2026
Cherryville High School vs Lincolnton High School - Von Ray Harris Field at Lincolnton Memorial Stadium - Lincolnton, NC - September 4, 2026
Mason Beam (WNN)

On Lincolnton’s first possession, the drive was extended by a late hit out of bounds on Cherryville. Rashad Lynch fumbled the snap but gathered the ball and, after eluding 3 defenders, threw a 35-yard strike for the Wolves’ first score. The kick missed, and Cherryville led 7-6. Jackson Heavner made his return tonight after a series of injuries last season that sidelined him for the latter half of the season. His return was delayed due to some obligations he had to fulfill with the U.S. Army. Heavner ripped off a 60-yard touchdown run on the Ironmen’s second possession, a penalty forced a retry on the point after, which was no good. Cherryville’s lead was 13-6. The joy was short-lived as Lincolnton’s Jeremiah Thompson returned the kickoff to the 28 of Cherryville, and Jarvis Littlejohn ran it in from there. After the successful 2-point conversion the Wolves had their first lead of the night at 14-13.

Ironmen #5 - Jackson Heavner - Cherryville vs Lincolnton - Von Ray Harris Field at Lincolnton Memorial Stadium - Lincolnton, NC - September 4th, 2026
Ironmen #5 - Jackson Heavner - Cherryville vs Lincolnton - Von Ray Harris Field at Lincolnton Memorial Stadium - Lincolnton, NC - September 4th, 2026
Rusty Wise (WNN)

WNN’s Rusty Wise asked Jackson Heavner his thoughts on being back and how the night went.

“I thought that in the first quarter we were definitely with them the whole tie. We showed them that we can compete. Then, after that, I thought we got in our heads and got too comfortable, and we just kind of lost it a little bit as a team. By the time we got down, we just kept losing it and losing it, and by the time we tried to pick it up, we were a little bit behind and had to play catch-up ball.”  
- Jackson Heavner

The Great Outdoors” style=

In the second quarter, the fast-paced scoring slowed as the teams traded possessions a few times. Cherryville had a good drive that ended inside the Wolves’ 10-yard line by an interception. The teams traded possessions again. Rashad Lynch launched a bomb from his own 35 to Messiah Thompson who was tackled at the Cherryville 2. Jarvis Littlejohn scored on a 2-yard run, but the 2-point attempt failed, and Lincolnton led 20-13. Rashad Lynch launched another missile to RJ Lynch for a 70-yard touchdown on the next drive; the Darey Trejo kick pushed the lead to 27-13. Cherryville had to punt and Rashad Lynch again hit RJ Lynch for a touchdown, this one for 27 yards and the missed kicked gave Lincolnton a comfortable 33-13 halftime lead.

Rashad Lynch with Jackson Heavner defending - Cherryville High School vs Lincolnton High School - Von Ray Harris Field at Lincolnton Memorial Stadium - Lincolnton, NC - September 4, 2026
Rashad Lynch with Jackson Heavner defending - Cherryville High School vs Lincolnton High School - Von Ray Harris Field at Lincolnton Memorial Stadium - Lincolnton, NC - September 4, 2026
Mason Beam (WNN)

The second half kickoff was taken by Lincolnton for a nice return. Rashad Lynch kept the ball for an 8-yard touchdown run, Darey Trejo added the point after, and the Wolves raced ahead 40-13. Cherryville turned the ball over on a fumble that Lincolnton recovered at the Ironmen 45. Jarvis Littlejohn scampered 45 yards to score, and the kick was good, giving Lincolnton a 47-13 margin. Lincolnton’s Caedon Cash then took a pick six 20 yards for a 54-13 lead after the Trejo kick. The Ironmen refused to fold when Elijah Proctor scored on a touchdown run, but the point after was no good, and Cherryville trailed 54-19. The fourth quarter began with a dagger as the kickoff was returned 90 yards for a touchdown. After the kick the score was now 61-19. Lincolnton recovered the onside kick but fumbled on the first play, and Cherryville recovered the ball. The drive ended with a Jackson Heavner touchdown run, but the kick was no good, resulting in the final score of 61-25.

Elijah Proctor bringing the ball closer to the endzone - Cherryville High School vs Lincolnton High School - Von Ray Harris Field at Lincolnton Memorial Stadium - Lincolnton, NC - September 4, 2026
Elijah Proctor bringing the ball closer to the endzone - Cherryville High School vs Lincolnton High School - Von Ray Harris Field at Lincolnton Memorial Stadium - Lincolnton, NC - September 4, 2026
Mason Beam (WNN)

As he continued to interview Jackson Heavner after the game, WNN’s Rusty Wise asked him about scoring the second touchdown and playing on artificial turf.

“I just wanted to get in the endzone, get in there one more time to show it is possible, that no matter what, I’m not going to give up. The turf, I think, makes you faster, but it’s hard to get your grip, so whenever you cut up and down the field, it’s harder to plant, and that gives you a little bit of instability. I think we need to work on being leaders and stepping up and just showing that we can compete with everybody, and people have got to stop doubting us, so that transfers to practice, and when it comes to practice, we just got to show it out there, so that transfers to the field as well. Getting better and getting better, learning to teach myself how to lead this team more so I can help everybody else.”

- Jackson Heavner

Ironmen Head Coach Patrick Bowman (center) - Cherryville vs Lincolnton - Von Ray Harris Field at Lincolnton Memorial Stadium - Lincolnton, NC - September 4th, 2026
Ironmen Head Coach Patrick Bowman (center) - Cherryville vs Lincolnton - Von Ray Harris Field at Lincolnton Memorial Stadium - Lincolnton, NC - September 4th, 2026
Rusty Wise (WNN)

Scooters Coffee” style=

Wise also interviewed Coach Bowman. He asked the coach to discuss the team’s quick start and then its unraveling.

“Well, you know, as you said, I thought we came out hot, hit big plays in the beginning. Lincolnton is a very good football team and against a very good football team we can’t shoot ourselves in the foot. I obviously felt like we missed some opportunities, but they’re a really good football team, they’re very well coached, you know it’s our job to come out here and compete, and we’ve got to do a better job when we get a chance to do a good job. I’m proud of our guys, like I said, that’s a very good football team. I thought our guys played tough, obviously I thought some fatigue set in, that we can address. Overall, you know, proud of our guys’ effort, we just got to clean up some mental mistakes.”
- Coach Bowman

Rusty pointed out that they were able to put some points on the board, which had been a point of struggle last season.

Coach Bowman stated, “We did, and you know we’re very explosive on offense, obviously, you know I felt like we could have scored some more tonight. We missed some shots, overall, I mean people ask me all week do you know how to control their offense, but a lot of times the response was you know they’ve got to worry about us too. We can play too, proud of our guys, we got to clean up some stuff, and we’ll get back to work this weekend and get back to practicing next week and see what happens next week.”

Next week's home game is against the Highland Tech Rams, and it will also serve as Cherryville's Homecoming game. Coach Bowman was asked to address how he would approach the week to prepare the team.

“Well, you know, we’ll treat it like every other week. We’ll be back at work; coaches will work all weekend; players will come in on Monday for regular practice. We’ll approach it like every other game, knowing homecoming is a big deal for us, but like I said, another game, and we’re going to try to put our best foot forward next Friday and get back on the right track and hope to get back on our goal of being 1-0 every week.”

- Coach Bowman

Kickoff for the homecoming game will be 7:30 pm in Rudisill Stadium.

Game Gallery:

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