NEWPORT NEWS - T.K. Petty caught three passes, all of which were touchdowns, to tie the single game program record for receiving touchdowns as The Apprentice School football team knocked off Southern Virginia, 44-9, to open up the 2024 season.

Petty's three touchdowns came from 25, 22 and 4 yards as he finished with 51 yards of receiving on the day. It is the eighth time that a Builder has caught three touchdowns in a single game with AS Hall of Famer Travis Reid doing so four times in his career.

The Builders jumped out to a 21-0 lead, starting with the first points of the season on a Khamari Moore 1-yard plunge to take the lead midway through the first quarter. Petty then caught his first two touchdowns of the day on back-to-back drives to start the second quarter.

The Knights responded by forcing a safety after turning the ball over inside the Builder 1-yard line and then following it up with a double pass on the first play of the ensuing drive that trimmed the lead to 21-9. That was all that SVU got the rest of the game, though.

Logan Eastman came on to cap a six play drive at the end of the half with a 25-yard field goal, his first of three made field goals on the day. He is just the third player in program history to hit three or more in a game.

Petty's third touchdown catch came on the opening drive of the second half as quarterback Grant Swanger found him in the back of the endzone to stretch the lead to 31-9. Swanger then found Jasiah Beacham late in the third quarter to finish off a 10-play drive with a 27-yard pitch-and-catch. Eastman's final two field goals both came in the fourth quarter to get to the final score.

Apprentice ran for over 300 yards in the contest, led by freshmen Ty Taylor (152 yards) and Moore (127 yards). Swanger finished the day 7-for-14 through the air for 123 yards, four touchdowns and an interception.

The Builders will look to start 2-0 when they head to Washington & Lee Saturday afternoon for a 2 p.m. kickoff.