ASHLAND, Va. — Averett University football led early, but host Randolph-Macon College clamped down and defeated the Cougars 44-10 in non-conference action Saturday evening at Day Field.

Averett (1-1) trailed 7-0 early in the first quarter after giving up a 62-yard passing touchdown on Randolph-Macon's first possession. Yet, the Cougars answered right back. Junior quarterback Kelly Hall found senior receiver Terrance Owens II for 57-yard completion inside the Yellow Jackets' red zone. Sophomore running back Sean Bowman plowed 7 yards up the middle into the end zone to help tie the game at 7-7 with 9:09 left in the opening quarter.

The Cougars' defense shut down Randolph-Macon (2-0) on its next drive and got great field possession after the punt. Averett drove inside the Randolph-Macon 5-yard line and had another Bowman rushing touchdown called back due to a penalty, The Cougars eventually settled for a 28-yard field by freshman Cole Westberry to take a 10-7 lead.

From there, things went south for the Cougars. Despite driving deep into Yellow Jackets territory again, Averett missed a 34-yard field goal, and Randolph-Macon took that momentum the other way with a 12-play, 80-yard scoring drive to go in front 14-10. Randolph-Macon added another touchdown and a field goal just before halftime to take a 24-10 lead into the locker room.

The second half belonged to Randolph-Macon as the Yellow Jackets scored 20 of their 37 unanswered points following halftime. The Cougars offense never found the same success it had early in the game, and Averett's only scoring opportunities in the second half were a pair of missed 40-plus-yard field goal attempts.

After getting behind, Averett had to all but abandon the run game which had helped the Cougars thrive with a balanced attack a week earlier in a 38-28 win over Hampden-Sydney College to open the season. Hall threw for 220 yards — his eighth 200-yard passing game in 11 games — but was sacked five times.

Owens was Hall's favorite target, reeling in seven catches for a career-high 165 yards.

Defensively, freshman linebacker Conner Showalter led the team with 10 total tackles to go with one pass breakup.

Averett returns home to face non-conference foe Guilford College next Saturday at 6 p.m. The university will hold its Frank R. Campbell Stadium dedication ceremony during halftime of the game.