Early deficit proves costly for Cougars

from staff reports

Published: October 18, 2008

ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. — Averett University couldn’t make it two in a row as the Cougars fell to North Carolina Wesleyan 49-24 on Saturday at Northern Nash High School.

Averett (2-4, 1-2 USA South), which was coming off a road win last week at Methodist, got off to a rough start. The Cougars bobbled the snap on a punt attempt and gave N.C. Wesleyan the ball in the red zone, which led to a Stedman Mathis touchdown run.

Another N.C. Wesleyan touchdown minutes later put Averett in an early 14-0 hole. The Cougars, however, marched right back down the field. Sophomore quarterback Philip Kwiatkowski found junior wide receiver Greg Harbaugh for a 29-yard completion on third down to move the chains. Averett scored on its next play on a highlight-type catch by sophomore wide receiver Jeremy Dixon.

Kwiatkowski’s pass to Dixon inside the Bishops’ 5-yard line was contested by cornerback Reshard Patterson, but Dixon was able to tip the ball back to himself, and he caught it as he fell to the ground in the end zone for the score.

That play helped cut the Bishops’ lead to 14-7 with 5:19 to play in the first quarter, but N.C. Wesleyan (3-3, 2-1 USA South) bounced back to score on a 5-yard pass from Bo Jordan to Damel Spears.

Averett had its opportunities to chop into N.C. Wesleyan’s lead, but couldn’t convert. Freshman Kevin Blyden recovered a pair of muffed punts, but the Cougars couldn’t get any points out of either possession.

After another Bishops touchdown gave them a 28-7 lead, Averett drove into N.C. Wesleyan territory, only to have Kwiatkowski’s pass picked off in the end zone. The Cougars did manage to get a few more points on the board before halftime. Kevin Quicker’s punt was blocked by the Cougars and Blyden fell on the loose ball in the end zone.

Unfortunately for Averett, however, Blyden was touching the line in the back of the end zone when he recovered the ball and the play was ruled a safety instead of a touchdown.

Trailing 28-9 at halftime, the Cougars couldn’t overcome the large deficit in the second half despite a 20-yard touchdown catch by junior wide receiver Anthony Squillini and a 1-yard run by Kwiatkowski.

Kwiatkoski completed 13 of his 30 passes for 147 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Dixon caught six passes for 65 yards and added a 47-yard punt return.

Junior Frederick Reid led the Averett defense with six total tackles, two fumble recoveries and a forced fumble.

Jordan led the Bishops’ offensive attack by completing 18 of 27 passes for 250 yards and three touchdowns. Orlando Webb caught five of those passes for 129 yards. Antonio Harris led the ground attack with 20 carries for 146 yards and two scores.