Sophomore Connection Leads Flames to Road Win

The sophomore tandem of Mike Brown and Chris Summers finished the night with career games, leading No. 24 Liberty to a hard fought 19-13 road victory over Lafayette, Saturday night, at Fisher Stadium.

Winners of seven out of their last nine road games, the victory raises the Flames' record to 2-1 on the year and 15-3 in their last 18 games. The loss evens Lafayette's mark on the year to 1-1.
The Flames wasted little time getting on the scoreboard, denting the board on their opening drive for the second time in three games on the year.

Mike Brown, who started the game under center, played a part in 52 yards of the 60-yard drive. The sophomore completed all four of his passing attempts for 30 yards, while carrying the ball five times for 22 yards.

On a third-and-goal play at the Lafayette one-yard line, Mike Brown was stopped by the Leopards' defenders. Liberty's success on fourth-down plays in 2009 (3-of-3) helped head coach Danny Rocco make the next call and the Flames' gamble paid dividends.

Mike Brown, using a hole cleared by fullback Derek Bishop, found a crack on the left side of the offensive line, scoring his third rushing touchdown of the year. The scoring run capped off a 12-play, 6:19 opening drive, giving Liberty a 7-0 lead at the 8:41 mark of the first quarter.

The Leopards looked like they might cut into the lead on their first full drive of the second quarter. On a third-and-11 play from midfield, Lafayette's Rob Curley scrambled and found Greg Stripe open over the middle of the field for a 34-yard reception, placing the home team inside the red zone.

However, three plays later, the drive stalled at the Liberty six-yard line, setting up a 23-yard field goal attempt by Davis Rodriguez at 10:31. But the junior's attempt sailed wide left, marking the fourth missed attempt by the kicker on the year, leaving the score at 7-0 in Liberty's favor.

The score remained the same until later in the quarter, when Liberty tacked on nine points on successive drives. Back-to-back completions by Mike Brown to Freddie Brown and Chris Summers led to the first score.

On a third-and-seven play from Lafayette's 39-yard line, the Brown connection hooked up, when Mike Brown found Freddie Brown open on a 10-yard out route to move the chains.

On the very next play, Mike Brown threw a deep pass to Summers in the corner of the end zone and the 6-4 wide receiver used his extra reach to haul in a 29-yard touchdown reception, the first of his career, at the 2:01 mark. Matt Bevins' extra point attempt was blocked, leaving the score at 13-0 at the two-minute mark.

Following their second three-and-out series, the Leopards were forced to punt the ball away for the third time, giving Liberty possession at its own 36-yard line. Mike Brown quickly moved the Flames down field, completing four-of-six passing attempts on six-straight plays to get Liberty inside the red zone for the second time on the night.

After Leopards head coach Frank Tavani called consecutive timeouts to try to freeze Bevins, the sophomore knocked down a 26-yard field goal attempt as time expired, sending Liberty into the locker room at the break with a 16-0 lead.

Mike Brown personally outgained Lafayette during the opening 30 minutes of play, as the sophomore completed 16-of-20 passing attempts for 154 yards, plus 46 rushing yards on 13 carries. Brown ran for a score and passed for another to account for both Liberty's touchdowns.

Liberty finished the first half with 211 total offensive yards on 40 plays, as compared to Lafayette's 100 yards on 22 plays. Summers was Mike Brown's favorite target, as the sophomore finished the half with seven receptions for 75 yards.

Determined to turn things around at the beginning of the second half, the homestanding Leopards mounted their best drive of the evening on their first possession of the third.

A second lengthy pass play from Curly moved Lafayette into the red zone, when the senior completed a 26-yard passing play to Mitchell Bennett on third-and-six. Maurice White was handed the ball four out of the next five times, where the senior picked up 16 yards.

The final four yards of the 70-yard drive came on the final White carry, ending Lafayette's scoring drought and pulling the Leopards within nine, 16-7, with 9:40 in the third.

Liberty tried to lengthen its margin on the third play of the fourth quarter, as Bevins was called upon to attempt a 27-yard field goal. But for the second time on the night, Lafayette scampered through Liberty's special teams line and blocked a kick, leaving the margin at nine.

The Flames defense forced the home team to punt the ball away, giving Liberty possession with 14 minutes left on the game clock.

Mike Brown continued to look masterful on the drive, completing 5-of-5 passing attempts for 41 yards, including back-to-back receptions to Summers, 17 and five yards, respectively.

Summers' final catch got the Flames to the 20-yard line, where Bevins was able to knock down 37-yard field goal at 5:48 to widen Liberty's lead to 12 points, 19-7.

Not willing to concede defeat, the host Leopards found a way to score their second touchdown of the night in just four plays. The 63-yard drive saw Curley complete four-straight pass plays, including a 31-yard reception to Mark Layton in the corner of the end zone just 73 seconds later to trim the lead to six, 19-13.

Needing to wind down three remaining minutes on the clock, Mike Brown continued to find success through the air, completing all three of his attempts on the drive. The final one was a 15-yard dart to Summers on a third-and-fourth play, getting Liberty to the eight-yard line and ending he contest, as the Flames were able to let the clock run out the remainder of the way.

The Leopards nearly doubled their offensive output in the second half (186 yards) and finished the game with 286 total offensive yards. Liberty had its second straight 300-yard game, finishing the contest with 361 total offensive yards.

Mike Brown was Liberty's offensive star, as the sophomore completed 29-of-36 passing attempts for 256 yards and a score in his first start at quarterback. He also called his own number 20 times on the night, finishing with a career-high 88 rushing yards.

Summers also had a breakout night, catching 14 passes for 138 yards and his first collegiate touchdown. The sophomore, who averaged 9.9 yards per reception, became the 45th player in program history with a 100-yard receiving game and his 14 receptions ranks as the second most in the program's single game history.

Wes Cheek was Liberty's leading tackler on the night, as the senior finished the game seven tackles, while the linebacker added his second interception in three games on the game's lone turnover.

The Flames will return to action next weekend, when they host in-state foe James Madison at Williams Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m., in a game between a pair of Top 25 programs.

The Dukes entered this weekend ranked No. 6 in the FCS Coaches Poll and No. 7 in the Sports Network poll. Liberty, who has now been ranked 15 out of the last 16 weeks dating back to last year, was ranked No. 24 in the FCS Coaches poll.

The contest, which renews an old rivalry and mark the 15th meeting in the overall series, will be part of Liberty's Hall of Fame weekend. During a special halftime ceremony, the Athletics Department will honor the seven inaugural members of its Hall of Fame.

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Sophomore Connection Leads Flames to Road Win

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