BREVARD, N.C. — Averett University football is 3-0 for the first time since 2004 after holding off Brevard College 17-14 in a non-conference road matchup on Saturday night.

Much like it had done all night, Averett (3-0) and its defense slammed the door on Brevard (0-3) in the final minute, forcing the Tornados to turn the ball over on downs deep in Brevard territory to seal the game.

Despite not scoring in the second half, Averett weathered the storm as the Tornados pulled within three points in the final seconds of the third quarter. Averett's defense came up with big fourth down stops twice in the final three minutes.

Averett's offense had success moving the ball throughout the game, including on its first drive thanks to a 75-yard run by sophomore running back Isaiah Lytton, who got Averett down to the Brevard 18-yard line. However, the drive ended with no points after a missed field goal sailed wide from 35 yards out into the wind. The Cougars, meanwhile, got the ball back two plays later when redshirt junior linebacker Lamar Horner recovered a fumble deep in Brevard territory. Although Averett's drive stalled inside the red zone, fifth-year senior Will Caviness booted a 26-yard field goal to put Averett ahead 3-0 with 5:25 left in the first quarter.

Brevard answered with a scoring drive of its own, going down the field 71 yards on 12 plays and taking a 7-3 lead on a 5-yard touchdown pass with 31 seconds left in the first.

Averett's offense answered with a big play on its next possession. After working their way to midfield, fifth-year senior quarterback Bryce Jackson found junior receiver Shawn Watlington for a short pass that Watlington turned into a 50-yard touchdown to help the Cougars retake a 10-7 advantage.

Senior safety Seth Harden's interception with under four minutes left in the first half helped set up another scoring drive for Averett just before the break. Jackson and Watlington connected again minutes later for a 21-yard touchdown pass down the right sideline to extend the Cougars' lead to 17-7 with 53 seconds left in the second quarter. Jackson's second touchdown of the night was his 42nd of his career, tying Hall of Famer Todd Parsons '07 for the program record in career passing touchdowns.

Averett looked poised to add another scoring play with a strong drive to open the third quarter. The Cougars ate up more than eight minutes on the clock using mostly a run attack. Unfortunately, Brevard got a big stop at the 1-yard line on fourth down to keep Averett out of the end zone.

The Tornados then produced a long drive of their own, taking the clock nearly all the way to zero. Running back Chancellor Lee-Parker made several big plays before breaking through for a 22-yard touchdown run to put up the first points in the second half by an opposing team this season as Brevard closed the gap to 17-14.

After Averett's first drive of the fourth quarter stalled, Brevard couldn't capitalize. Averett forced a punt and got the ball back with 5:58 left to play. The Tornados then forced a three-and-out to give themselves a chance with 4:36 remaining. Averett's defense went to work. Senior cornerback Namari Borders sacked Brevard quarterback Ethan Beamish for a loss of 9 yards on second down, and fifth-year senior Dondra Burris' quarterback hurry on third down forced a bad pass. On fourth down, sophomore P.J. Hopper broke up a deep pass down the middle to help Averett get the ball back on downs with 2:34 left. Averett ran the clock down to 56.5 seconds before punting and giving Brevard hope for late miracle. It wasn't answered as Averett stood strong to earn a second consecutive win over the Tornados.

Jackson completed 12 of 24 passes for 159 yards and two scores. Lytton's 97 net yards on eight carries led Averett's ground attack, with sophomore Dreylan Martin adding a team-high 18 rushes for 77 yards. Watlington's two receiving touchdowns came on four catches for 67 yards.

Defensively, redshirt senior linebacker Qumar Price had a team-high eight tackles in another balanced effort for the Cougars. Seven different Averett players had at least five tackles, including Harden with seven, Horner with six, Borders with six and redshirt senior linebacker Roland Norfleet III with six. Borders had 1.5 sacks, with Norfleet and fifth-year senior Jahlin Russell adding a sack each. Senior defensive tackle Ezekiel Williams had 0.5 sacks and a forced fumble.

Averett is off to its best start since beginning the 2004 season with a 4-0 mark.

Averett has its bye week coming up before opening Old Dominion Athletic Conference play at home against Washington and Lee University on Sept. 30.


 
 
 
 
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