Cougars take a beating

The Averett Cougars opened their 2008-2009 football campaign hosting the Eagles from Bridgewater College at the Cougar Den. The Cougars who were picked to finish last in the USA South Conference are looking to prove that they are a better team than people expect. On the other hand, Bridgewater College of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference was looking to improve on a 7-3 record in 2007. The Eagles would have to do without starting tailback David Arguad who was nursing a sprained knee.

The remnants of Tropical Storm Hanna forced the game time to be pushed back to a 2 p.m. kickoff, but that did not deter the enthusiasm of home crowd.

Averett won the coin flip but chose to defer to the second half. After a penalty on the kick-off, the Eagles started on their own 35-yard line, The Cougar defense did its job by only allowing Bridgewater to gain six yards on their first possession of the game. The ensuing punt on fourth down by Bridgewater was almost disastrous for Averett when punt returner Anthony Squillini bobbled the punt, but quickly recovered on the 24-yard line.

The first offensive possession of the year for Averett showed some promise as it resulted in a first down on a 14-yard bust up the middle by sophomore running back Mark Williams. The drive came to a halt when the Bridgewater defense stiffened and only allowed Averett to gain five yards on their next possession.

After a shaky first possession, the Eagles (1-0) put together a 12-play scoring drive when quarterback Hagen Driskell connected with wide receiver Patrick Smoot on a 19-yard crossing route for the touchdown. The Cougars didn’t help themselves and kept the drive alive by committing three costly penalties (two offside and one personal foul). The Cougars committed 11 penalties, which accounted for 93 yards in the first half. Coach Mike Dunlevy stated “the team was excited and wanted to play, but you have to play smart, you can’t rely on your athletic ability alone.”

The Eagles took flight on their next possession when Driskell found tight end Chris Tichacek over the middle for a 26-yard gain. The Eagles used their tight ends and wide receivers often as a part of their game plan. Wide receiver Patrick Smoot, a converted quarterback said, “the transition to receiver was smooth and that it helped the team more.”

Averett (0-1) was again plagued by two more offside penalties, their fourth and fifth of the half, which allowed the Eagles to march the ball down to the nine yard line.

Averett got a short burst of momentum when Driskell fumbled the snap and Averett recovered the ball. Averett forced two fumbles in the first half, and three for the game, but couldn’t capitalize on either them.

Bridgewater continued to attack the Cougars secondary using the strong arm of Driskell. After two consecutive punts by Averett, wide receiver Tyler Beiler corralled a 43-yard touchdown pass from Driskell. Driskell stated that “after watching game film on Averett we felt that we could use our speed and specific plays to exploit some holes in their defense.“

Not only did the Eagle offense do their job, but also their defense bewildered and caused havoc for the Averett offense. With 9:53 left in the first half, and Averett operating from their own 19 yard line, QB Phillip Kwiatkowski was blitzed up the middle by DB Seth Little and tossed an interception into the waiting arms of Travis Marks. Marks returned the errant pass 23 yards for a Bridgewater touchdown. Averett threw two interceptions for the game. The other came with 2:57 left in the first half when a pass attempt by backup quarterback Shan Fairbanks ended up in the arms of Eagle defender TJ Montague, who returned it for a 36-yard pick-six. The Eagles would score their final points of the half on a 42-yard field goal by Jared Miller. The Eagles did falter by not converting on four extra points — one of which was blocked by an Averett defender.

The Cougars seemed to play with more focused intensity in the second half, holding the Eagle offense scoreless in the in the third quarter. Although the Cougars didn’t score either, they gained some valuable momentum that carried over into the fourth quarter.

With 11:35 remaining in the game, Squillini returned an Eagles punt 50 yards to the 12-yard line. Brian Daniels finally put Averett on the scoreboard with a 4-yard plunge into the end zone. The play of the game came when in dramatic fashion with 1:12 remaining, fullback Steven Oristian received the ball from quarterback Shan Fairbanks, Oristian faked a run, and then lofted a 41-yard touchdown pass to Squillini who then outran the Eagle secondary. Squillini said “We worked on plays like this during practice, but we must focus on our main plays and get mentally prepared for the next game.”

Bridgewater scored its final touchdown on a ten-yard pass from Driskell to Will Osborne at the 5:25 mark in the fourth quarter.

With a bye next week, coach Dunlevy stated that he would use that time to “make sure his team knows what they are doing and where they are supposed to be.” Averett hosts Guilford College on September 20th at 1p.m.