Liberty Victorious Over Eagles in Home Opener

No. 24 Liberty overcame a sluggish start to open its 2009 home season with a 35-10 victory over visiting North Carolina Central, Saturday night, before a record-setting crowd at Williams Stadium.

The contest was played in front of the largest crowd in Williams Stadium history, as 16,112 fans packed into the on-campus facility for Liberty's 2009 home opener.

The stadium's previous record was 15,631 fans in attendance for Liberty's matchup with William & Mary on Oct. 14, 2006.

North Carolina Central won the coin toss to open the game, but quickly gave it to the home team. The visitors turned the ball over on the third play of their opening possession, as linebacker Wes Cheek stepped in front of a Michael Johnson pass, picking off the miscue and giving Liberty possession at North Carolina Central's 40-yard line.

The Flames ran the ball four out of the next five plays, followed by a six-yard pass from Tommy Beecher to Mike Brown, moving Liberty to the seven-yard line. However, the drive stalled there, leaving the home team to settle for a field goal attempt.

Matt Bevins was called in to attempt a 24-yard kick, but his kick nicked the right goal post, leaving the game scoreless and ending the sophomore's run of seven-straight successful field goal attempts.
North Carolina Central managed to get to midfield, before having to punt the ball away. But Liberty's special teams unit, which has been a strong suite for the Flames over the last several seasons, made a mistake.

Mike Brown was deep downfield ready to receive the punt, but one of his own players was blocked into him, forcing the ball to slip over his head. Brown had touched the ball before being hit, and it slipped over his head and was recovered by Elieze Sandifer.

The play gave North Carolina possession of the football at Liberty's 21-yard line and six plays later, the visitors became the first team to dent the scoreboard on the evening. On a second-and-goal play from the six, Johnson completed a pass to Will Scott over the middle, giving the Eagles the 7-0 lead with 1:16 left in the opening quarter.

Defense dominated play for the next 20 minutes of action. The next five drives saw four three-and-out series, two by each team, and a turnover by the Eagles on a fumble.

Following Liberty's second-straight three-and-out series, North Carolina Central managed to drive deep enough to add to its lead. The visitors managed to get inside Liberty's 20-yard line for the second time on the evening, allowing Frankie Cardelle to connect on a 35-yard field goal with 6:20 left before the intermission and widen the Eagles lead to 10-0.

North Carolina Central looked like it might head into the locker room by keeping Liberty's offense silent, but a 25-yard punt return by Aaron Hewlett to the 29-yard line gave the Flames one last shot with just over a minute and a half left before halftime.

Two running plays by B.J. Hayes and a completed six-yard pass from Mike Brown to Hewlett, pushed Liberty to the seven-yard line. Brown then called his own number, sweeping to the right on a quarterback keeper, allowing Liberty to trim its deficit to three points, 10-7, with 28 second left to play in the second.

North Carolina Central controlled the pace of play during the opening half, holding a 18:32 to 11:28 time of possession edge.

The two teams used two different avenues to advance the ball during the first 30 minutes of play. Johnson completed 11-of-13 passing attempts for 75 yards, accounting for almost all of its 87 first half yards. Liberty's Hayes (35 yards) and Aldreakis Allen (30 yards) helped the Flames rush for 75 yards, marking almost 70 percent of its 113 first half yards.

Liberty used the momentum of the late score and a sizeable 32-yard return on the opening kickoff of the second half to take its first lead of the game.

Mike Brown completed all four of his passing attempts on a 10-play, 52-yard drive, including a slant to Dominique Jones in the corner of the end zone. The one-yard pass to the near side of the field was the first touchdown reception of the tight end's career and put Liberty into the lead at 14-10 with 9:51 left in the third quarter.

The Eagles tied to answer back on the ensuing drive, penetrating the red zone for the third time on the evening. But the drive came to a halt at the 17-yard line following an incomplete pass play from Johnson to Earthan Ward on third-and-seven.

But Cardelle missed his first career field goal, as the freshman's 33-yard attempt sailed wide right, allowing the Flames to hold onto a four-point lead heading into the fourth quarter of action.

Liberty's defense continued to make its presence known, keeping the visitors deep in their own territory during North Carolina Central's first drive of the fourth quarter.

A 38-yard punt by Mike Larsson pinned the Eagles to the 10-yard line. Two plays later, Terry Adams sacked a scrambling Johnson at the goal line, forcing the quarterback to cough up the football, which was recovered by Tim Torrence on the one-yard line.

On the following play, fullback Derek Bishop paved the way for Allen's first career touchdown, as the freshman found a hole on the left side of the offensive line. The one-yard score at the 10:00 mark of the fourth quarter pushed Liberty's lead to 20-10.

Another three-and-out series for the visitors gave Liberty the ball back 90 second later and the Flames put the game out of reach with an emphatic statement.

Hayes was handed the ball on successive plays and on the second, the sophomore broke off the sixth-longest scoring run in program history, as he ran up the middle for 74 giving Liberty all it would need to seal the victory.

Liberty's defense punctuated a strong outing, when Chuck Duffey sacked Johnson and Daryl Robertson recovered the ball four plays later at the 6:00 mark of the fourth. The Flames reserves finished off the remainder of the game, including a four-yard scoring run by SirChauncey Holloway at 4:08 to wrap up the game's scoring.

The offensive numbers were dramaticly different during the second half, as the Flames outgained the visitors by 89 yards (215 to 126), finishing the contest with a 115-yard total offensive advantage (328 to 213). The 213 total offensive yards allowed marks the fourth fewest under head coach Danny Rocco.

Liberty returned to its more traditional way of moving the football, rushing for 231 yards on 34 rushing attempts (6.8 average rushing yards per play). Liberty also scored four of its five touchdowns on the day via the ground game.

Hayes was the big ground gainer for the Flames, posting his first career 100-yard game by rushing for 129 yards on 11 attempts. Allen followed with 13 carries for 50 yards and his first trip into the end zone.

Mike Brown came in for Beecher in the first half and efficiently moved the Flames down field, as he completed 10-of-12 passing attempts for 71 yards. Beecher finished the contest 3-of-6 during his limited time under center.

Jimmy Eden led seven different receivers for the Flames, finishing the contest with four receptions for 30 yards. Chris Summers followed with the team's highest receiving yardage total, hauling in two passes for 38 yards.

Liberty's stout defense was paced by its linebackers, starting with a career effort from Doncel Bolt. The middle linebacker led the Flames with 10 stops, including seven assisted tackles, a shared sack, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

Cheek and Ian Childress followed with eight stops apiece, while Asa Chapman rounded out the top four defenders with a career-best seven assisted tackles.

The Flames head back on the road next weekend, when they travel to Easton, Pa., to square off against Lafayette in a Big South vs. Patriot League showdown at Fisher Stadium.

Liberty will be looking to avenge a 35-21 loss suffered at the hands of the Leopards, last year inside Williams Stadium, on Oct. 18. The contest will mark the second meeting in the series between the two programs.

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Liberty Victorious Over Eagles in Home Opener

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Team Stats

Mike Brown

Tommy Beecher

Tyler Brennan