The longtime Crest football assistant will now cross county lines to lead his own program.
Patrick Bowman was officially named Cherryville's football coach Thursday morning. He replaces Tim Pruitt, who went 28-71 in two stints (2002, 2016-23) as head man.
“Whenever you start thinking about being a football coach, you start thinking about what you want (from a school),” Bowman said. “Cherryville has great people who love to compete, and we have people in the right places who have won and still believe we can win.”
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Cherryville athletic director Scott Harrill said Bowman was selected from about 30 candidates.
“(Bowman) really stood out as a high-character guy,” Khalil said. “He's been an integral part of Crest's winning program for the past 10 years. He's a guy who really empathizes and cares about his players and has the energy to take the program to the next level.
“It's always great to have someone come from a program like Crest. That winning mentality is contagious.”
“After Coach Pruitt resigned, we knew it would be difficult to find someone with Coach Pruitt's character and integrity, but Coach Bowman is a great addition to Coach Pruitt's character and integrity,” said Cherryville High School Principal Sean Hubers. I believe he is suitable for the conditions,” he added.
Bowman spent the past 10 years with the Chargers, winning back-to-back NCHSAA state titles in 2014 and 2015. In addition to immersing himself in his winning culture, he also learned the qualities of leaning into a team's strengths. This is the philosophy he plans. He became the head coach at Cherryville.
“(At Crest) we took the 'Wildcats' all the way to the state title game and watched the 'Air Raid' offense go 13-1 last year,” he said. “I prefer to run it, but I've seen the pass work. Really, it's about us getting in there and finding out what our players do best. It will be.”
Bowman takes over a Cherryville program that hasn't won more than three games since 2018. Eager to turn the tide, the new Ironman coach will spend the next few weeks getting acclimated.
“I think we have players who have the skills to get noticed,” he said. “The hardest part is waiting to get into the fight. I'm looking forward to the competitive process starting.”
