Second-Half Surges Keeps LU Perfect in BSC

A back-and-forth battle in the first half turned into a one-side effort in the second, as No. 16 Liberty remained unbeaten in Big South play with a 51-28 victory over Gardner-Webb, Saturday afternoon, at Spangler Stadium.

The victory pushes Liberty's Big South winning streak to 16-straight games, more than twice as long as Coastal Carolina's eight-game run four years ago.

The win, coupled with Stony Brook's overtime loss to Charleston Southern this afternoon, has given Liberty at least a share of this year's Big South title. The win also pushes the Flames season record to 8-2 and 5-0 in Big South play.

The loss, the Bulldogs' third in a row, drops Gardner-Webb to 5-5 on the season and 2-3 in Big South action.

The Bulldogs put points on the scoreboard as quickly as they could to open the contest. David Montgomery returned the opening kickoff 100 yards for a score, giving Gardner-Webb an early lead on the longest kickoff return by an opponent in Liberty's history. The touchdown scamper bested a 99-yard return by Darryl Hymes of Lenoir-Rhyne in 1980.

The Flames countered with their own score, doing so in a more conventional manner, as the visitors pieced together a nine-play, 62-yard scoring drive.

Liberty used a mixture of run and pass plays to move the ball downfield in four minutes, tying the game on a two-yard run by Mike Brown on a direct snap to the sophomore at 10:34.

After forcing the home team to punt the ball way after three plays, four different ball carries helped the Flames move the ball 72 yards on 11 plays to score on its second-straight possession.

A pass interference call on Gardner-Webb on a pass to the corner of the end zone kept the drive alive, giving Liberty a new set of downs inside the 10-yard line.

And the Flames made the extra opportunity count. Four plays later, Brown was snapped the ball again. After getting a key block from fullback Derek Bishop, the sophomore was able to score his second touchdown of the day and eighth rushing touchdown of the season, pushing the Flames' lead to 14-7 with 2:31 left in the opening quarter.

Brown scored from one-yard out on the fourth-and-goal play, marking the sixth time the Flames have converted on a fourth-down play this season.

Gardner-Webb quickly answered back, thanks to pin-point passing from quarterback Stan Doolittle. The senior completed all five of his passing attempts for 60 yards, setting up a four-yard run by James Perry. The four-yard scamper was the third carry of the season by the wide receiver and tied the game with 13:47 left before the halftime intermission.

The back and forth battle continued. Liberty was able to quickly regain the lead, thanks to large passing plays by Tommy Beecher.

The senior hurler found Mike Brown and Aaron Hewlett open for 23 and 15 yard receptions, respectively, eventually setting up Tommy Shaver's first career touchdown reception. The sophomore tight end just managed to find the near corner of the end zone on a five-yard slant, giving Liberty the momentary 21-14 advantage at 10:56.

But it was short lived. Gardner-Webb was able to knot the game just 19 seconds later. After an incomplete pass by Doolittle, Patrick Hall found an opening in the middle of the line and outran several chasing Flames defenders, scoring on a 66-yard touchdown run.

The bolt was the longest rushing play Liberty has allowed this year and the second longest allowed by the Flames since head coach Danny Rocco took over the program in 2006. It was the longest scoring run since Coastal Carolina's Mike Tolbert scored on a 70-yard play 37 seconds into the game on Oct. 28, 2006.

The punch-counterpunch battle finally came to an end and the score remained the same until Liberty was able to tack on three additional points on a 37-yard Matt Bevins field goal.

The Flames managed to drive inside the 20-yard line, but consecutive incomplete passes forced Liberty to settle for the field goal, ending the 10-play, 53-yard drive with less than three minutes left to play in the opening 30 minutes.

During the waning seconds of the first half both teams managed to find the scoreboard. Gardner-Webb moved the ball 77 yards in less than two minutes, thanks to three consecutive completions from Doolittle.

After completions of 10 and 18 yards, the senior found Montgomery downfield and the wide receiver was able to spin the defender on his outside and cut back toward the hash marks, allowing him to score on a 43-yard play and give the Bulldogs their first lead since early in the first quarter.

With only 46 ticks left in the first half and down four points, Liberty managed to mount a quick attack. Beecher completed 3-of-5 passing attempts for 42 yards, getting the Flames within field goal distance, as Bevins knocked down the 27-yard attempt as time expired.

The high-scoring first half, which ended in a 28-27 lead for the homestanding Bulldogs, saw Liberty outgain Gardner-Webb, 267 to 250 total offensive yards. However, the Bulldogs were more efficient than the visitors. Gardner-Webb finished the opening 30 minutes with 16 fewer offensive plays (43 to 27).

The pair of quarterbacks led both offensive attacks with a touchdown pass. Beecher was 14-of-19 for 167 yards and Doolittle was 11-of-14 for 146 yards.

Mike Brown was Liberty's leading receiver with six catches for 78 yards, while Perry finished with three catches for 36 yards for the Bulldogs.

Mike Brown also led the Flames ground game, picking up 44 yards on eight rushing attempts and the two first-half scores. Hall was the Bulldogs' leading rusher with six carries for 77 yards, aided by the 66-yard scoring run.

Liberty tried to regain the lead on its first possession of the second half. Bevins was called upon for the third time on the afternoon. However, the sophomore's 49-yard attempt was just shy of the crossbar, keeping the score the same and ending the sophomore's second eight-consecutive field goal streak of the season.

After forcing the Bulldogs to punt the ball away on their first drive of the second half, Bevin was able to start a new streak, knocking down a 42-yard field goal at the 3:28 mark of the third quarter.

The 14-play, 60-yard drive saw SirChauncey Holloway start to take over ball carrying duties, as the rookie was handed the ball four times for 41 yards, including gains of 18 and 19 yards.

After a second-straight failed drive, Liberty took over possession of the football deep in its own territory.

However, the lengthy field did not bother the visitors. Beecher found Mike Brown open on a slant route in the middle of the field. The receiver found a seam and scored on an 80-yard play and giving the Flames a 37-28 lead with 16 seconds left in the period.

The Flames continued to showcase better defensive play in the second half, resulting in seven additional points this time.

Doolittle completed a pass to Josh Miller. The tight end, who was trying to pick up a first down on a third-and-13 pass, was struck by KaJuan Lee, causing a fumble. The loose ball was picked up by Demetrius Ward, who returned it 20 yards for a score to push Liberty's lead to 44-28.

The Flames continued to stymie the Bulldogs, while adding an insurance touchdown. Beecher found Chris Summers open on the far side of the end zone for a 25-yard strike with 3:36 to seal the victory.

The 25-yard scoring play pushed the Flames point total over the 50-point mark for the third-straight game and for the fourth time during Big South play.

Liberty's dominated the final 30 minutes of the game, outgaining the Bulldogs by 120 yards (242 to 122), to finish the afternoon with the team's third 500-total offensive yard showing of the season (510 yards).

Beecher and Mike Brown were the offensive stars for the Flames. Beecher had a career day, completing 23-of-32 passing attempts for 337 yards and three scoring passes. The performance was his first collegiate 300-yard game and allowed him to become the ninth play in program history to pass for 300 yards in a game.

Brown was the Flames leading rusher and receiver. The sophomore finished the day with 11 carries for 52 yards and two scoring runs, while catching 10 passes for 198 yards and a score. The 198 receiving yards sets a new program standard, surpassing Courtney Freeman's previous record of 186 receiving yards against Western Kentucky on Oct. 19, 1996.

Wes Cheek was the defensive tackles leader for the Flames. The senior tied a career high with 13 stops, aided by a career best 10 solo tackles. He also finished the VMI game last season with 13 tackles.

Lee followed with seven stops and a forced fumble, while Brent Vinson and Kyle O'Donnell followed with six stops each, marking a career best for O'Donnell.

Liberty will close out its regular season next weekend, when the Flames make their first trek to Stony Brook, N.Y., to square off against Stony Brook. A win by the Flames would give Liberty the Big South title outright, while a victory by the Seawolves would give both teams a share of the conference crown.

But, this will not be the first time Liberty has made a trip to Long Island for football. The Flames have traveled to the island four previous times to take to the field against Hofstra some 40 miles west, dropping each game to the Pride.

Liberty's series with Stony Brook is a new one, as the two squads first squared off last year in Williams Stadium. The homestanding Flames dominated the game, doubling up the Seawolves in total offensive yardage (466 to 233), en route to a 33-0 blanking by the then No. 15 ranked Flames.

Schedule

Second-Half Surges Keeps LU Perfect in BSC

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Team Stats

Tommy Beecher

Mike Brown