DANVILLE, Va. — Averett University football dropped its season opener 19-10 to Brevard College in non-conference play Saturday on Daly Field at Frank R. Campbell Stadium.

Brevard (1-1) scored 19 unanswered points in the second half to steal the win in the Cougars' season debut.

It was a tale of two halves for the Cougars. Averett (0-1) took its second drive down for its first score of the season as senior running back Delquan Bigelow dove in from 1-yard out on fourth down to help the Cougars go in front 7-0 right before the end of the first quarter. Averett converted three fourth downs on that drive, including a 22-yard pass to junior Jarrod Mosby to get the Cougars deep in Tornado territory.

The Cougars added a 34-yard field goal by sophomore Will Caviness — his first career field goal — with 10:36 left in the second quarter to push Averett's lead to 10-0, which held until halftime.

In the second half, Brevard's offense found some rhythm with backup quarterback Eli Carr, who completed 24 of 32 passes for 212 yards. Carr threw a 10-yard touchdown pass with 1:59 left in the third quarter to trim Brevard's deficit to 10-6 after a missed extra point attempt. After Averett's next drive stalled, Brevard drove down and took the lead on a 4-yard touchdown run by Damon Rouse with 11:14 to go in the game. Again, the Tornados missed the extra point to keep Averett within 12-10.
 
Brevard's Quentin Jackson helped secure the win with a 31-yard interception return for a touchdown with 6:35 to play, pushing Brevard's lead to 19-10.

Sophomore quarterback Bryce Jackson totaled 152 passing yards, with junior Chase Nixon catching eight passes for 64 yards. Mosby also had 60 yards on six catches. Junior Jaleel Webster had 42 yards on the ground.

Averett's defense was led by senior Conner Showalter's 11 total tackles, including two tackles for loss. Sophomore Isaiah Sharper and senior Tristan Quick each had eight tackles. Senior Tyler Redmond had a solo sack, while Quick and senior Nicholas Mintz assisted on a sack.

Prior to the game, Averett honored its senior class in a ceremony.

The Cougars open conference play on Friday at Methodist University at 6 p.m.