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DANVILLE, Va. — On a dreary Halloween afternoon, it seemed only fitting that the game between Averett and Shenandoah University would be a thriller. Despite a late rally by the Hornets, Averett held on for a 24-22 victory at the Cougar Den.

Trailing by eight with just over two minutes to play, Shenandoah (1-7, 0-5 USA South) orchestrated an 11-play, 87-yard scoring drive with no timeouts. Hornets quarterback Vern Lunsford capped off the drive with a 6-yard touchdown run with 18 seconds to play. Shenandoah went for the two-point conversion, but Lunsford's pass to the left side of the end zone was incomplete.
With Averett (6-2, 4-1 USA South) ahead 24-22, Shenandoah needed a miracle. The Hornets nearly got it. Shenandoah's onside kick bounced off the fingertips of senior Anthony Squillini and was recovered by the Hornets. However, an offsides call nullified the play and forced Shenandoah to redo the kick. This time, Squillini reeled it in and fell to the ground to preserve the Averett victory.

Shenandoah, which has lost seven consecutive games (each by eight points or less), beat the Cougars in rushing yards, passing yards and time of possession. However, Averett made plays when it needed to throughout the game.

Averett went three-and-out on its opening possession, but Shenandoah fumbled the punt return, giving the Cougars the ball at the Hornets' 27-yard line. After a Jeremy Dixon run for 8 yards, senior Dontavious Watson scampered in from 19 yards out to put Averett on top 7-0.

Shenandoah got on the scoreboard midway through the second quarter with a 12-yard pass from Lunsford to Keone Kyle, but the Hornets missed the extra point. Shenandoah eventually took a 9-7 lead on its mext possession with a 22-yard field goal by Cory Gay.

The Cougars got the ball back with 1:20 left in the first half and worked their way down to the Shenandoah 3-yard line with three seconds to go. Averett settled for a 20-yard field goal to take a 10-9 lead into the locker rooms.

Averett extended its lead to 17-9 on a 67-yard touchdown pass to Squillini from quarterback Cody Ladutko on the Cougars' first possession of the second half. Squillini caught the ball over the middle and worked his way past defenders on the right sideline for his sixth touchdown of the season.

Averett's next drive ended in another touchdown. Watson scored from 6 yards out to increase the Cougars' advantage to 24-9 with 4:37 left in the third quarter.

Shenandoah didn't go away quietly. Lunsford capped off a nine-play, 51-yard drive with a 6-yard touchdown run to close Averett lead to 24-16 with 14:55 left in the fourth quarter.

Averett's offense was held to no first downs the rest of the game, leaving it up to the defense to make a stand. It did. With Shenandoah driving inside three minutes to play, senior linebacker Zane Cooper snagged an interception with one hand to end that threat. Although Averett's offense went three-and-out, it ate up valuable time off the clock, even though Shenandoah managed to score again late.

Watson led the Averett offense with 21 carries for 117 yards, making him the Cougars' first 100-yard rusher this season. Squillini finished with five catches for 98 yards, while Ladutko completed 15 of 25 passes for 192 yards and an interception.

Lunsford finished with 18 completions of 29 attempts for 232 yards with two inteceptions, Kyle had 31 carries for 154 yards on the ground.

Averett travels to Ferrum College next Saturday for a 1 p.m. game against the Panthers.