Tae Gilbert added 116 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries for the Panthers. Matthew Kennell got Ferrum on the board when he hauled in an 11-yard pass from Reynolds with 50 second left in the first quarter. Malcolm McCoy made it 14-0 Ferrum at 11:54 of the second quarter with a three-yard run.

Blake Lewis trimmed the lead to 14-7 after scoring on a two-yard run for Averett at 4:43 of the second. Reynolds scored his first TD of the day with 1:07 left in the first half when he plunged into the end zone from a yard out to give Ferrum a 21-7 lead at the break.

Gilbert scored his first touchdown at 11:47 of the third quarter on a 21-yard run and the lead was 28-7 Ferrum. Reynolds found the end zone again at the 9:39 mark of the third with a seven-yard run to widen the lead to 35-7. Ray Brown then scored on a one-yard run for the Cougars (1-6, 0-4 USA South) at 1:56 of third third quarter, but the kick failed and Ferrum led 35-13.

Xavier Morgan trimmed the lead to 35-20 after hauling in a 14-yard scoring strike from Cinco Simmons at 12:59 of the fourth quarter. Gilbert closed out scoring with a 14-yard TD run with 1:23 left to play.

Ferrum's Wesley Franklin was a perfect 6-6 in PATs this afternoon. Simmons was 18-39 passing for 232 yards and a score for the Cougars. Ferrum rolled up 459 yards in total offense, to Averett's 349.

Defensively, Chris Ham and Austin Sutherland had eight tackles each for the Panthers, as did Averett's Zachary Grkman. Anthony Orton returned an interception from Ferrum's goal line 62 yards midway through the fourth quarter. Ryan Jordan also had an interception for the Panthers in the third quarter. Jordan added four tackles and a pair of pass breakups.

Ferrum (2-4, 2-1 USA South) returns to action Saturday, Oct. 26, at Maryville College. The USA South game is scheduled to get underway at 1:30 p.m. in Maryville, Tennessee.