Flames Rush to Victory Over Visiting Bobcats

The Flames scored 38-unanswered points thanks to a season-best 264 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns, leading Liberty to a 45-7 victory over visiting West Virginia Wesleyan, Saturday afternoon.

The victory, which was played in front of a crowd of 14,167 fans at Williams Stadium, upped Liberty's record to 3-2 on the season. The loss drops the Bobcats' season record to 1-4.

Liberty wasted little time jumping out to a quick lead in the game, scoring on the Flames' first possession of the afternoon.

Consecutive gains by Mike Brown gave the Flames a 7-0 lead on the fifth play of the drive. From midfield, Mike Brown trimmed Liberty's yardage needed to score in half on one play, when quarterback Tommy Beecher threaded the needle on a 26-yard slant passing play.

Mike Brown then lined up at quarterback and took off through the middle of the Bobcat defensive line on the ensuing play. The sophomore used a few key blocks downfield to find the end zone on a 27-yard run, giving Liberty the lead at 13:02. The run gave him his team-leading fourth rushing touchdown of the year.

The visitors answered right back, thanks in part to a 52-yard kickoff return by T.J. Benners, which helped the Bobcats start their drive at Liberty's 40-yard line.

Zane Zebrasky bookended passing plays to help the visitors tie the ball game at 7-7. The sophomore opened the drive, completing a 16-yard pass play to Terahje Gratkowski. Five plays later, Zebrasky found Jon Meadows open in the corner of the end zone, completing a six-yard passing play to the sophomore wide out to knot the game at 9:48.

Both team's defenses settled down on the following drives, making their presence known. West Virginia Wesleyan forced Liberty to punt following a three-and-out series, while the Flames' defenders gave their offensive counterparts key field position with the game's first turnover.

Following a five-yard loss by Emmanuel Burrell on a dropped handoff, Zebrasky's pass over the middle was picked off by Liberty's KaJuan Lee. The defensive back lost control of the football, but the loose ball was picked up by Pierre Tinsley, giving Liberty possession at the Bobcats' seven-yard line.

Aldreakis Allen followed on the next play, finding an opening on the left side of the field, allowing the freshman to score from seven yards out and give Liberty a 14-7 lead with 6:45 left to play in the opening quarter.

The run game continued to be the weapon of choice for head coach Danny Rocco, as the Flames rushed four times on their next six-play drive. The two non-rushing plays helped Liberty gain 45 yards, as Beecher completed a 33-yard pass play to Mike Brown and a 12-yard slant to Quarles to penetrate the red zone.

Two plays later, B.J. Hayes became the third player on the day to score on the ground, when the sophomore scored from six yards out on a burst up the middle, extending Liberty's lead to 14 points, 21-7, with 6:50 left to play before the break.

Following its second-straight three-and-out series, West Virginia Wesleyan was forced to punt, giving the Flames one additional opportunity to score before heading into the Williams Football Operation Center for intermission.

After a short-yardage gain on a six-yard screen play to Aaron Hewlett from Beecher to open the seven-play drive, the Flames kept the ball on the ground for the remainder of the 83-yard surge.

Allen spotlighted the scoring drive with a pair of notable runs. The first was a 42-yard run, as the freshman bounced outside to the right, crossing midfield during the process. Four plays later, the rookie scampered up the middle for his second score on the afternoon, finding the end zone from five yards out to push Liberty's lead to 28-7 with 66 seconds left in the second quarter.

Liberty doubled up the visitors during the opening 30 minutes of the game, finishing the first half with 303 total offensive yards to the Bobcats' 145 total offensive yards.

The Flames had three different rushers average more than eight yards per gain in the first half. Allen paced Liberty's 144-yard rushing attack by carrying the ball seven times for 68 yards and scoring twice, followed by 49 yards on six rushing attempts for Hayes. Julien Valentin led the Bobcats by rushing for 27 yards on 11 carries.

Both quarterbacks managed to finish the opening 30 minutes by completing double-digit passes. Beecher finished the first half an efficient 12-of-15 for 159 yards, while Zebrasky was 10-of-17 for 122 yards.

Allen continued to add to his career day on the Flames' second drive of the third quarter, picking up 45 of his 112 total rushing yards on consecutive plays.

The freshman got the Flames near the 50-yard line with a 15-yard gain to the right, followed by a 30-yard pickup on a pick left play.

Five plays later, Liberty went for it on fourth-and-goal from the two-yard line and Mike Brown scored from two yards out to push the score to 35-7 with 5:07 left in the third quarter.

The Flames tacked on 10 additional points on their following two drives. Danny Broggin finished off a four-play, 56-yard drive by scoring his first career touchdown on a 13-yard burst to the left side of the field with 1:43 left in the third quarter.

The visitors looked like they might add to their seven-point total, driving 76 yards to the Flames' goal line. However, Trey Messey was stopped by Kevin Fogg and Demetrius Ward on a fourth-and-goal run up the middle from the four-yard line, giving Liberty the ball back.

Liberty followed by mounting its third-longest drive of the day, marching 78 yards downfield before the 10-play drive stalled at the Bobcats' 21-yard line. The Flames were forced to settle for a 38-yard field goal by Matt Bevins, capping off the scoring for the game with 4:13 left on the game clock.

The Flames' first-half statistical dominance continued in the later part of the game, as Liberty outgained West Virginia Wesleyan, 514 to 301. Liberty, who managed to gain an average of 8.7 yards per play, posted its fifth 500 total offensive yard game under Rocco.

Liberty evenly divided its 514 total offensive yards, finishing with 264 on the ground and 250 via the passing game. The Flames' six rushing touchdowns on the game fell two shy of the program record, which was established when Liberty ran for eight touchdowns against Norfolk State in a 69-21 victory on Nov. 8, 2003.

Allen became Liberty's 31st football player to rush for a 100 yards in a game, carrying the ball 10 times for 112 yards and two touchdowns.

Hayes followed his backfield teammate, toting the ball eight times for 58 yards and his second touchdown of the year. West Virginia Wesleyan's rushing attack was led by Messey, who carried the ball 15 times for 89 yards.

Beecher helped the Flames hit the 250 passing yard mark, as the senior completed 16-of-21 passing attempts for 209 yards. Tyler Brennan was 2-of-4 for 32 yards, while Mike Brown completed his lone pass attempt for nine yards. The Bobcats' Zebrasky finished the afternoon by completing 13-of-23 passing attempts for 157 yards.

Mike Brown and Meadows led their respective squads with five receptions each, as Brown finished the game with 68 yards receiving and Meadows ended the day with 66 yards and the visitors' lone score.

Liberty's defensive effort was paced by three tacklers who finished the game with six stops apiece. Brandon Robinson finished with a career-best six stops, all of the solo variety, followed by six tackles each from Chris Rocco and Asa Chapman. Felipe Teixeira led the visitors with a game-high 10 tackles, followed by Valentino Williams' nine tackles.

Today's game brings to a close the second "segment" of the Flames season, as the game marked the final regular-season non-conference game for Liberty in 2009.

Following a weekend off, Liberty will welcome Coastal Carolina to Williams Stadium on Oct. 17, for a 3:30 p.m. contest. The Flames and the Chanticleers have combined to win the last four Big South championships, with Coastal Carolina winning in 2005 and 2006, while the Flames are the two-time defending champions with league titles in 2007 and 2008.

The series between the two programs is tied at 3-3, with Liberty taking the previous two meetings. The Chanticleers are the last team to defeat the Flames, as Liberty's current 11-game Big South winning streak started following a 28-26 setback to No. 22 Coastal Carolina on Oct. 28, 2006.

Schedule

Flames Rush to Victory Over Visiting Bobcats

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Team Stats

Tommy Beecher

Tyler Brennan

Mike Brown