The Liberty football team opened conference play with a 36-21 win over Kennesaw State on Saturday night. The win ended a 5 game road losing streak the Flames were on dating back to last season.
GAME BALLS
Frankie Hickson: He got the Flames on the scoreboard with a 99-yard kick return for a touchdown, Liberty’s first since Kevin Fogg accomplished the feat in 2011. Hickson ranks 3rd in the country in kick return yards, averaging 34.1 yards per return. The redshirt-freshman running back also added 41 rushing yards and 6 receiving yards.
Alex Probert: The true freshman kicker was perfect on his kicks, including 3 field goals. He connected on a pair of 47 yard field goals and also split the uprights on a 50 yarder.
Dia’Vante Brown: Surprisingly inserted into the starting lineup, Brown led the team in tackles with 9. He also added 1 sack and 3 tackles for loss, the only TFLs for the Flames on the evening.
RANKING THE TOP PLAYS FROM THE GAME
- We already mentioned Frankie Hickson’s kick return for a touchdown. It knotted the score at 7 with 8 minutes remaining in the first quarter.
- With 9 seconds left in the first half, Buckshot Calvert hooked up with B.J. Farrow in the end zone for a 14 yard scoring strike. Farrow went up to catch the ball and somersaulted into the end zone.
- Just a few plays before the touchdown pass from Buckshot to Farrow, the Flames were trailing 14-13 in the waning minutes of the first half. Liberty was facing a 3rd & 11, and had yet to convert on a 3rd down on the evening. Calvert calmly and coolly found Dante Shells in the middle of the field for a 15 yard gain to move the chains.
- Liberty’s defense held the Owls on 4th and goal inside the 1 yard line for the 2nd time on the evening. This time came in the last 3 minutes of the game, and allowed the Flames to run out the clock to secure the victory.
- As we mentioned above, Alex Probert had himself a game. His 47 yard field goal with 7 and 1/2 minutes left in the game put the Flames up by 8 points, providing some cushion for Liberty’s defense.
WHAT IT MEANS
It’s conference play now, and every game is crucial especially considering there’s just 5 conference games, meaning no room for error. The win follows up a rout of Robert Morris which preceded last week’s bye week. After opening the season 1-3, the Flames’ confidence should be as high as its been all season.
The Owls entered the game riding a 4 game win streak and feeling extremely confident. They were leading the league in most statistical categories, but did so against a much lower level of competition than the Flames faced early in the season. The road win ended a 5 game road losing streak dating back to last season. It was also the first conference road win since the 2014 win at Coastal Carolina.
The team played well in all phases of the game. The offense racked up over 400 yards of offense, and was productive in the air as well as on the ground. It picked up the pace at times and slowed it down to give the defense a rest when needed. Buckshot continued to show improvement in his pocket presence and did a terrific job managing the game. The defense gave up a lot of yards, but was able to buckle down in the red zone and came up with crucial stops when needed particularly in the 2nd half. The game might have been won on special teams. Frankie Hickson returned a kick for touchdown, and Alex Probert was likely the player of the game with his 3 field goals each 47+ yards.
LOOKING AHEAD
The win keeps the Flames in the hunt for the Big South Championship and auto-bid to the FCS playoffs. The coaches and players have been talking all season about focusing on one game at a time, and that proved true against KSU. The next test on the team’s focus is Monmouth, who comes in this week to Lynchburg for Liberty’s homecoming.
The Hawks opened the season 2-0 with road wins at Lehigh and Delaware State before dropping consecutive games at Kent State and Charleston Southern. The Buccaneers knocked off Monmouth, 35-7, in New Jersey on September 24th. The Hawks rebounded with back-to-back wins over Fordham and Howard scoring a combined 101 points in the 2 wins. This past week, Monmouth played Thursday night and Presbyterian. Their offense was halted to just 13 points in the 17-13 loss.
Liberty will be seeking revenge for last year’s 20-17 overtime loss to the Hawks in West Long Branch, New Jersey.
BY THE NUMBERS
203 | Liberty rushed for 203 yards while averaging 5.1 yards per rush. Kennesaw State was one of the top teams in the country at stopping the run entering the game, but Todd Macon & company were able to find running room all night.
1-4 | Kennesaw State was just 1-4 on red zone opportunities. They missed a 26 yard field goal and were stopped on 4th and goal at the 1 on 2 separate occasions.
6-6 | Alex Probert was perfect on his kicks, making all 3 of his field goals and all 3 of his extra points.
11 | Eleven different receivers caught a pass from Buckshot Calvert.
0 | Liberty’s makeshift offensive line yielded exactly 0 sacks on the night.
