DANVILLE, Va. — A freshman saved the day for Averett, allowing its 18 seniors to go out with a 20-17 victory over Maryville College in the Cougars' season finale at the Cougar Den on Saturday.

Forced to punt with 1:31 left to play, Averett was giving Maryville one more shot to come from behind. But that chance lasted all of 10 seconds as Maryville's Dustin Locke muffed the punt and Averett freshman Kevin Blyden fell on the loose ball. Maryville, which had no timeouts left, could only watch as the Cougars ran out the clock with a pair of kneels by senior quarterback Shan Fairbanks as the Averett players celebrated on the sideline.

Averett rallied from an early deficit to not only win on Senior Day, but end its season with a .500 overall record (5-5) and a 4-3 mark in the USA South Conference a year after finishing 0-10.

After a scoreless first quarter, Maryville (5-5, 4-3 USA South) got on the scoreboard with a 23-yard field goal by Brad Daniell. Averett sophomore quarterback Philip Kwiatkowski threw an interception on the third play of the Cougars' ensuing possession, and the Scots took advantage. Rommel Hightower took the first play from scrimmage 12 yards for a touchdown to put Maryville ahead 10-0 with 10:23 left in the second quarter.

Maryville then opted to try an on-side kick, but Averett recovered on the Scots' 43-yard line. With good field position, the Cougars eventually found the end zone on a 1-yard run by senior fullback Steven Oristian.

Trailing 10-7, Averett took its opening possession of the second half seven plays for 80 yards, with the last 30 yards coming on junior Dontavious Watson's touchdown run. The extra point by senior Chris Ashcraft gave Averett its first lead at 14-10.

Watson found the end zone again at the start of the fourth quarter, scampering in from 21 yards out. The Cougars, however, missed the extra point. The drive was set up after senior defensive back Brian Page recovered a fumble by Hightower deep in Averett territory.

Maryville took its next drive 11 plays for 75 yards, which culminated with a 3-yard rush by Nick Moore, to cut Averett's lead to 20-17 with 7:25 to play.

A 15-yard facemask penalty by Averett on Maryville's touchdown was assessed on the kickoff, giving the Cougars poor field position. Averett went three-and-out, giving Maryville more than four minutes to either tie the game with a field goal or take the lead with a touchdown. The Scots drove inside of Averett's 30-yard line, but Hightower committed his second costly fumble of the day and Averett senior linebacker Clyde Robinson recovered the ball.

With 2:35 to play, Averett needed only one first down to be able to run out the clock. But the Cougars fell short and were forced to punt. That's when Blyden saved the day with the fumble recovery on the punt and allowed Averett to escape with a 20-17 win.