DANVILLE, Va. — Averett University football opened the season with a 41-29 home win over North Carolina Wesleyan University on Saturday night on Daly Field at Frank R. Campbell Stadium.
Averett (1-0) wasted no time getting the crowd going as part of an exciting start to the game. On the first play from scrimmage, sophomore quarterback
Ethan Ross — on his first varsity snap — took a flea flicker and hit sophomore receiver
Trevor Testerman with a deep pass down the left side that resulted in a 75-yard touchdown play after Testerman broke free for the final 40 yards to give the Cougars a 7-0 lead.
Although N.C. Wesleyan (0-1) followed with a scoring drive that culminated with a 37-yard touchdown run by Anthony Byrd, the Cougars once again put up points on its ensuing possession. Ross hit senior receiver
Shawn Watlington for a 54-yard reception to get the Cougars into the red zone. Two plays later, junior running back
Shyheim Watlington finished it off with a 10-yard touchdown run as he carried the pile into the end zone to extend Averett's lead to 14-6 with 7:08 left in the first quarter.
Byrd scored the second of his three touchdowns on the first play of the second quarter to help N.C. Wesleyan inch closer, but the two-point conversion failed to keep the Cougars' lead at 14-12.
Averett's offense continued to shine. Junior running back
Gaby Soto disappeared into a pack of linemen on a run up the middle and popped out of the other side for a 40-yard rush. That eventually set up Ross' 20-yard touchdown pass to
Shawn Watlington in the left corner, as Averett went up 20-12 with 11:43 left in the half. Soto eventually scored for himself with 4:52 to play on Averett's next drive, working up the middle for an 8-yard touchdown.
N.C. Wesleyan managed to kick a 20-yard field goal as time expired on the first half after Averett's defense stopped the Bishops short of the end zone to close out the half with 27-15 advantage.
Averett continued its offensive prowess in the second half thanks to special teams play. After the defense shut down N.C. Wesleyan's first drive of the third quarter. Averett's drive stalled and led to the Cougars' first punt of the day, which the Bishops muffed as
Shyheim Watlington recovered it on the N.C. Wesleyan 20-yard line. Three rushes later, Ross took it in himself from 4 yards out to help Averett roll out to a 34-14 lead, which held going into the fourth quarter.
Shyheim Watlington added a 2-yard touchdown run on the first play of the fourth as Averett made it 41-15. But what looked like the icing on top of a blowout win turned into a crucial score.
N.C. Wesleyan didn't go away, bouncing back with a 36-yard touchdown run by Byrd on the second play from scrimmage to inch the Bishops back within 41-22 with 13:53 to play. After N.C Wesleyan's defense held strong, the Bishops added a 27-yard touchdown pass to get within 41-28 with 8:28 as the door remained cracked open.
The Bishops got the ball back with under seven minutes to play with a chance to get closer, but as N.C. Wesleyan was driving into Averett territory, sophomore
Myles Lawson picked off an overthrown pass down the right side. That allowed Averett to eat up more than five minutes of clock before giving the Bishops the ball back with only 30 seconds remaining, helping seal the Cougars' victory.
Ross completed 15 of 20 passes for 222 yards and two touchdowns with a quarterback rating of 201.2 while also rushing nine times for 47 net yards and a score in his first career varsity action as a Cougar. Soto had a career night in his first start, racking up 148 net yards on 17 carries with a touchdown. Testerman and
Shawn Watlington each had three catches for more than 80 yards apiece.
Defensively, junior linebacker
Anthony Brunelli led the Cougars with 14 tackles, while graduate linebacker
Tre' Maxwell had 11 tackles. Lawson finished with seven takedowns to go with his late interception. The Cougars also accumulated three total sacks.
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Averett travels to Greensboro College for a non-conference matchup on Saturday, Sept. 14, at noon.
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