FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — Junior Cole Westberry's 38-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter put Averett University football ahead and senior Sean Bowman's touchdown in the final seconds sealed a 22-13 win over Methodist University on Saturday.

With the win, Averett (7-2, 6-1 USA South) matched its program records for overall wins in a season and conference victories in a season. The Cougars have a chance to break the overall single-season victories mark in the season finale next Saturday against Ferrum College.

Averett trailed Methodist (2-7, 2-5 USA South) for most of the second half before the late surge. Down 13-7 at halftime, the Cougars got help from a botched Methodist play early in the third quarter. After an Averett punt pinned the Monarchs inside their own 5-yard line and Averett's defense stuffed Methodist, forcing the Monarchs to punt. Methodist punter Bobby Haggerty inadvertently stepped out of the back of the end zone on his punt attempt, giving Averett a safety to pull the Cougars within 13-9.   

Averett had several opportunities to surge ahead in the second half. The offense got down to the Methodist 1-yard line late in the third quarter. After the Monarchs' defense stopped three consecutive runs, the Cougars missed the field goal attempt. Averett's first drive of the fourth quarter also put the Cougars in the Methodist red zone following a 43-yard pass from Wright to sophomore Isaiah Grice. Averett only came away with three points on junior Cole Westberry's 24-yard field goal with 10:30 left in the fourth. 

Down 13-12, Averett's defense stepped up with one of the biggest plays of the game. With Methodist nearing the Cougars' red zone, freshman defensive end Joseph Ledbetter forced a fumble and recovered the loose ball to give Averett possession with 7:20 remaining. The Cougars drove down to the Methodist 21-yard line to set up Westberry's go-ahead 38-yard field goal with 3:46 to play, putting Averett in front 15-13.

Methodist's ensuing drive ended with a fourth-down stop a little more than a minute later, and the Cougars put the Monarchs away with a five-play drive that ended with Bowman's 6-yard touchdown run around the right side with 34 seconds left in the fourth quarter.

Bowman finished with 141 rushing yards on 23 attempts. 

Averett took a 7-0 lead on its second drive of the game. A bad punt gave the Cougars solid field possession, and a 14-yard pass from junior quarterback Jacob Wright to senior Rayvon Johnson got Averett down to the Monarchs' 6-yard line. Two plays later, Wright had a cutback run to the left side of the field for a 5-yard touchdown with 7:10 left in the first quarter.

Methodist answered early in the second quarter on Steve Keoni's 21-yard touchdown pass to Victory Woods. However, a missed extra point preserved a 7-6 Averett advantage with 12 minutes left in the half. 

After the Cougars' next drive stalled, Methodist put together a 13-play drive over the next five and a half minutes which culminated in a 10-yard touchdown pass from Keoni to Josh Carter, who caught the ball across the middle and dodged several tacklers before diving into the end zone to help the Monarchs go ahead 13-7 with 5:17 to play in the half. 

Averett had a chance to score after driving into the Methodist red zone in the final minute of the half, but an incomplete pass as time expired helped the Monarchs maintain a six-point lead entering halftime.

The Cougars' defense was led by senior Seth Brendle's 10 tackles, while Ledbetter had seven, junior Romello Herbin had six — including a sack — and seniors Dejon Brooks, Bradley Jefferson and Ethan Williams each finished with five tackles.

Wright threw for 172 yards on 14 completions and ran for 23 yards and a score. Johnson led the receivers for 63 yards on five catches, including a 25-yard reception late that helped set up Bowman's touchdown.

Averett concludes its season at home on Nov. 17 when the Cougars play host to non-conference rival Ferrum College at 2 p.m. on Daly Field at Frank R. Campbell Stadium. The game is Danville Community Support Day and general admission tickets are free.