Thursday, October 1, 2026
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Boonville, NC (WNN) - Coming off a big win last week, the 6-5 Ironmen traveled to Boonville, NC, to take on the 8-2 Rams of Starmount in the second round of the NCHSAA football playoffs. Cherryville was hoping to use a strong defense and a grinding run game to upend the number two-seeded Rams. The Rams' defense dictated that Cherryville go more to a passing attack. The game was close until about midway through the second quarter, then turnovers and penalties reared their ugly head. Starmount would win 56-7 to end the season of the much-improved Ironmen. Cherryville's final record is 6-6.
Ironmen walking to the coin toss - Cherryville at Starmount - Round 2 NCHSAA Playoffs - November 14th, 2025
Rusty Wise (WNN)
Cherryville received the opening kickoff. Enijahe Whitworth returned it to around midfield. The Rams' stout defense kept the Ironmen in check and forced a fumble on fourth down, which Starmount recovered at the Cherryville 42. Kevin Propst would run it in from the two-yard line to put Starmount on the scoreboard first. Ryley Rodriguez shanked the point-after attempt, keeping the score 6-0 in favor of the Rams as 7:24 remained in the first quarter. After stopping the Ironmen, Starmount would go ahead 14-0 after Jymir Billips' touchdown run and a two-point conversion with 5:43 remaining in the quarter. Cherryville put together an impressive drive, highlighted by a big gain on a pitch and throw from Jayden Adams to JJ McElhany that ended near the goal line. After a few penalties, the Ironmen scored from 10 yards out when Talon Dalton caught a pass from Jayden Adams. Cole Kelly added the extra point to close the score to 14-7. Deuce Best would throw a 79-yard touchdown pass to increase the score for Starmount. After the Ryley Rodriguez kick, they now led 21-7 with 1:13 left in the first. The Ironmen were driving as the quarter expired.
The quarter began with Cherryville at their own 49 with a second and five. The Ironmen could not move the ball and turned it over on downs. Starmount was driving deep into Cherryville territory when they would fumble, and Cherryville would recover on the 5-yard line. Aided by some good passes and a few timely Starmount penalties, it appeared Cherryville would sustain a drive. The Rams would toughen their defense and end the drive as the Ironmen punted. Starmount wasted no time as they would score on a long touchdown pass from Deuce Best. Rodriguez added the point after the kick to extend the lead to 28-7. Murphy's Law seemed to take hold after this. Jayden Adams would have a pass intercepted by Landry Mathis; his teammate Aamir Adams would score on a 7-yard pass from Deuce Best. The kick was good, making the score 35-7. A Cherryville fumbled exchange would lead to a scoop and score by Troy Hernandez, as Starmount began to pull away with the game, now leading 42-7 at the half.
The Ironmen Score a touchdown - Cherryville at Starmount - Round 2 NCHSAA Playoffs - November 14th, 2025
Rusty Wise (WNN)
At the half, Cherryville had recorded 22 yards rushing and 85 yards passing/receiving. They had made six first downs. Jymir Billips rushed for 89 yards for Starmount, and Quarterback Deuce Best rushed for one touchdown and threw for two others. His passing total was over 100 yards.
Talon Dalton #46 in for the Ironmen touch down - Cherryville at Starmount - Round 2 NCHSAA Playoffs - November 14th, 2025
Rusty Wise (WNN)
The second half kickoff was taken by Starmount. The Rams would drive down the field, highlighted by a 70-yard pass. Jymir Billips would score from 3 yards as the Rams now went ahead 49-7. They would add one more touchdown as the quarter was winding down. This would prove to be the last score of the night as the running clock would aid in a scoreless fourth quarter. Final Score Starmount 56, Cherryville 7. This game ended much differently than Cherryville would have liked, yet it takes nothing away from a tremendous season.
Starmount pushes towards the goal line - Cherryville at Starmount - Round 2 NCHSAA Playoffs - November 14th, 2025
Rusty Wise (WNN)
After the game, WNN's Rusty Wise talked with Coach Bowman and several players to get their thoughts on the game and the season. It was a tough loss and a disappointing end to a great season, so we are thankful they were willing to take a few moments to reflect and talk with us.
Coach Patrick Bowman: "Yeah, you know, hats off to them, that's a great football team. Like I said last week, they're a great football team, they've got a great tradition, they're a hard-nosed football team. Our guys came out, and I thought we executed well early. A couple of things didn't go our way, and it snowballed on us a little bit. Overall, I'm proud of these guys, like I just told our guys, man they've done a lot of things this year that brought things back to Cherryville, such as bringing the belt back, getting a home playoff game, you know a lot of things to build off of and hats off to our seniors because they were a big part of it." He went on to comment about the 6-6 finish. "Yeah, and that goes back, you know, to that group of seniors, man, they showed up and bought in, and like I said, a lot to build off of for the future, got a lot coming back. I'm really excited about that, but going to miss our seniors, because of how important they were to us this year at helping us be 6 and 6 and helping us to do a lot of great things." There will be 13 seniors lost from this roster. Coach Bowman stressed how important they were and how much they would be missed. He was asked about the switch from a running early offense to a more passing-oriented scheme. "Yeah, very proud of Jayden tonight, he stepped up for us and had a big night with his arm. He's a very capable player for us, so proud to see him come out and put on the biggest stage for us." He closed his comments by discussing how he cranks it up in the weight room during the winter, and some of the guys will move on to the basketball team before Spring ball rolls around.
21 Weston Bowers: He was asked about the 6-6 season. "Better than years before. This is the best I have done in the four years I have been here. So, I'm proud to say that, but I wish we could have won and gone further." Weston expressed his opinion on how they performed, "We played decent, but we still didn't play to our full potential. We could have done a lot better, and we should have done a lot better throughout the game." Rusty asked Bowers what he thought about playing on artificial turf. "It ain't nothing like that Cherryville dirt. I played on it growing up in pee wee, and I played on it a lot through high school, but it ain't nothing like dirt. It's a lot worse, hurts when you go down, and a lot more injury prone."
Weston Bowers after the game interview with WNN's Rusty Wise - Cherryville at Starmount - Round 2 NCHSAA Playoffs - November 14th, 2025
William Phillips (WNN)
2 Jayden Adams: "Yes, sir, we thought we had it, but fell short. It was fun (playing on the artificial turf), but I kept spraining my ankle on the little turf things, but it was alright. We started passing it and started moving the ball. We got to get back at it next year, gotta get the freshmen right."
#44 Davin Digh: "We're disappointed, it's not the outcome we wanted, but just go back to the grid-iron, get back to work, see what they can fix." His thoughts on playing on artificial turf, "it's pretty nice, I liked the astro turf a lot better than grass, we have it at Cherryville for our baseball field, so we're pretty used to it". Reflecting on the final season record of 6-6, he commented, "finishing 6/6 is pretty good for our team and for our program, and that's a big accomplishment for all of us to be proud of."
#10 Enijahe Whitworth: He gave his thoughts on playing on turf instead of grass, "It felt new, it was definitely different. I tripped up a little bit during the game, but I tried my best. It was a harder surface than grass, so it was hard for me to run." He said to prepare for next season, "to keep practicing during the off-season, lifting weights, and try to improve my game."
#11 Elijah Proctor: He reflected on how the game progressed, "first quarter we came out with the mindset that we're going to win, then when they went up 21-7, everybody broke down, chemistry fell apart. Everyone started getting mad at each other, and everything went downhill from there. They stayed together, and it gave them the win. I wouldn't say we were getting tired. We were getting frustrated with ourselves and everybody else around us, and everybody else wasn't doing their job, stuff like that. But everybody has a job, and if everybody does their job, you end up winning the game. Tonight, the other team, everybody did their job; they did their job perfectly and executed every play, and that's what gave them the win tonight." He continued by discussing the transition from the running game to passing the ball. "Yes, sir, the running game wasn't really there, so when we switched to the passing game, it was working for a little bit then everybody started getting tired and then nobody was running as fast as they normally could, our quarterback's arm wasn't as good as it was, could have been warmed up before we started passing the ball. After a few passing plays, it just broke down," Elijah explained their mindset at the beginning of the game. "Yes, sir, we had all kinds of confidence and hope after that first run back on the kickoff return, and then again, no one was doing their job. People started getting frustrated, and then that's what tore everything down." Preparing in the off-season, he said he would hit the weight room and work on getting stronger, while also focusing on improving his footwork, catching drills, and pushing the sleds to become bigger, stronger, and faster for the next season. When asked about the current season and his goal for his senior season next year, he stated, "Yes, sir, we're proud of what we did because it hadn't been done in a while, but come back next year, be better, and make it to the state championship next year."
Congratulations to the Cherryville Ironmen on a great season and for doubling their win total from last year. The community, school, and WNN are proud of your accomplishments and look forward to seeing you again next season.
WNN Note: Check out the photo gallery of the game at the top of this article - click arrows on the picture to scroll.
