After a tough road loss to open the season, Averett football is ready to make a statement in its home opener against Southern Virginia. Freshman long snapper Hayden Dillard is looking forward to turning the page.

“I would say just moving on from last week. I didn’t play last week due to injury,” Dillard said. “But we don’t want to dwell on last week’s loss and let that affect us this week.”

Communication has been a big point of emphasis heading into Saturday for the Cougars as they look to bounce back from their Week 1 loss.

“My main focus this week has been to communicate,” senior safety Exaucer Ndelo said. “Last week I felt that we didn’t do that as a team, so that’s something I’ve been working on.”

The Cougars feel they have the keys to victory if they can execute.

“The biggest key for us to get the win will definitely be handling adversity well throughout the game no matter what happens,” Dillard said.

With it being the first home game of the season, the energy is expected to be high.

“I expect it to be a lot of energy,” Ndelo said. “It’s the first home game of the season. I’m definitely excited to see the crowd on Saturday night in Danville.”

The Cougars will play the Knights at 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 13.