FERRUM, Va. — Averett University football ended the season with a 24-20 road win over Ferrum College on Saturday, giving the Cougars their first league win as a member of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference.

Averett (3-7, 1-6 ODAC) held of Ferrum for nearly the entire fourth quarter to preserve the win after scoring the go-ahead touchdown on the first play of the period.

The Cougars' 17-7 halftime lead disappeared in the third quarter as Ferrum (1-9, 1-6 ODAC) got a defensive stop to begin the third quarter and turned that into a scoring drive to get back within 17-14. The Panthers again halted an Averett drive to get the ball back, which resulted in a six-minute possession. A 12-yard touchdown passed catapulted Ferrum back into a 20-17 advantage with 4:01 left in the quarter but the Cougars knocked down the two-point conversion pass to keep it a three-point game.

The Cougars responded with a strong performance on its next possession, which spanned the end of the third quarter and beginning of the fourth. Set up by a 32-yard run by senior quarterback Ryan Curle, Averett went to senior receiver Tevarius Brooks for 2-yard touchdown in the wildcat — his second of the game — to put the Cougars back in front 24-20 on the first play of the fourth quarter.

Ferrum was driving late in the final minutes and got down to the Averett 23-yard line, but senior Carey Dickinson came up with a huge defensive play, stripping the ball and recovering the fumble to give the Cougars' the ball back with 2:07 remaining. Averett's offense was able to pick up one first down and run out the clock for the victory over the rival Panthers.

Dickinson and sophomore Lamar Horner each led the team with 11 tackles, with Horner adding an interception.

Averett finished the first half with a strong push to take the lead by halftime. The Cougars, who trailed 7-0 after the first quarter, got on the scoreboard with senior Will Caviness' 32-yard field goal early in the second quarter to cut the deficit to 7-3.

Averett put together another scoring drive with under six minutes to play. Starting at midfield, the Cougars drove down into the Ferrum red zone and sophomore Shawn Watlington rushed right and cut back to find a hole for an 8-yard touchdown with 1:24 to go in the period as Averett went in front 10-7.

On Ferrum's ensuing possession, senior Isaiah Sharper picked off the first play from scrimmage and returned it 10 yards to the Panthers' 25-yard line. Three plays later, Brooks ran it in from 2 yards out in a wildcat formation to increase Averett's lead to 17-7 with 54 seconds remaining.

Averett had a chance to add more points before the half after senior JaVon Lofton forced a fumble and sophomore Cody Britt recovered it on the Ferrum 38-yard line with four seconds left on the clock. However, the Cougars' only option was a hail mary for the final play of the half, which was picked off to cement Averett's 17-7 lead at the break.

Prior to the game, Averett joined Ferrum in a moment to honor Will Patterson, a freshman quarterback on the Panthers' team who died on Nov. 5. Averett also wore "WP" decals on their helmets to help pay tribute to Patterson.



  Read Full Article