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Liberty University
8-5 , 0-0
Toledo
9-5 , 5-3
Flames Rally Falls Short at RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl
12/21/2022 12:06:00 AM | Football
Press Conference - Coach and Players
Liberty scored two touchdowns during the final eight minutes of the RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl, but a failed two-point conversion kept the Flames from tying the game and allowed Toledo to secure a 21-19 bowl game win, Tuesday evening.
The Flames entered the game looking to become the second team in NCAA history to win four-straight bowl games in their first four years of FBS bowl eligibly.
Following a pair of Cure Bowl wins (2019 and 2020) and a win in the 2021 LendingTree Bowl, Liberty's all-time bowl game record now stands at 3-1. The Flames dropped their fourth game in a row and end the 2022 season with an 8-5 record.
Toledo, the 2022 MAC champions, wins its 12th bowl game in school history and finishes the season with a 9-5 record.
Despite the close overall score, the Rockets dominated the final stats sheet. Toledo finished the game with twice as many total plays as Liberty (86 plays for 356 yards to Liberty's 41 plays for 253 yards). The Rockets also held a 40:03 to 19:57 time of possession edge.
Liberty's starting quarterback Kaidon Salter finished with 147 of Liberty's 253 total offensive yards. He ran the ball 10 times for 63 yards, while also completing 12-of-20 pass attempts for 84 yards and a touchdown.
Shedro Louis followed Salter on the ground, rushing eight times for 37 yards and a touchdown.
Demario Douglas fell seven yards short of crossing the 1,000-yard threshold as the wide receiver's six receptions resulted in just 16 receiving yards to give him 993 yards on the year.
Durrell Johnson finished the final game of his Liberty career setting a single-season program record. The nation's leader in sacks added five more to his season total, giving him 27.5 tackles for a loss to surpass the previous record of 25.0 set by Jason Wells in 2000.
Linebacker Mike Smith, Jr. led all defenders in the game with 16 stops. His 16 tackles are the most by a Liberty player in its FBS era and most by a Flame against an FBS program since Sept. 10, 2005 at UConn, when Brandon Duke had 19 tackles and Nick Hursky had 17 tackles.
Box Score Highlights:
Final Score: 21-19
Liberty (8-5)
Toledo (9-5, 5-3 MAC)
Location: FAU Stadium (Boca Raton, Fla.)
Attendance: 20,622
Turning Point:
The Flames had a chance to trim the Rockets' lead to three points or even regain the lead following a muffed punt that Treon Sibley recovered on the Toledo 10-yard line late in the fourth quarter.
Louis picked up seven yards on the first play of the drive, but Toledo stopped Liberty on the next two plays. Nick Brown's 32-yard field goal attempt missed wide left to keep the score at 13-7 in favor of Toledo.
The Rockets followed with a game-decided 16-play, 80-yard touchdown to take a 21-7 lead with 10:35 left to play in the contest. Finn capped the drive with a one-yard rushing touchdown and then completed the two-point conversion pass play to put Toledo up two scores in the fourth.
Play-By-Play Breakdown:
First Quarter
- A turnover on downs led to the game's first score late in the first quarter. Toledo elected to go for it on a fourth-and-eight play on its first drive of the game, but TreShaun Clark was able to sack Rockets' quarterback Dequan Finn, giving Liberty the ball back at its own 47-yard line.
- A 20-yard quarterback keeper by Salter and a pass interference call set up a nine-yard rushing touchdown by Shedro Louis. The junior's eighth rushing touchdown of the year gave Liberty a 7-0 lead with 3:50 left in the opening quarter.
Second Quarter
- Toledo followed with its most successful drive of the first half, a 10-play, 68-yard effort, but the drive stalled at Liberty's 23-yard line. The Rockets were forced to settle for a 41-yard field goal by Thomas Cluckey to trim Liberty's advantage to 7-3.
- The two teams picked up only five additional first downs during the remaining 10:51 of the first half, allowing the Flames to take the four-point advantage into the locker room.
Third Quarter
- Toledo opened the third quarter with a 13-play drive that gave the Rockets their first lead of the game, 10-7. Finn capped the 75-yard drive with a four-yard touchdown pass to Lenny Kuhl on the far side of the field at the 8:45 mark.
- Two plays after the Rockets' touchdown, Toledo regained possession after sacking Liberty quarterback Kaidon Salter, who fumbled the ball away at the Flames' eight-yard line. Liberty's defense held on the following drive, forcing the Rockets' second field goal of the game, a 29-yard Cluckey field goal at 7:09 to push Toledo's lead to 13-7.
Fourth Quarter
- After missing the opportunity to score off the muffed punt and Toledo's second touchdown of the game, Liberty quickly moved the ball downfield to pull back within one score.
- Liberty finished off a seven-play, 69-yard drive with a 29-yard touchdown pass from Salter to Treon Sibley with 7:24 remaining to pull within a score. After a missed extra point, Liberty trailed 21-13.
- The Flames' first trick play of the game allowed Liberty to pull within two, 21-19, when wide receiver CJ Daniels completed a 67-yard scoring strike to tight end Bentley Hanshaw at 3:40. However, Salter was not able to complete the two-point conversion pass attempt to leave Liberty down two with under four minutes to play.
- Toledo's Jacquez Stuart rushed the ball six straight times and picked up three first downs on the following drive to wind out the clock and push the running back over 100 yards for the game (23 carries for 111 yards).
Team Stats
LIB 7, TOL 0
LIB - Louis,Shedro 9 yd run (Brown,Nick kick), 5 plays, 53 yards, TOP 01:37
LIB 7, TOL 3
TOL - Cluckey,Thomas 41 yd field goal 10 plays, 68 yards, TOP 04:02
LIB 7, TOL 10
TOL - Kuhl,Lenny 4 yd pass from Finn,Dequan (Cluckey,Thomas kick) 13 plays, 75 yards, TOP 06:15
LIB 7, TOL 13
TOL - Cluckey,Thomas 29 yd field goal 4 plays, -4 yards, TOP 00:54
LIB 7, TOL 21
TOL - Finn,Dequan 1 yd run (Stuart,Jacquez pass), 16 plays, 80 yards, TOP 07:00
LIB 13, TOL 21
LIB - Sibley,Treon 29 yd pass from Salter,Kaidon () 7 plays, 69 yards, TOP 03:03
LIB 19, TOL 21
LIB - Hanshaw,Bentley 67 yd pass from Daniels,CJ () 1 plays, 67 yards, TOP 00:13
