WINCHESTER, Va. — Averett University football lost to Shenandoah University 49-35 as the Hornets outlasted the Cougars in an Old Dominion Athletic Conference battle on Saturday.

After giving up a touchdown to Shenandoah (5-3, 3-2 ODAC) midway through the first quarter, Averett (3-5, 0-5 ODAC) bounced back to take the lead in the second quarter. Graduate student linebacker Tre' Maxwell picked off a pass in the red zone to thwart a Hornet scoring opportunity late in the first quarter, and the ensuing drive that spanned quarters resulted in points for Averett. Fifth-year quarterback Bryce Jackson connected with senior Tavien Goffigan for an 11-yard touchdown.

On the second play of Shenandoah's next drive, redshirt junior linebacker Lamar Horner forced a fumble and Maxwell picked it up and returned it to the Hornets 5-yard line. Jackson then found junior receiver Shawn Watlington with a short pass for a 2-yard touchdown to give the Cougars a 14-7 advantage.

Shenandoah scored two touchdowns before halftime to surge ahead 21-14 at the break.

The Hornets struck again early in the third quarter to go up 28-14, but Averett answered with a scoring drive of its own that culminated with an 8-yard touchdown from Jackson to Goffigan with 8:38 on the clock. Shenandoah found the end zone again on its next drive to push its lead back to 35-21, then used a big run to set up another touchdown to take a 42-21 lead.

Averett didn't stop battling, however, as Jackson found redshirt freshman receiver Trevor Testerman for a 70-yard touchdown pass on the second play of the Cougars' next drive to close the gap to 42-28 with 1:52 left in the third.

Shenandoah tacked on another touchdown early in the fourth quarter to make the score 49-28. The Cougars put together another long scoring drive where Jackson hit Watlington with a 7-yard touchdown pass with 5:08 to play.

Down 49-35, Averett's defense forced Shenandoah to punt to get the ball back with 2:17 remaining. The Cougars were in Hornets territory with under a minuet to play before Shenandoah picked off a pass and eventually kneeled out the clock to hold on for the win.

Jackson finished with five touchdown passes on 26-of-46 attempts for 367 yards — the fourth-most passing yards by an Averett quarterback in a single game. Testerman finished with five catches for a team-best and career-high 138 yards, while Watlington added eight receptions for 94 yards and two scores. Goffigan had four catches for 57 yards, including his two touchdown grabs.

Fifth-year safety Carey Dickinson led Averett with nine tackles, with fifth-year defensive end Jahlin Russell totaling eight tackles with 0.5 sacks and a quarterback hurry. The Cougars' defense had two sacks for the game in addition to the fumble recovery and interception by Maxwell.
 
Averett plays at Guilford College on Saturday, Nov. 4.
 
 
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