By Drew Wilson/Sports Information Director

DANVILLE, Va. — Averett University football opened its 2014 season with a thrilling 20-17 non-conference victory over Washington and Lee University in front of a packed crowd at the new Daly Field on Saturday.

Averett (1-0) broke a 17-17 tie on junior Hobie Proctor's 28-yard field goal with 4:31 to play, and the Cougars' defense came up with several big stops in the final minutes to help Averett prevail and snap an 11-game home losing streak.

The win brought a lot of hugs and smiles for the Cougars, who got first-year head coach Cleive Adams a victory in his first game with the program. Although Adams enjoyed the win in his debut, he was happier for his players.

"All day today, all week, all I could think about is what I wanted for them," Adams said. "I wanted them to experience winning. … I'm so happy for them that they went out there and had an opportunity to experience this."

Washington and Lee (0-1) opened the game with a 15-play, 83-yard drive that culminated in a 2-yard rushing touchdown for Marshall Hollerith. Yet, Averett answered right back. Senior quarterback Kirkland Brown led the Cougars right back down the field for a 15-play drive of their own. Junior running back Xavier Morgan capped it off with a 20-yard touchdown run to help tie the game at 7-7 with 1:41 left in the first quarter.

Averett took its first lead of the game on its third drive. The Cougars got down into the Washington and Lee red zone and settled for a 29-yard field goal by Proctor with 4:40 to go in the second quarter. Just as Averett had answered Washington and Lee earlier in the game, the Generals marched down the field on their ensuing position and kicked a 26-yard field goal as time expired to tie the game at 10-10 entering halftime.

Although the Generals entered the locker rooms on a high note, the Cougars grabbed the momentum at the start of the second half. Freshman running back Travis Jones took the first play from scrimmage 49 yards down to the Washington and Lee 14-yard line. Five plays later, Jones scored from 1-yard out to help give Averett a 17-10 advantage.

"Coach told us we had to smack them in the mouth early," said Jones, who finished with 105 yards and one score on 23 carries. "He said it was a tie game, so we had to hit them with a play early. On that play, I just saw my cutback lane … and I knew I was off to the races."

The possible play of the game came with less than five minutes left in the third quarter. Brown threw a pass that was tipped an intercepted by Generals defensive lineman Tim Joyce, who raced toward the end zone only to be tackled by Brown at the Averett 3-yard line. That proved to be crucial as Washington and Lee fumbled two plays later and Averett senior defensive tackle Chris Norwood recovered the ball.

"I made a bad decision," Brown recalled. "We were trying to set up a screen and they got to me. I made a bad throw and a bad decision. I got hit and I was laying there. I looked up and I saw the guy scoop it and take off running. He didn't see me. I just tried to get up and make a play and salvage what we had. The defense bailed me out and got the turnover. That was huge."

While that big defensive stop halted Washington and Lee on that drive, the Generals eventually found the end zone on Connor Chess' 33-yard rush early in the fourth quarter, which helped tie the game at 17-17.

Averett responded with a drive of more than five minutes to get down into Generals territory to set up what turned out to be the game-winning field goal by Proctor, who was two-for-two on the day, on the field house end of the field.

"We ended practice Thursday with a winning field goal, so it's fitting that we ended this game going up by three with Hobie making a field goal at the field house end just like at practice," Adams said.

Washington and Lee drove to Averett's 38-yard line but the Cougars stopped the Generals on fourth down as junior Thomas Lucas dove on a fumble. Although Averett was forced to punt and Washington and Lee got the ball back with less than 30 seconds to play, the Cougars' defense shut the door and halted the Generals on fourth down as time expired. The win sent the team and the Averett crowd into an excited frenzy as the Cougars won at home for the first time since Oct. 29, 2011.

"That's just big to start the year 1-0," said Brown, who completed 17 of 28 passes for 165 yards.

Averett junior wide receiver Bryan Finney finished with a career-high eight catches for 71 yards. Morgan added 57 yards rushing and a score on 12 carries in addition to Jones' big day on the ground.

Adams was happy with his offense and just as excited about how the Cougars' defense played all day. Averett held the run-happy Generals to under 300 yards rushing after Washington and Lee averaged nearly 350 yards on the ground a season ago.

"I can't say enough about our defensive guys," Adams said. "Coach (Jay) Kirland did an outstanding job putting together a great game plan and our kids executed. Washington and Lee came out in a more traditional look in the first quarter. They were totally opposite of what we thought they were going to be. They got away from their option principles, so it took us a moment to get adjusted."

Senior safety Brian Fuquay led the Cougars with 13 tackles, while junior safety Michael Reives added nine tackles.

The win helped Averett take a 3-2 lead in the all-time series with Washington and Lee. It was the third win in a row over the Generals, but the two teams hadn't faced off since 2010.

Averett travels to play non-conference foe Randolph-Macon College (0-1) next Saturday at 1 p.m. in Ashland, Virginia.