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DANVILLE, Va. — Averett scored 23 unanswered points in the fourth quarter, but the Cougars' chance at a comeback ran out of time in a 45-30 loss to Hampden-Sydney College on Saturday at the Cougar Den.

Averett (0-1) trailed 45-7 after three quarters, but the Cougars kept battling. Senior James Wilson got the comeback attempt rolling with a 1-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter. The momentum picked up when the Cougars' defense stuffed Hampden-Sydney in its end zone for a safety with 6:08 to play.

Off the free kick from the safety, Averett just needed four plays to go 38 yards for another score, this time a 15-yard pass from freshman Kirkland Brown to sophomore Owen Hayden, who dove across the goal line to help cut the Tigers' lead down to 45-22.

An Averett fumble recovery by freshman Darrick Johnson put the Cougars back in Hampden-Sydney territory less than a minute later. Freshman Clayton Navarre scampered in from nine yards out on the first play, and Brown found junior fullback Horace Stanback for the two-point conversion.

With its lead slipping away, Hampden-Sydney replaced the reserves it had put into the game with the entire starting lineup. The Tigers got two first downs and were able to run out the final 3:31 on the clock to notch the win.

Hampden-Sydney, which went undefeated on its way to the Old Dominion Athletic Conference crown last season, opened its 2010 campaign with a strong output in the first quarter. Travis Lane found Kyle Vance for a 16-yard touchdown and Kirk Rohle added a 1-yard run to put the Tigers up 14-0.

With Averett's offense stalling, Hampden-Sydney continued to increase its lead. A David Prizzia 22-yard field goal and a 14-yard touchdown reception by Mike Goad gave the Tigers a 24-0 halftime lead. That grew to 31-0 when Rohle added his second touchdown at the start of the third quarter.

The Cougars eventually found their rhythm with Brown in at quarterback. Brown launched a 30-yard touchdown pass to D3Football.com Preseason All-American Jeremy Dixon for a touchdown with 11:33 left in the third quarter to give Averett its first points of the season.

Hampden-Sydney, however, answered with a 4-yard touchdown pass to Sean Cavanagh and a 3-yard scoring pass to John Sparagna.

Lane, Hampden-Sydney's quarterback, threw for 348 yards, including 142 yards to Vance. Rohle added 118 yards on the ground.

Averett, meanwhile, got a boost from Brown off the bench. He completed 16 of 21 passes for 211 yards and two touchdowns. Dixon was his favorite target as the senior caught nine balls for 104 yards.

The Cougars were led on defense by senior Mario Huffman, who had a team-high nine tackles. Freshman Stefan Varner added 5.5 tackles and an interception in his first collegiate game.

The meeting was the first between the two schools.

Averett has a bye week before hosting Guilford College on Sept. 18 at 1 p.m.