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Thursday, October 5
Lynchburg, Va.
7:00 PM ET
Liberty University
5-0 , 3-0
21
vs
16
Sam Houston
0-5 , 0-2
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Sam Houston
10
0
6
0
16
Liberty
7
14
0
0
21
Daniels and Defense Shine in Midweek on the Mountain Win
10/5/2023 11:40:00 PM | Football
LYNCHBURG, Va. - Wide receiver CJ Daniels had a career night and Liberty's defense made a last-play stand to secure a 21-16 Midweek on the Mountain win over Sam Houston, Thursday night, at Williams Stadium.
With the win, Liberty remains undefeated on the year (5-0) and is tied atop the Conference USA standings with a perfect 3-0 league record.
Daniels posted his fifth career 100-yard game. He led all receivers with five receptions for a career-high 157 receiving yards, including a 51-yard scoring play in the second quarter.
Late in the fourth quarter, a Flames' defensive stand and a punt pinned the visiting Bearkats at their three-yard line with 3:36 left to play.
Sam Houston systemically marched down the field 96 yards to Liberty's three-yard line on the next 11 plays, setting up a dramatic finish for the national TV audience.
Facing a first-and-goal at the three-yard line, Flames' cornerback Kobe Singleton recorded two of his three pass breakups on the final drive at the goal line, including his last on a fourth-down throw to the end zone ending the game.
Liberty finished the night outgaining Sam Houston, 448 to 327 yards, sharing its offensive workload on the ground (191 rushing yards) and through the air (257 passing yards).
Flames quarterback Kaidon Salter completed 11-of-19 passing attempts for 257 yards and his 12th passing touchdown of the year.
The redshirt sophomore also ran for another score, while carrying the ball 12 times for 38 yards.
Wake Forest transfer running back Quinton Cooley, Liberty's leading rusher on the year, scored his first touchdown in a Liberty uniform. The senior led all backs with 17 carries for 106 yards, his third 100-yard game of the year.
Liberty's defense finished the night with five pass breakups and it's nationally leading 11th  interception of the 2023 season.
Linebacker Jerome Jolly, Jr., led the Flames' defensive efforts with a career-high eight tackles, including six solo stops, a tackle for a loss and a forced fumble.
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The Flames' win today:
Box Score Highlights:
Final Score: 21-16
Liberty (5-0, 3-0 CUSA)
Sam Houston (0-5, 0-2 CUSA)
Location: Williams Stadium (Lynchburg, Va.)
Attendance: 17,100
Play-By-Play Breakdown:
First Quarter
What's Next:
The Flames will continue their run of four-straight Conference USA midweek games when they return to the field in just five days to square off against fellow conference newcomer Jax State (5-1, 3-0 CUSA), next Tuesday. The game will pit two of the remaining three undefeated CUSA teams against each other in a nationally televised game on ESPNU.
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Date: Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023
Location: Jacksonville, Ala. (Burgess-Snow Field at JSU Stadium)
TV: ESPNU
Radio: LFSN Radio (Flagship Station: The Journey 88.3 FM Lynchburg)
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. (EST)
With the win, Liberty remains undefeated on the year (5-0) and is tied atop the Conference USA standings with a perfect 3-0 league record.
Daniels posted his fifth career 100-yard game. He led all receivers with five receptions for a career-high 157 receiving yards, including a 51-yard scoring play in the second quarter.
Late in the fourth quarter, a Flames' defensive stand and a punt pinned the visiting Bearkats at their three-yard line with 3:36 left to play.
Sam Houston systemically marched down the field 96 yards to Liberty's three-yard line on the next 11 plays, setting up a dramatic finish for the national TV audience.
Facing a first-and-goal at the three-yard line, Flames' cornerback Kobe Singleton recorded two of his three pass breakups on the final drive at the goal line, including his last on a fourth-down throw to the end zone ending the game.
Liberty finished the night outgaining Sam Houston, 448 to 327 yards, sharing its offensive workload on the ground (191 rushing yards) and through the air (257 passing yards).
Flames quarterback Kaidon Salter completed 11-of-19 passing attempts for 257 yards and his 12th passing touchdown of the year.
The redshirt sophomore also ran for another score, while carrying the ball 12 times for 38 yards.
Wake Forest transfer running back Quinton Cooley, Liberty's leading rusher on the year, scored his first touchdown in a Liberty uniform. The senior led all backs with 17 carries for 106 yards, his third 100-yard game of the year.
Liberty's defense finished the night with five pass breakups and it's nationally leading 11th  interception of the 2023 season.
Linebacker Jerome Jolly, Jr., led the Flames' defensive efforts with a career-high eight tackles, including six solo stops, a tackle for a loss and a forced fumble.
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The Flames' win today:
- Enables the Flames to start 5-0 for the first time since 2020, when they opened the year at 8-0.
- Gives the Flames their first 3-0 start in conference play since opening the 2016 Big South slate at 4-0.
- Makes the Flames the first team to win their first three CUSA games as conference members since Southern Miss opened league play at 4-0 in 1996, the inaugural year of CUSA football.
- Marks the Flames' 11th straight win over a CUSA opponent, improving their all-time record against CUSA foes to 12-1.
- Makes Sam Houston the second opponent Liberty has defeated for the first time in program history this season (also Bowling Green).
- Boosts the Flames' record to 10-2 when an opponent travels 1,000+ miles to play at Williams Stadium.
- Improves Jamey Chadwell's record to 10-1 when coaching on Thursday night at the Division I level.
Box Score Highlights:
Final Score: 21-16
Liberty (5-0, 3-0 CUSA)
Sam Houston (0-5, 0-2 CUSA)
Location: Williams Stadium (Lynchburg, Va.)
Attendance: 17,100
Play-By-Play Breakdown:
First Quarter
- The Flames scored on their opening drive of the game for the fourth time in five games, taking a 7-0 lead at 12:52. Salter capped a quick five-play, 74-yard drive with a 10-yard rushing touchdown at the 12:52 mark.
- Sam Houston answered on the following drive, grinding out a 12-play, 85-yard drive that took six minutes off the clock and ended with a seven-yard touchdown pass from Keegan Shoemaker to Al'Vonte Woodard at 6:46.
- The Bearkats intercepted Salter for just the second time this year and used the turnover to take a 10-7 lead at 4:27. The Flames kept Sam Houston out of the endzone, forcing the visitors to settle for a 33-yard field goal by Colby Sessums.
- Liberty regained the lead on the first play of the second quarter when Cooley capped a nine-play, 77-yard drive with a one-yard score six seconds into the quarter to give the home team a 14-10 edge.
- The Flames pushed their lead to 21-10 with just under three minutes before halftime when Salter lofted a 51-yard touchdown pass to Daniels at the 2:21 mark.
- The two teams traded possession for most of the third quarter until the Bearkats pieced together a six-play, 68-yard drive late in the period.
- Shoemaker completed 3-of-4 passing attempts and rushed for 29 more yards, setting up his 20-yard scoring strike to Woodard at the 4:36 mark. Sam Houston elected to go for two, but the pass attempt in the corner of the end zone fell incomplete.
- The Flames had a chance to push their lead to eight points midway through the fourth quarter, but a Nick Brown 39-yard missed field goal set the stage for the dramatic finish.
What's Next:
The Flames will continue their run of four-straight Conference USA midweek games when they return to the field in just five days to square off against fellow conference newcomer Jax State (5-1, 3-0 CUSA), next Tuesday. The game will pit two of the remaining three undefeated CUSA teams against each other in a nationally televised game on ESPNU.
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Date: Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023
Location: Jacksonville, Ala. (Burgess-Snow Field at JSU Stadium)
TV: ESPNU
Radio: LFSN Radio (Flagship Station: The Journey 88.3 FM Lynchburg)
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. (EST)
Team Stats
SHS
LIB
Total Yards
327
448
Pass Yards
255
257
Rushing Yards
72
191
Penalty Yards
25
79
1st Downs
19
19
3rd Downs
4
7
4th Downs
1
0
TOP
27:24
32:36
1st Quarter
SHS 0, LIB 7
LIB - Salter,Kaidon 10 yd run (Brown,Nick kick), 5 plays, 74 yards, TOP 02:02
SHS 7, LIB 7
SHS - Woodard,Al'Vonte 7 yd pass from Shoemaker,Keegan (Sessums,Colby kick) 12 plays, 85 yards, TOP 06:00
SHS 10, LIB 7
SHS - Sessums,Colby 33 yd field goal 4 plays, 4 yards, TOP 01:32
2nd Quarter
SHS 10, LIB 14
LIB - Cooley,Quinton 1 yd run (Brown,Nick kick), 9 plays, 77 yards, TOP 04:26
SHS 10, LIB 21
LIB - Daniels,CJ 51 yd pass from Salter,Kaidon (Brown,Nick kick) 4 plays, 62 yards, TOP 01:15
3rd Quarter
SHS 16, LIB 21
SHS - Woodard,Al'Vonte 20 yd pass from Shoemaker,Keegan () 6 plays, 68 yards, TOP 02:48
Game Leaders
CMP
11
TD
1
YDS
257
INT
1
Players Mentioned
K
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WR
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LB
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