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Saturday, November 8
Lexington, Va.
1:30 PM
Liberty University
38
at
26
VMI
Victory over Keydets Gives LU League Title
11/8/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
No. 25 Liberty overcame a slow start on the afternoon to not only claim a 38-26 victory over Blue Ridge Mountain rival VMI, but its second straight Big South Conference title. With the victory at Foster Stadium, the Flames clinch the regular season title with one conference game remaining on their 2008 Big South slate.
The win, Liberty's 10th straight against Big South foes to extend its league record winning streak, gives the Flames a two-game cushion with one game Big South game remaining on the year for each conference opponent.
Hours after Liberty's victory over the Keydets, Coastal Carolina picked up its lone Big South win on the year, handing Gardner-Webb its second league loss of the year with a 23-18 victory over the Bulldogs in Boiling Springs, N.C.
With the victory, the Flames become the third team in Big South history to capture consecutive conference titles. Gardner-Webb won the crown in 2002 and 2003, while Coastal Carolina claimed three straight league championships in 2004, 2005 and 2006.
The victory raised the Flames record to 8-2 on the year and 4-0 in Big South play. The win gives the Flames their second straight season with eight victories, marking the sixth time overall the feat has been accomplished in program history.
The Keydets dropped their third straight Big South Conference game to fall to 3-6 on the year and 1-3 in league action. The setback is also VMI's third straight to Liberty and pushes the Flames series record versus VMI to 5-3.
Both teams experienced some jitters early on in the game, as Rashad Jennings fumbled the ball on the first Flames' play early in the first, giving the Keydets possession in Liberty territory.
After picking up a first down to get to the Liberty 10-yard line, VMI gave the football back to the Flames when Tim Maypray fumbled on a diving play up the middle, helping settle both teams down.
After trading possessions, the Flames got on the scoreboard with a big play, when Brock Smith found Mike Brown open in the end zone. The 53-yard deep pass, the sixth 50-plus yard pass play by Liberty this year, was hauled in by the redshirt freshman, giving Liberty a 7-0 lead with 5:16 left in the first quarter.
On the first play of the ensuing drive, Chaz Jones broke a few tackles at the line of scrimmage and scampered 53 yards downfield to put the Keydets into Liberty territory. However, the drive stalled five plays later, leaving VMI to settle for a 48 field goal by Greg Stevens, trimming Liberty's lead to four points, 7-3, at the 2:45 mark.
The Flames continued to shake off their sluggish start, adding their second touchdown to the scoreboard two and a half minutes later. Smith faked a handoff to Rashad Jennings and found Corey Rasberry open for a 19-yard touchdown reception on the far side of the field.
The first touchdown reception of the senior tight end's career gave the Flames a 14-3 with 14 ticks left on the first quarter game clock.
Liberty made quick work of the Keydets on its next drive, moving the ball 74 yards on three plays to push its lead to 21-3 with 12:44 left before halftime. The drive was capped off by a 32-yard touchdown run by Jennings, as the senior broke three attempted tackles for his 39th career rushing touchdown.
The Keydets managed to drive inside the Flames red zone once again. However, three straight rushing attempts by VMI, including a two-yard attempt by Maypray that was stopped by Kevin Richard on the goal line on fourth down, gave the ball back to Liberty.
After a quarterback sneak by Smith gave the Flames some breathing room, the Flames handed the ball off to Jennings. However, the senior got clogged up on the line of scrimmage and several Keydets surrounded the running back in the end zone, pulling the Keydets back within 16 points, 21-5, with 4:56 left in the first half.
The two-point play was the first safety by a Liberty opponent since the Flames snapped a punt attempt out the back of the end zone against Hofstra on Nov. 23, 2002.
Following the free kick after the safety, the Keydets continued to march downfield on the Flames adding seven more points on an eight-play, 46 yard drive.
The possession was capped off by an 11-yard touchdown burst up the middle by Joe Taylor, cutting Liberty's lead to 21-12 with 1:12 left before the break.
VMI outgained the Flames in the first half, finishing the opening 30 minutes of action with 254 total offensive yards to Liberty's 218. All 254 yards by the Keydets came via the ground game, while the Flames ran for 70 yards and passed for 148 more.
Smith was the Flames' leading offensive player in the first half, as the quarterback was 7-of-10 for 148 yards and two touchdowns. Jennings carried the ball seven times for 48 yards, getting most of his yardage on the 32-yard touchdown run.
Following the Flames punting the ball away on their first drive of the second half, the Keydets continued to chip away at Liberty's advantage.
A 53-yard pass play from Maypray to Zach Collins, VMI's first completion on the afternoon, helped the Keydets advance the ball onto Liberty's side of the field. Five plays later, Jones capped off an eight-play, 90-yard drive with a two-yard burst over the right tackle, cutting the lead to two points, 21-19, at the 7:15 mark of the third quarter.
Jennings helped the Flames move the ball downfield on Liberty's next drive, a possession which saw Liberty eat up 4:44 on the game clock on a 10-play drive.
With third-and-nine on the nine-yard line, the Flames ran four receivers onto the field, with Smith finding one of them, as Brown moved the chains by stretching the ball to the one-yard line on the catch.
Smith called his own number on the next possession, as the senior picked up his third rushing touchdown of the year and the fourth of his career. The one-yard run up the middle extended Liberty's lead to nine points, 28-19, with 2:31 left in the third quarter.
The Keydets fumbled the ball away on their next drive as Maypray mishandled the ball, which was recovered by Ian Childress at the VMI 40-yard line.
The combination of Smith and Jennings continued to move the Flame downfield, setting up a 24-yard field goal by Ben Shipps to push Liberty's lead to 12 points, 31-19, with 8:30 left in the Big South contest.
The Keydets continued to press to stay in the contest, piecing together their longest drive of the game to pull back within five points, 31-26. Jones took the last three plays on the 14-play drive, finishing the 73-yard march with a four-yard scamper with 2:10 left in the ball game.
However, the Flames finally squashed VMI's hopes on the next three plays. Liberty recovered an attempted on-side kick at the 36-yard line. Jennings was given the ball on the next play and the senior broke through the line for the score, giving him back-to-back seasons with 15 rushing touchdowns.
On the ensuing kickoff, the Keydets fumbled the ball for the sixth time this week and the 13th time over the last two games. Chad Brown struck returner Rajah Jenkins with Brandon Robinson covering up the miscue to seal the victory for Liberty.
VMI outgained Liberty in the contest, as the Keydets finished the game with 435 total offensive yards to the Flames 425 total offensive yards.
Liberty's offensive numbers were somewhat balanced, as the Flames finished with 236 passing and 189 rushing yards. The Keydets, the nation's No. 2 rushing offense, continued to keep to rushing ways, picking up 372 of its yards via the ground game.
For the 10th straight game, Jennings surpassed the 100-yard mark, helping the senior become the Big South's all-time leading rusher. Jennings ran for 147 yards and two touchdowns against VMI, giving him 3,468 career rushing yards.
The previous Big South career record holder was former Flame Dre Barnes, who finished his last three years of his Liberty career with 3,409 yards.
Smith continued to look sharp during the contest, as the senior completed 13-of-18 pass attempts for 236 yards and two touchdown passes.
Jonathan Crawford and Dominic Bolden were Smith's favorite two targets, with both wideouts finishing the game with four receptions. Crawford tied with Mike Brown in receiving yardage, as both receivers pulled in passes for 61 yards.
The Flames had four tacklers finish the game in double figures, led by a career-best 13 stops by Wes Cheek. Nick Hursky and Richard followed with 11 stops each, while Ryan Greiser rounded out the double-figure clan with 10 stops.
Despite the conference title being decided earlier in the day, the Flames will still return home next weekend to close out Big South Conference play. For the second straight year, Liberty will face Gardner-Webb in its final conference showdown, when the Flames welcome the Bulldogs to Williams Stadium for a 7 p.m. contest.
The win, Liberty's 10th straight against Big South foes to extend its league record winning streak, gives the Flames a two-game cushion with one game Big South game remaining on the year for each conference opponent.
Hours after Liberty's victory over the Keydets, Coastal Carolina picked up its lone Big South win on the year, handing Gardner-Webb its second league loss of the year with a 23-18 victory over the Bulldogs in Boiling Springs, N.C.
With the victory, the Flames become the third team in Big South history to capture consecutive conference titles. Gardner-Webb won the crown in 2002 and 2003, while Coastal Carolina claimed three straight league championships in 2004, 2005 and 2006.
The victory raised the Flames record to 8-2 on the year and 4-0 in Big South play. The win gives the Flames their second straight season with eight victories, marking the sixth time overall the feat has been accomplished in program history.
The Keydets dropped their third straight Big South Conference game to fall to 3-6 on the year and 1-3 in league action. The setback is also VMI's third straight to Liberty and pushes the Flames series record versus VMI to 5-3.
Both teams experienced some jitters early on in the game, as Rashad Jennings fumbled the ball on the first Flames' play early in the first, giving the Keydets possession in Liberty territory.
After picking up a first down to get to the Liberty 10-yard line, VMI gave the football back to the Flames when Tim Maypray fumbled on a diving play up the middle, helping settle both teams down.
After trading possessions, the Flames got on the scoreboard with a big play, when Brock Smith found Mike Brown open in the end zone. The 53-yard deep pass, the sixth 50-plus yard pass play by Liberty this year, was hauled in by the redshirt freshman, giving Liberty a 7-0 lead with 5:16 left in the first quarter.
On the first play of the ensuing drive, Chaz Jones broke a few tackles at the line of scrimmage and scampered 53 yards downfield to put the Keydets into Liberty territory. However, the drive stalled five plays later, leaving VMI to settle for a 48 field goal by Greg Stevens, trimming Liberty's lead to four points, 7-3, at the 2:45 mark.
The Flames continued to shake off their sluggish start, adding their second touchdown to the scoreboard two and a half minutes later. Smith faked a handoff to Rashad Jennings and found Corey Rasberry open for a 19-yard touchdown reception on the far side of the field.
The first touchdown reception of the senior tight end's career gave the Flames a 14-3 with 14 ticks left on the first quarter game clock.
Liberty made quick work of the Keydets on its next drive, moving the ball 74 yards on three plays to push its lead to 21-3 with 12:44 left before halftime. The drive was capped off by a 32-yard touchdown run by Jennings, as the senior broke three attempted tackles for his 39th career rushing touchdown.
The Keydets managed to drive inside the Flames red zone once again. However, three straight rushing attempts by VMI, including a two-yard attempt by Maypray that was stopped by Kevin Richard on the goal line on fourth down, gave the ball back to Liberty.
After a quarterback sneak by Smith gave the Flames some breathing room, the Flames handed the ball off to Jennings. However, the senior got clogged up on the line of scrimmage and several Keydets surrounded the running back in the end zone, pulling the Keydets back within 16 points, 21-5, with 4:56 left in the first half.
The two-point play was the first safety by a Liberty opponent since the Flames snapped a punt attempt out the back of the end zone against Hofstra on Nov. 23, 2002.
Following the free kick after the safety, the Keydets continued to march downfield on the Flames adding seven more points on an eight-play, 46 yard drive.
The possession was capped off by an 11-yard touchdown burst up the middle by Joe Taylor, cutting Liberty's lead to 21-12 with 1:12 left before the break.
VMI outgained the Flames in the first half, finishing the opening 30 minutes of action with 254 total offensive yards to Liberty's 218. All 254 yards by the Keydets came via the ground game, while the Flames ran for 70 yards and passed for 148 more.
Smith was the Flames' leading offensive player in the first half, as the quarterback was 7-of-10 for 148 yards and two touchdowns. Jennings carried the ball seven times for 48 yards, getting most of his yardage on the 32-yard touchdown run.
Following the Flames punting the ball away on their first drive of the second half, the Keydets continued to chip away at Liberty's advantage.
A 53-yard pass play from Maypray to Zach Collins, VMI's first completion on the afternoon, helped the Keydets advance the ball onto Liberty's side of the field. Five plays later, Jones capped off an eight-play, 90-yard drive with a two-yard burst over the right tackle, cutting the lead to two points, 21-19, at the 7:15 mark of the third quarter.
Jennings helped the Flames move the ball downfield on Liberty's next drive, a possession which saw Liberty eat up 4:44 on the game clock on a 10-play drive.
With third-and-nine on the nine-yard line, the Flames ran four receivers onto the field, with Smith finding one of them, as Brown moved the chains by stretching the ball to the one-yard line on the catch.
Smith called his own number on the next possession, as the senior picked up his third rushing touchdown of the year and the fourth of his career. The one-yard run up the middle extended Liberty's lead to nine points, 28-19, with 2:31 left in the third quarter.
The Keydets fumbled the ball away on their next drive as Maypray mishandled the ball, which was recovered by Ian Childress at the VMI 40-yard line.
The combination of Smith and Jennings continued to move the Flame downfield, setting up a 24-yard field goal by Ben Shipps to push Liberty's lead to 12 points, 31-19, with 8:30 left in the Big South contest.
The Keydets continued to press to stay in the contest, piecing together their longest drive of the game to pull back within five points, 31-26. Jones took the last three plays on the 14-play drive, finishing the 73-yard march with a four-yard scamper with 2:10 left in the ball game.
However, the Flames finally squashed VMI's hopes on the next three plays. Liberty recovered an attempted on-side kick at the 36-yard line. Jennings was given the ball on the next play and the senior broke through the line for the score, giving him back-to-back seasons with 15 rushing touchdowns.
On the ensuing kickoff, the Keydets fumbled the ball for the sixth time this week and the 13th time over the last two games. Chad Brown struck returner Rajah Jenkins with Brandon Robinson covering up the miscue to seal the victory for Liberty.
VMI outgained Liberty in the contest, as the Keydets finished the game with 435 total offensive yards to the Flames 425 total offensive yards.
Liberty's offensive numbers were somewhat balanced, as the Flames finished with 236 passing and 189 rushing yards. The Keydets, the nation's No. 2 rushing offense, continued to keep to rushing ways, picking up 372 of its yards via the ground game.
For the 10th straight game, Jennings surpassed the 100-yard mark, helping the senior become the Big South's all-time leading rusher. Jennings ran for 147 yards and two touchdowns against VMI, giving him 3,468 career rushing yards.
The previous Big South career record holder was former Flame Dre Barnes, who finished his last three years of his Liberty career with 3,409 yards.
Smith continued to look sharp during the contest, as the senior completed 13-of-18 pass attempts for 236 yards and two touchdown passes.
Jonathan Crawford and Dominic Bolden were Smith's favorite two targets, with both wideouts finishing the game with four receptions. Crawford tied with Mike Brown in receiving yardage, as both receivers pulled in passes for 61 yards.
The Flames had four tacklers finish the game in double figures, led by a career-best 13 stops by Wes Cheek. Nick Hursky and Richard followed with 11 stops each, while Ryan Greiser rounded out the double-figure clan with 10 stops.
Despite the conference title being decided earlier in the day, the Flames will still return home next weekend to close out Big South Conference play. For the second straight year, Liberty will face Gardner-Webb in its final conference showdown, when the Flames welcome the Bulldogs to Williams Stadium for a 7 p.m. contest.
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