Offense Rolls in Homecoming Victory over Bucs

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The No. 20/21 Flames scored on their first five possessions and never looked back, en route to a 42-0 Homecoming shutout victory over Charleston Southern, Saturday afternoon at a sold out Williams Stadium.

With the victory, the Flames raise their record to 7-1 on the year and 3-0 in Big South play. The loss was the second straight for the Buccaneers, dropping Charleston Southern to 3-5 on the season and 1-2 in Big South action.

The win was Liberty's ninth straight in conference play, setting a new league standard for consecutive victories. The game was contested in front of 14,563 fans, which is the 11th-consecutive game where the stadium was filled past capacity.

The contest, which was played in front of the sixth-largest crowd in stadium history, had a Super Bowl like atmosphere. Grammy award winning artist and Liberty alumnus Michael Tait thrilled the Homecoming crowd with a trio of songs at halftime and a 45-minute concert at the conclusion of the game.

The Flames got on the scoreboard first, scoring on Liberty's opening possession of the contest. Liberty handed the ball off to Rashad Jennings three out of the first four plays, but took to the airways to jump out to a 7-0 lead two and half minutes into the contest.

Brock Smith found Jonathan Crawford open on a near-side slant route. The senior caught the pass at midfield and after spinning to evade a would-be tackler, Crawford had nothing but open field between him and the end zone, resulting in a 69-yard touchdown reception.

After a three-and-out series on the ensuing Buccaneer drive, Charleston Southern was forced to punt for the second-straight drive. However, Andy Brown's punt attempt was blocked by Larry Claiborne, giving Liberty possession at the visitor's 25-yard line.

Head coach Danny Rocco went to his bag of tricks on the drive's first play. Smith handed the ball to B.J. Hayes, but once the freshman got outside the far-side hash marks, he handed it to Dominic Bolden, who found a seam for a 25-yard touchdown run to push Liberty's lead to 14-0 with 6:12 left in the opening period.

Bolden almost had his second multiple touchdown game of the season, as the senior was pushed out of bounds at the one-yard line, giving him a 40-yard reception on the second play of the second quarter.

Jennings gave the Flames their third touchdown of the game and the senior's 10th rushing score of the year. The running back burst through the line of scrimmage for the one-yard score, pushing Liberty's lead to 21-0 with 13:53 left in the second quarter.

Following Liberty's second interception of the game, this one by Chris Rocco, the Flames alternated run and pass plays to dent the scoreboard for the fourth-straight drive. On the six play of the 57-yard drive, Smith connected with Crawford for a second time on the afternoon.

The 10-yard slant pass to the senior pushed Liberty's advantage to 28-0 with 7:57 left before the break and gave Crawford his second multiple touchdown game of the season.

Following the third three-and-out series of the game for Charleston Southern, Liberty pieced together its longest drive of the contest at 12 plays, resulting in the team's fifth-straight scoring drive.

Jennings rushed six times on the 12-play, 61-yard drive, including the final yard to give the senior his second one-yard rushing touchdown on the afternoon to advance Liberty's lead to 35-0, 73 seconds before the halftime festivities.

Liberty's defense continued to make quick work of the Buccaneers, forcing Charleston Southern to punt the ball away 38 seconds later to give Liberty one last possession before intermission.

However, the Flames finally ran into something it couldn't beat, as the Flames ran out of time before it could add points to the scoreboard, resulting in its first drive of the game that didn't add points to Liberty's lead.

The Flames dominated the Buccaneers on both sides of the ball during the opening 30 minutes. Liberty finished with a 210 total offensive yard advantage, 321-111, and a 14-4 edge in first downs. Thanks to two lengthy passing plays, Liberty's passing attack pick up most of the team's yardage, as the Flames threw for 194 of the 321 first half yards.

The score remained the same until the 10:39 mark of the fourth quarter. Smith called his own number on a third-and-goal from the one-yard line. The senior got a push from his offensive line, allowing him to score his third career rushing touchdown to seal the victory.

The remainder of the game belonged to the defensive players in the red jerseys, as Liberty posted its second-straight Big South shutout and the sixth shutout overall under Rocco.

The defense finished with seven quarterback hurries, six tackles for a loss and two sacks. The Flames had their third game of the year with more than one interception, while adding five break-ups and two forced fumbles.

For the fifth-straight game and the seventh time this year, Liberty finished a game with more than 400 yards of total offense. The Flames, who entered the game ranked No. 6 in the nation in average total offense (453 yards), upped their numbers by finishing the contest with 492 yards. Charleston Southern's 192 yards was a season low for a Liberty opponent and was the third fewest under Rocco.

Jennings recorded his 19th career 100-yard rushing performance, rushing for 127 yards and two touchdowns. The yardage gave the senior 1,000 rushing yards on the year, marking the third-straight season he has hit the mark.

For the fifth time in eight games, the Flames held an opponent under 100 team rushing yards, with Antwan Ivey leading the way with 23 yards on seven carries for the Buccaneers.

Smith had another sharp performance for Liberty, completing 17-of-27 pass attempts for 269 yards and two touchdowns. The yardage on the day pushed the senior's career total to 6,097 yards, making him the fourth quarterback in school and Big South history to eclipse the 6,000 yard mark.

Tribble Reese was picked off two on the afternoon, while completing 15-of-34 pass attempts for 129 yards.

For the second-straight week, both Bolden and Crawford surpassed the 100-yard receiving mark in the same contest. This time Crawford led the way with a career-high 124 yards on six receptions. Bolden finished with 117 yards on five catches.

Tim Jones led eight different Charleston Southern wide receivers to catch a pass, finishing with three receptions for 27 yards.

Wes Cheek led Liberty's strong defensive effort, finishing the game with a career high nine tackles. Hursky followed by recording eight stops, followed by a career-best seven stops by Clairborne to go along with his first career interception.

Josh Warrior was the game's top tackler, as the defensive back finished with a game-high 11 stops for Charleston Southern. Andrew McKain and Henry Mitchell followed behind him with seven tackles apiece.

The Flames will begin their final road swing of the season next week when they travel to Clinton, S.C., to face future Big South foe Presbyterian. The 1 p.m. contest will be played at Bailey Stadium, marking Liberty's first game at the on-campus facility since 1984.

The Buccaneers return to CSU Stadium for a Big South battle with VMI. The 1:30 p.m. contest begins a three-game homestand for Charleston Southern.

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Offense Rolls in Homecoming Victory over Bucs

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Team Stats

Brock Smith

Spencer Landis

Mike Brown