Sunday, October 25, 2026
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Cherryville, NC (WNN) - The Stuart W. Cramer Storm were able to tame the explosive offense of the visiting Cherryville Ironmen in a 42-14 victory on October 23, 2026. Cherryville had some opportunities to score in the first half but failed to capitalize. The Storm made that even more difficult by achieving 15 tackles for losses. Cherryville was also without the services of its leading rusher, Jackson Heavner. J.J. McElhaney did an admirable job filling in for him; however, the two athletes’ style of play complements each other, and the offense is more productive with both players available. Defensively Cherryville played solidly early, only allowing two big plays and one sustained scoring drive. Unfortunately, that was too much for Cherryville to overcome.
The Storm improved to 7-2 and 5-2 while Cherryville dropped to 5-4 and 3-4. Next week, the Ironmen will close out the regular season with a home finale against rival Bessemer City. No matter the records, this matchup is almost always a dog fight. The NCHSAA playoffs begin the following week; seeding will be announced next weekend. Cherryville needs a win to finish with a winning record of 6-4 and a chance at a first-round bye. Bessemer City would like nothing better than to deny them that opportunity. Kickoff will be at 7:30 pm in Rudisill Stadium.
Normally, Cherryville comes out hot to open a game, but tonight failed to move the ball on the opening possession and had to punt. Stuart W. Cramer returned the punt to Cherryville’s 34. They immediately put the Ironmen in a hole with a one-play touchdown strike as Brayden Fortenberry ran untouched for the first score of the game and a 7-0 Storm lead. Cherryville put together a good drive that ended with a missed 38-yard field goal attempt. Stuart Cramer was moving the ball when they fumbled, and John Hedgepeth recovered the ball for Cherryville. As the second quarter was getting underway, the Ironmen turned it over on downs. Neither team could get anything going on their next possessions. The Storm then scored on a 42-yard reception by Cody Alexander and a 14-0 lead. The Ironmen appeared poised to cut the lead in half after a first-and-goal from the 8, but a miscue and a sack led to an eventual turnover on downs. The Storm put together a long drive that was capped off by a J.J. Alexander touchdown run from inside the 5, just before the break, to give Cramer a 21-0 halftime lead.
The Storm had deferred the opening kickoff, so they received the ball to begin the second half. They took advantage of the size differential in the teams and began to wear down the Ironmen, who have many players who play both ways. Qualteau Hawkins caught an 11-yard touchdown pass to give them a 28-0 lead and put Cherryville in a deep hole early. After forcing Cherryville to punt, they scored again on a rushing touchdown, extending the lead to 35-0 and triggering a running clock. A couple of punts by each team finished the third quarter. The Ironmen opened the fourth quarter with a 78-yard pass from Jayden Adams to Enijahe Whitworth for a touchdown, cutting the lead to 35-7. The Storm answered with a 27-yard touchdown pass to Kyndrell Rankin and a 42-7 lead. Cherryville’s final score came from J.J. McElhaney on a run from 13 yards out and a final score of 42-14.
After the game, WNN’s Rusty Wise interviewed Coach Patrick Bowman and several players. There were bright spots even in a disappointing loss. Coach and players gave their take on the game and talked about the upcoming rivalry match with Bessemer City and the playoffs after that.
Elijah Proctor WR/LB: He was asked about some of the bright spots of the game and how he thought it went overall. “Yes sir, you know we came out strong, we let one thing go wrong, we all fell apart. We can’t start pointing fingers because we got to play together and finish the game.” He went on to talk about preparations for the Bessmer City game. “We got to attack each day of the week, be strong, no let-ups, so it comes Friday, it’s a big game next Friday, it’s a rival game, and you know we got to beat them to keep the belt. Like I said, we got to attack each day strong and keep up the good work.”
Coach Bowman: He expressed his thoughts on the night. “First off that’s a good football team, they do a lot of things right, a lot of things good. I felt like we came out a little flat, in the first half felt like we put some drives together especially 20-20, just couldn’t put it together to get in the end zone. Thought our defense played well early and kept it in a tight game. I thought we got a little tired right before the half and gave up one.” Coach also talked about the upcoming game with Bessemer City. “No rah-rah speech needed for next week. Obviously, think they’re a good football team. Got to have our best week, can’t get caught up too much in how big a rivalry it is, and go play our game. Seedings come out next weekend (for playoffs), and that’s when the real season begins.”
Enijahe Whitworth WR/RB: He had a big night with 141 yards receiving and a touchdown. He was asked how he felt about the performance and what they can work on. “I’m feeling alright, I feel like we should have put more points on the board. I feel like we should have played better. We didn’t execute; we definitely should work on that. We’re going to keep practicing and do our jobs.”
#5 Jackson Heavner standing behind his team before the game - Cherryville High School vs. Stuart W. Cramer High School Football - Stuart Cramer Stadium - Belmont, NC - October 23, 2026
Mason Beam (WNN)
Jackson Heavner RB: He missed the game due to an injury suffered during last week’s game and tweaked in practice this week. Rusty asked him what it was like watching the game. “It felt weird being on the sideline. I’ll be back next week for Bessemer City. I think we’re going to make a deep run, especially with a healthy team. For a few rounds, I think we can really show out this year.”
Landry Pruitt LB/HB: He was asked about the matchup tonight. “We knew coming in they were going to be the biggest team we played, but we knew they weren’t as physical as some of the teams we play like Burns and Shelby. We tried to be more physical than them and I think after the first drive we were more physical than them. Just little mistakes, shooting ourselves in the foot, missed tackles, offsides, stuff like that. There wasn’t many penalties, most of our little mistakes that happened were missed tackles, blocking assignments, dropped balls. It was just the little things like that cost us the game.” He was a big part of the defense being more physical as he made 8 tackles and broke up a pass play. His final comments were on the Bessmer City game and the playoffs. “We’re to go in there and win. We’re definitely going to try to be more physical than them, more aggressive than them. We’re going to try to shut them down in the first half. Hopefully, we get out of there, we get a comfortable lead, and hopefully we can go finish the season 6-4 before the playoffs.”
The Ironmen close out the regular season on October 30 at home versus Bessemer City, the longest continuous rivalry in Gaston County. After that, they will await the NCHSAA’s announcement for the playoff seeding and pairings. It has been 92 years since Cherryville won its only state football title, and this squad has one goal: to end the drought.
See the full game gallery here.
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