With less than seven minutes left against Methodist in last Saturday's game, the Monarchs had marched deep into Averett territory. The Cougars were grasping to hold on to a narrow 7-0 lead and Methodist quarterback Travis Murphy was putting the finishing touches on a day where he accounted for more than half of the Monarchs' offensive output.
On third down and goal from the 6-yard line, Murphy fired a pass into the end zone. The throw was intended for Methodist receiver Matt Phifer, but it never got there. Averett cornerback Jerel Robinson swatted it away and Methodist had to settle for a field goal.
That final series for Methodist was indicative of the entire contest. Despite having four possessions in the Averett red zone, including three inside the Averett 10-yard line, it was as close as Methodist got to the Cougars' end zone and the Cougars won 7-3.
“I think we did bend a little bit, but didn't break,” Averett coach Mike Dunlevy said. “We didn't allow them into the end zone and obviously that was the key to the win. Guys ran around and played hard and did what they had to do to keep them out of the end zone.”
The Averett defense held the Monarchs offense, which was averaging 298 yards and 21 points per game, to only 227 yards and a field goal. These numbers are good for any defensive outing, but the Cougars have taken some serious hits to their depth chart in the last few weeks. They took the field against Methodist without starting defensive end #Anssi Nevalainen#, who is a team captain, and their leading tackler, linebacker Mario Huffman.
Despite losing two key players, the Averett defense has remained stout thanks to a strong class of freshmen, like this week's USA South Conference Rookie of the Week Skyler Richardson, who have stepped up throughout that season.
“He has actually played Sam, Mike and Will backer for us,” Dunlevy said of Richardson. “He has been in different positions in each game and had success.”
“We've had guys like him come in into those kinds of positions and fill them,” he said. “We do have some decent depth. They're young guys, but they have been able to help us.”
One of the key units against Shenandoah this weekend will be the defensive backfield. The Hornets' quarterback, Daniel Wright, has thrown for 1,191 yards and nine touchdowns this season. The junior leads the conference in touchdown passes and is ranked second in passing yardage.
The four defensive backs in Dunlevy's 4-3 scheme are the epitome of Averett's mixed defense this season. The unit features two veterans, Robinson and senior Jeremy Clifton, and two relative rookies in Robslin Emmanuel and Stefan Varner. Emmanuel is a junior, but this is his first season in a key role and at this time last season Varner was playing in high school.
Robinson had some concerns with the inexperienced safeties at the beginning of the season, but those have dissolved as the season has played out.
“We're doing fine,” Robinson said. “We still have a lot of work to do. We have a lot of freshman playing for us that are doing very good. We're just trying to stay together and keep everything in check for the next three games.”
Dunlevy also had some questions with the unit before the season, but according to him, the unit gets better each time they take the field.
“They have really played well for us and have been a pleasant surprise,” Dunlevy said. They really have been a key to our success and solidifying things back there. The more experience they get the better we become. Its just experience, and as things go on I hope they will continue to get better.”
“As those guys have been able to get some more experience, we have been able to do some more things that have allowed us to be able to have the success that we've had and play with more confidence in the secondary,” he said.
Dunlevy and his defense took a measure of confidence from the win against Methodist. The unit leads the USA South in both rushing defense and scoring defense, which Dunlevy feels is the most important category for a defense. Because the Averett defense scores, the opposing offense can't. This is a point of pride for the Cougars.
“No team has really put up outstanding numbers on us in awhile,” Robinson said. “We contribute that to working hard in practice and the offense and the scout team giving us a good look and doing a very good job of running the other team's offense on us. That is really helping us a lot and boosting our confidence.”
The Averett defense will get its next test Saturday at Shenandoah. That game will kickoff at 7 p.m.
