DANVILLE, Va. - Shenandoah University got a school-record passing performance from senior Vern Lunsford Saturday afternoon at Averett, but it was not enough as the Cougars kept their USA South Conference championships hopes alive with a 24-22 football victory.

It is the seventh straight loss for Shenandoah (1-7, 0-5 USA South) by less than nine points.

In the last six weeks, SU has lost games by 3,3,3,3,6 and now two points.

Trailing 24-9 after Anthony Squillini went 67-yards on a screen pass for the Cougars (6-2, 4-1) at the 4:37 mark of the third, the Hornets rallied with a pair of fourth quarter scores.

Lunsford, who went 18 for 29 for 232 yards and two scores, got the comeback started with a six-yard TD run on a quarterback draw on the first play of the fourth.

Lunsford then drove his team 87 yards in 11 plays, cumulating in a 15-yard TD pass to Brandon Hayes, to make the score 24-22 with 18 seconds remaining.

Down two points because of a missed PAT following their first touchdown of the game, the Hornets were forced to go for two following Hayes' score.

Lunsford rolled right and attempted a throwback to his left on the conversion try, but neither E.J. Brown nor Rico Wallace was able to leap to make the catch of the pass.

Now down to an on-sides kick attempt, Shenandoah saw its chances for victory evaporate when it was called for offsides after recovering the Travis Bishop kick.

Bishops' kick bounced right off of Squillini at the SU 42 and into the waiting hands of gunner Monte Moyer, but the offsides nullified the play and Squillini was able to recover the next attempt.

The near comeback ruined a couple of outstanding performances by Lunsford, Wallace, Brown and running back Keone Kyle.

Kyle, the league's leading rusher paced the Hornets to a 409-yard day in total offense with 154 yards rushing on 31 attempts while Wallace had six catches for 81 yards and Brown four for 73.

Kyle needs 73 yards in the final two games to crack 1000 for the season. He would be just the second runner in school history, after Anthony Frates in 2004, to rush for at least 1000 yards in a season.

Brown set up that Hayes touchdown with a 23-yard catch down the right sideline three plays before Hayes broke three tackles on his way to paydirt.

Kyle, who had four catches for 38 yards, scored the first TD on a 12-yard catch with 10:19 left in the second stanza.

Shenandoah completes its road slate next Saturday with a 1:00 game at league leader N.C. Wesleyan.