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DANVILLE, Va. — Averett's defense and special teams helped translate big plays into points as the Cougars crushed Guilford College 45-9 on Saturday afternoon at the Cougar Den.

Averett (1-1) turned three Guilford turnovers into touchdowns in the second half to pull away. None was perhaps a bigger turning point than junior Jerel Robinson's 79-yard punt return for a score with 9:07 left in the third quarter. For Robinson, it was quite the redemption after fumbling away his previous punt return just moments earlier. Following that fumble, Averett defense forced the Quakers to go three-and-out. Robinson fielded the punt on the Cougars' 21-yard line and cut through Guilford's defense all the way down the field to help Averett extend its lead to 21-9.

The momentum from Robinson's big play helped catapult Averett's offense the rest of the way. Freshmen Clayton Navarre and Aashad Holloway each had second-half touchdowns, along with a 57-yard touchdown pass from freshman quarterback Kirkland Brown to sophomore wide receiver Donald Reed and a 25-yard field goal by sophomore Brad Scott.

Brown finished with 220 yards and two touchdowns while completing 12 of 21 passes. His other touchdown — a 33-yard pass to sophomore Owen Hayden — gave Averett a 14-6 lead with 1:41 left in the second quarter.

Although Averett dominated for most of the first half, Guilford led early thanks to a costly mistake. Inside the Quakers' red zone, Averett fumbled the ball away and De'Shawn Lindsay picked it up and returned it 92 yards for a touchdown. Guilford, however, missed the extra point, leaving their lead at 6-0.

Averett answered before the end of the first quarter. Freshman Skyler Richardson blocked a punt, which eventually led to a 1-yard touchdown run by senior James Wilson to put the Cougars in front 7-6.

Averett allowed a 34-yard field goal right before halftime, but the Cougars' defense shut the Quakers down the rest of the game. Guilford had just 50 yards rushing on 29 attempts.

Senior Logan Smyth and Robinson led Averett with 5.5 tackles and both forced fumbles.

The Cougars, meanwhile, pieced together a balanced attack that saw three running backs net more than 50 yards each, as well as three receivers total 59 yards or more.

Averett returns to action next Saturday when the Cougars travel to face Washington & Lee University at 1 p.m.