WINCHESTER, Va. – Shenandoah University earned its third USA South Conference football victory of the 2010 season with a 24-14 upset of league-leading Averett University Saturday night on Sprint Field at Shentel Stadium.
Shenandoah (3-5, 3-2 USA South) ensures itself of its best record since the 2004 season with the win over the Cougars (5-3, 3-2).
Trailing 14-0 after AU scored on its first two drives of the contest, SU began its comeback with a 48-yard Andrew Lloyd field goal with four seconds remaining in the first quarter.
Lloyd's school-record boot split the uprights and hit the middle of the 'catch net' 15 yards beyond the goalposts.
The field goal also started a run of 24 unanswered points for the Hornets.
At the 10:26 mark of the second, junior quarterback Daniel Wright hit classmate Rico Wallace for a 58-yard TD; the pump fake-and-go represents the third TD of at least 50 yards between the duo in the last two games.
Wright took it himself for what proved to be the game-winning score, scampering in from the 1 on a 4th and goal following three straight stops from the Averett defense.
This score, with 9:34 to play in the third, capped a nine-play, 80-yard drive.
Wright and Wallace hooked up again with 5:19 remaining, this time for 15 yards.
Shenandoah outgained the Cougars by just seven yards, 309 to 302, but Averett had nearly half of its total (138 yards) on the first two drives of the game.
Wright was 10 for 20 for 163 yards, 104 of which went to Wallace on four catches.
Senior Keone Kyle led the ground game with 29 carries for 146 yards.
Defensively, Nick Erdman had one sack and two tackles for loss in his three total stops and Corey Giffing had a game-high seven solo stops.
SU plays its final home game of the season next Saturday at 1:00 against N.C. Wesleyan.