Turnovers Aid in 40-Point Win for LU over VMI

No. 16/17 Liberty took advantage of eight turnovers by the visiting VMI Keydets, helping the Flames secure a 54-14 win over their in-state conference foe, Saturday night, in front of 15,209 fans at Williams Stadium.

With the victory, the Flames run their Big South Conference winning streak to 15-straight games, which still remains the nation's third-longest active conference FCS winning streak.

The victory pushes Liberty's record to 7-2 on the year and 4-0 in Big South play and gives the winningest senior class in program history one last victory in their final home game.

The loss drops the Keydets record to 2-7 on the year and closed out VMI's Big South season with a 1-5 conference record.

The game looked like it was going to be an offensive shootout on both sides of the field, as 14 points were scored before 100 seconds ticked off the game clock.

VMI took the opening kickoff and quickly moved the ball downfield 80 yards on three plays to score. Following a pair of runs by Kyle Hughes that led to 32 combined yards, the remaining 48 yards were picked up via the air, as Hughes found Mario Scott open for a 48 yard touchdown reception over the middle for the score at 13:43.

Liberty quickly answered back, as Aaron Hewlett returned the ensuing kickoff 80 yards to even the score at 7-7 just 11 seconds later. The 80-yard return was Liberty's first kickoff return for a score since Jonathan Crawford returned a 76-yarder during Liberty's 2008 season opener against North Greenville.

After forcing the Keydets to punt the ball away on their next drive, Liberty kept adding points to the scoreboard.

The Flames managed to drive to the VMI 25-yard line, but the 12-play drive stalled as Liberty neared the red zone. Liberty was forced to settle for a 42-yard field from Matt Bevins, handing the Flames a 10-7 edge with 5:44 left to play in the opening quarter.

Both teams' defenses started to settle down from that point, as the score remained the same until early in the second quarter.

After forcing the Flames to punt the ball away for the second time on the evening, VMI took over possession at its own 32-yard line. Following a three-yard pickup by Howard Abegesah, Hughes tried to throw a screen pass.

But the ball was tipped by linebacker Ian Childress who eventually gained possession and returned the errant throw 34 yards to the end zone, extending Liberty's lead to 10 points, 17-7, with 11:01 left to play in the opening half.

The interception was the 16th of the year for the Flames, who entered the game ranked No. 4 in the country in total interceptions. The return by Childress was the fourth of his career and the first for a score for the Flames since Ryan Greiser returned an interception 35 yard for a score against Toledo on Oct. 6, 2007.

Big gains on the following drive seemed to move VMI into scoring possession. Tim Maypray returned the ensuing kickoff 23 yards, while Maypray and Abegesah picked up runs of 26 and 19 yards, respectively, to help the Keydets drive deep in Liberty territory.

After a six-yard pickup by Abegesah moved VMI to the one-yard line, the visitors decided to go for it on fourth-and-one. However, Liberty, which ranks No. 15 nationally in fewest red zone touchdowns allowed in 2009, helped better their numbers. Terry Adams and Doncel Bolt stopped T.J. Talley on the outside, turning the ball over to the Flames.

Following a second turnover on downs by the Keydets, Liberty was able to quickly add seven additional points before the clock read all zeros at the half.

Ervin Garner nearly doubled his reception total on the year with one catch on the drive, as the sophomore picked up 46 yards on a catch from Tommy Beecher to move the homestadning Flames into scoring position.

After Beecher picked up 15 yards on a quarterback draw to the three-yard line, Mike Brown found a hole opened on the left side of the offensive line, giving the Flames their 24-7 lead at halftime.

VMI outgained the Flames during the opening 30 minutes of play, despite the 17-point deficit on the scoreboard. The Keydets picked up 245 yards on 36 plays during the opening half to the Flames 158 yards on 26 plays.

The Keydets picked over 70 percent of their yardage on the ground, rushing 29 times for 182 yards. Abegesah and Maypray led the rushing attack, finished the opening half with 68 and 61 rushing yards respectively.

Liberty's leading rushing during the first half was Aldreakis Allen who rushed nine times for 48 yards. Beecher finished the first 30 minutes of the game by completing 8-of-13 passing attempts for 92 yards, with Brown catching five of those passes for 31 yard.

Liberty took the opening drive of the third quarter and managed to add three more points to the scoreboard, thanks to a 38-yard field goal by Bevins with 8:44 left to play in the period. The 59-yard, 12-play drive was spotlighted by a sideline pass from Mike Brown to Chris Summers.

The Keydets tried to keep themselves in the game, answering Liberty's field goal with their second touchdown on the night. VMI kept the ball on the ground eight times on the nine-play drive, gaining 39 yards by the nation's No. 2 rushing attack.

The eighth rush of the 60-yard drive saw Maypray give a solid second effort to score, as the Big South Preseason Offensive Player of the Year bounced outside after not find an opening, scoring from one yard out to pull the visitors within 13, 27-14, with 5:21 left in the quarter.

But the one-yard burst would prove to be the final time the visitors would find the scoreboard on the evening, as Liberty scored 27-unanswered points to secure the 40-point home victory.

All 27 points were added to the scoreboard during the final 15 minutes of play, starting with a five-yard touchdown pass from Beecher to Summers at the 11:24 mark.

Bevins was called upon twice more during the final period, knocking down a pair of 40-yard field goals (40 and 43 yard). The final two scores came during the last four minutes of the games, as SirChauncey Holloway scored on a 12-yard burst up the middle, while Kevin Fogg recovered a muffled punt return by the Keydets in the end zone to punctuate the night.

All in all, 30 of the Flames' 54 points came directly as a result of VMI's eight turnovers, as the Keydets finished the day with six fumbles lost and two interceptions.

Without the eight giveaways, the outcome in the game might have been different, as VMI finished the game with one more total offensive yard than the Flames, 335 to 334.

The Keydets, who came into the game averaging 255.5 rushing yards per game, nearly met the average, as VMI rushed 51 times for 250 yards. The Flames have only allowed eight opponents rush for 200 or more yards in a game since head coach Danny Rocco took over the program and four of those performances were by the Keydets.

Despite the 250 rushing yards by the Keydets, no player managed to break the 100-yard mark, as Maypray led all rushers with 12 carries for 87 yards and a score. Abegesah followed with 16 rushing attempts for 75 yards.

Liberty's 170 team rushing yards were paced by Allen's 65 yards on 16 carries, followed by Beecher's 48 yards on five rushing attempts.

Beecher finished the game by completing 13-of-23 passing attempts for 124 yards and a score. Mike Brown completed two of his four passes for 27 yards, while Tyler Brennan found two receivers on his passing attempts for 13 yards.

Hughes complete 5-of-10 passing attempts for 81 yards and a score, while tossing two interceptions on the night.

Mike Brown finished as the game's leading receiver, catching six passes for 36 yards for the Flames, followed by Summers four catches for 46 yards and a score. VMI had five different players catch a pass, with Scott leading the team with two receptions for 69 yards.

Chad Brown was the leading tackler for the Flames, as the linebacker finished the game with nine stops. Adams followed with eight tackles, including 2.5 tackles for a loss, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

Bryon Allen finished the night as the game's leading overall tackler, as he stopped 17 ball carries, followed by Trae Watkins' 11 tackles.

Bevins finished the night with a career-best 16 points, thanks to being perfect on four field goal attempts and four extra points. The four field goals ties Bevin's own school record, as he also booted four through the uprights against Elon last year, while Phillip Harrelson first hit the mark against Delaware State in 1997.

The contest brought to a close a chapter in the history of the Flames football program, as the game was the final one played at Williams Stadium under its current seating capacity.

The stadium, which opened in 1989 and has seen Liberty post a 77-39 record since opening its gates against Towson State on Oct. 21, is slated to be renovated after the close of the 2009 season.

Prior to Liberty's first home game in 2010, the seating capacity in the on-campus facility will expand from 12,000 to 19,200, which will be the first of three phases which will bring the overall seating capacity to 30,000 over the next five years.

Along with the additional 7,200 seats, a state-of-the-art, three-tiered press box is slated to be constructed, which will house a club level, 16 individual suites and entire floor dedicated to the working press and game operations aspects of a home football game.

Having played their final home game of the 2009 season, the Flames will now go on the road to close out their schedule, where they will be vying for their third-straight Big South title.

The Flames will begin the stretch next weekend, when Liberty travels to Boiling Springs, N.C., to square off against Gardner-Webb, who has dropped its last two conference games. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.

Liberty has won the last two meetings between the programs, including a 31-0 blanking of the Bulldogs in 2007 at Spangler Stadium, when the Flames clinched their first Big South title on Nov. 7.

VMI finishes out the final two games of its 2009 slate against non-conference foes, beginning with a road game at Army, next Saturday. Kickoff at West Point is scheduled for Noon between the two military programs who have squared off 14 times.

Schedule

Turnovers Aid in 40-Point Win for LU over VMI

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Team Stats

Tommy Beecher

Mike Brown

Tyler Brennan