NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Christopher Newport University's Jay Kirland picked off an Averett pass with under three minutes to play and the Captains ran out the clock to hold on for a 19-13 victory over the Cougars at Pomoco Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Averett (4-5, 3-3 USA South) outscored Christopher Newport 13-3 in the second half, but the Cougars couldn't overcome the hole they dug right before halftime.

A Christopher Newport field goal was all that separated the Captains (7-1, 6-0 USA South) and the Cougars for most of the first half. Both teams struggled to get their offenses going on soggy playing conditions after heavy rain soaked the field during the first quarter. But with three minutes to go in the second quarter, the Christopher Newport offense broke free. Running back Tunde Ogun took the first play of the drive 75 yards down the left sideline for a touchdown to put the Captains ahead 10-0 following the extra point.

Averett's ensuing drive stalled and, after a punt, the Cougars got a break. On the Captains' first play from scrimmage, sophomore cornerback Jeremy Clifton picked off Matt Long, giving Averett the ball on its own 41-yard line with just over two minutes on the clock. Averett, however, turned the ball right back over with an interception on its first play of the drive. The Captains capitalized six plays later when Long hit Ray Grenke for a 20-yard touchdown. Christopher Newport faked the extra point, but couldn't get the two-point conversion. However, they still took a 16-0 lead into the locker rooms at the break.

The Cougars got on the scoreboard for the first time late in the third quarter. Sophomore Philip Kwiatkowski found junior running back Dontavious Watson out of the backfield for an 11-yard touchdown pass along the left side. Averett elected to go for two, but the conversion failed as Christopher Newport held a 16-6 advantage.

The Captains drove down into the red zone on their next possession, but settled for a 25-yard field goal from Jay Graham with 13:21 left in the fourth quarter.

Averett's defense stuffed Christopher Newport on fourth down on the Captains' next possession, which shifted the momentum into the Cougars' favor. Averett took over on its own 34-yard line and drove deep into CNU territory. With 6:49 to play, Kwiatkowski found junior Anthony Squillini across the middle for a 24-yard touchdown. The extra point by senior Chris Ashcraft cut the CNU lead to 19-13.

The Cougars defense forced the Captains to punt with just under three minutes to play, and Averett started its drive on its own 31-yard line. Kwiatkowski scrambled for a 13-yard gain to get the ball up to the Averett 44-yard line. But two plays later, Kwiatkowski threw downfield across the middle while on the run and Kirland picked off the pass to end the Averett threat. It was the Cougars' fifth turnover of the game.

Christopher Newport limited Averett to just 53 yards on the ground, but Kwiatkowski completed 19 of his 31 passes for 218 yards. Sophomore wide receiver Jeremy Dixon led the Cougars with eight catches for 83 yards.

The Averett defense allowed Ogun to only find the end zone once, but Ogun had 32 carries for 228 of Christopher Newports' 364 yards of total offense.

Junior linebacker Mario Huffman led the Averett defense with 13 total tackles, while sophomore safety Justin McCauley had 10 tackles and sophomore linebacker Logan Smyth had nine tackles and a fumble recovery.

Averett returns to action next Saturday at home against Maryville College. The game, which kicks off at 1 p.m., will be Senior Day and the season finale for the Cougars.