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DANVILLE, Va. — Averett's offense had a break-out game, but the Cougars came up short in a 45-35 shootout with Guilford College on Saturday at the Cougar Den.

Averett (0-3) trailed 35-27 entering the fourth quarter, but the Cougars used a 10-play, 86-yard drive to close the gap. A roughing the passer penalty against Guilford (1-2) gave Averett the ball on the Quakers' 1-yard line. Freshman Ray Brown powered it in for his first collegiate touchdown, cutting Guilford's lead to 35-33. Averett lined up for the extra point attempt, but freshman kicker Ryan Ristaino ran the fake into the end zone to tie the game with 14:16 to play.

Guilford marched back down the field on its next drive until Averett's defense stopped the Quakers on third down from the Cougars' 17-yard line. Guilford settled for a 35-yard field goal by Tyler Hunt to regain a 38-35 lead with 10:12 remaining.

After Averett's ensuing drive stalled near midfield, the Cougars defense had Guilford facing a third-and-1 from its own 15. Running back Mike Williams broke through the line and raced 79 yards until he was knocked out of bounds at Averett's 6-yard line. The Quakers scored three plays later on quarterback Matt Pawlowski's 6-yard run, helping Guilford take a 10-point lead with only 3:07 to go.

Averett's final drive ended with an interception, sealing the game for the Quakers, who are only 2-7 against Averett alltime.

Guilford led 7-0 after a quick touchdown in the first quarter, but Averett responded with a 5-yard touchdown run by sophomore Ke'Von White and a 25-yard touchdown pass from freshman Martin Smith to sophomore wide receiver August Jones to take a 14-7 lead after one quarter.

Guilford scored two touchdowns in the second quarter, but missed the extra point on the latter score. It appeared as if the Quakers were going to take a 20-14 lead into halftime, but Averett forced a fumble in Quakers territory. Two plays later, Smith hit senior tight end Wynton Stephens for a 10-yard touchdown in the corner of the end zone, helping give Averett a 21-20 lead at halftime.

The Quakers made up for the missed extra point early in the third quarter. Adam Smith caught a 13-yard pass from Pawlowski, and the two hooked up again for the two-point conversion. Averett responded with a 21-yard touchdown run by White, but this time it was the Cougars who missed the extra point to keep Guilford ahead 28-27. The Quakers added another rushing touchdown late in the third quarter to take a 35-27 lead into the final frame.

Averett, which had totaled a combined 12 points in its first two games, finished the day with 362 yards of total offense. Smith, seeing his first collegiate action, completed 12 of 26 passes for 169 yards and two touchdowns. Jones caught four of those passes for 59 yards and a score. White led Averett's ground attack with 21 carries for 119 net yards and two touchdowns. Brown added 19 carries for 85 net yards and a score.

The 35 points were the most points by Averett in a loss since a 55-40 defeat at Ferrum College in 2005.

Williams led Guilford with 151 rushing yards and Pawlowski completed 18 of 28 passes for 239 yards.

Averett goes into its bye week and hosts USA South Conference foe Ferrum on Sept. 29 at 1 p.m.