Liberty went on the road Saturday against a much improved Presbyterian team, and came away with a 28-7 win on a cold and windy day in South Carolina. The Flames controlled this game from start to finish, and looked like a team that knew exactly what they needed to do to take care of business. This team is starting to look like a mature unit with a lot of focus. Has Liberty football finally grown up? We’ll see in the next few weeks. Here are our grades for this week’s win…
The Flames took care of business against the Blue Hose Saturday.
Offense: B
We knew coming in that Presbyterian’s defense posed a significant challenge. The Blue Hose play very disciplined on that side of the ball, and haven’t allowed many teams to put up a bunch of points. However, it seemed like the Flames could score without too much difficulty on Saturday, despite the windy and muddy conditions. Liberty was up 21-0 at the half, and it probably should have been more. John Lunsford missed a short field goal in the wind, and the coaching staff chose not to take a shot at a drive with about a minute to play in the half, letting the clock run out. Liberty went really conservative in the second half, which may have been a little premature. QB Josh Woodrum had a solid game passing and rushing. Josh threw 2 TD’s, and rushed for another. WR Darrin Peterson returned to form, going over 150 yards and a TD. The run game was adequate, as Liberty gained 160 yards on 40 rushes. D.J. Abnar saw his 100 yard rushing streak end at three games.
Defense: A-
The “bend but don’t break” was in full effect on Saturday, as the Flames gave up 323 yards of total offense, but only allowed 7 points that came well into the 4th quarter. PC QB Hayes McMath came into the game with only 3 INT’s all season, however the Flames’ Safeties did a great job all day. Jacob Hagen had 2 INT’s, and the Presbyterian QB threw 2 more. Liberty did allow 4.9 yards per carry on the ground though, a number that needs to improve considering the mediocre nature of the Blue Hose offense. Still, the Flames were pitching a shut out into the 4th quarter, so it’s hard to find too much to nitpick about their performance.
Special Teams: C
Meh. No horrific, “that’s going to cost us a game” moments, so that’s improvement. Lunsford missed his only field goal attempt, but it was a windy day. Then again, it was from 27 yards. He has been very consistent as of late, so he gets a pass this week. The two special teams trick plays failed miserably, and they were oddly timed. Return game was a non-factor, and that is probably about the best thing that could be hoped for at this point in the season. As long as the special teams don’t lose a game, that’s acceptable.
Overall: B+
The Flames took care of business on the road in less than stellar weather. This game was never really in question, and that was a great result against a team that many people felt could play close with Liberty this season. Very professional performance from a team that looks to be hitting its stride. I don’t do the power rankings, but if you ask me, the Flames have looked better in conference play than any other team, including the supposed #2 team in the country.
