GREENSBORO, N.C. – In front of an electric homecoming crowd, the Greensboro College football team rallied from a fourth-quarter deficit to defeat Averett University 48-46.
 
Averett took a 6-0 lead with just over 9 minutes to play in the first quarter. The Pride responded just five minutes later with a 12-play, 80-yard drive to jump on top 7-6. Kenneth Purvis dove through the middle of the offensive line from 1 yard out to record his third rushing touchdown of the season.
 
Greensboro added to its lead early in the second quarter. Micah McMaster picked up a Cougars fumble to give the Pride the ball on Greensboro's 24-yard line after a 23-yard return.  Greensboro marched down the field in 12 plays to score again. Mac Graham scampered in 7 yards out, and Ryan Campbell added the extra point.
 
Later in the quarter with the Pride leading 14-6, McMaster came up huge again. With the ball on the Averett 31, McMaster stepped in front of Kelly Hall's pass and raced down the far sideline to score, giving the Pride a 21-12 halftime lead.
 
In the second half, Averett ran off 20 unanswered points to take a 32-21 lead. On the first play of the fourth quarter, Cortez Vernon rushed 1 yard, through a gaping hole in the middle, to pull the Pride to within five at 32-27. A two-point pass from Graham came up just short.
 
Averett then marched right back down the field to widen the gap back out to 40-27.
 
Following the Cougars' kickoff, Greensboro found themselves deep in their own territory. Facing a key third-and-10, Graham found Tavares Thomas Jr. over the middle to set the Pride up with a key first down. From there, the Pride took only three plays to find the end zone once again with Graham's second rushing score to pull within six at 40-34.
 
After kicking off, the Pride defense pounced again as Herbert Bridges recorded his second interception of the season. The Pride cashed in as Cortez Vernon recorded his second rushing touchdown of the day, this time from 2 yards out, to tie the score at 40. Ryan Campbell's point-after put Greensboro on top 41-40 with less than four minutes to play.
 
On the next possession, Micah McMaster recorded his second pick-6 of the afternoon to extend the Greensboro lead to 48-40.
 
On Averett's next possession, the Cougars struck from 27 yards out to pull within 48-46. Following a Greensboro timeout, the Cougars went for the tie, but Kelly Hall was hit hard just before the goal line to preserve the Pride lead. Greensboro then recovered Averett's onside kick to secure its second win of the season.
 
"This was a give-and-take game the whole way," Head Coach Bill Young said. "I told our team following the game that this was a team win.
 
"We had a lot of guys making big plays. I could not be prouder of our guys. Now we have to turn our attention to North Carolina Wesleyan next Saturday."
 
Mac Graham finished with 315 passing yards and two rushing touchdowns. Kenneth Purvis and Cortez Vernon rushed for 98 and 90 yards, respectively, accounting for three scores.
 
McMaster finished the day with a team-leading nine tackles, one fumble recovery, and two interception scores. Joshua Armwood also had a strong day for the Pride with eight tackles.
 
The Pride (2-4, 1-2 USA South) returns to action at 1 p.m. Oct. 24. For more information on Greensboro College football, continue to follow www.greensborocollegesports.com.