Dae Dae Hunter had 181 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns to help power Liberty past Old Dominion, 38-24, in Norfolk, Virginia on Saturday night. With the win, the Flames improve to 4-1 on the season.
“Dae Dae is a football player,” Liberty head coach Hugh Freeze said following the game. “He played really well. We had a good plan in the second half to highlight him and Shedro (Louis). He happened to have the explosive plays. I thought (Johnathan Bennett) made some good decisions too to get him the ball on some of those swing routes and things. Dae Dae, he’s a good football player.”
After missing last week’s game against Akron with a groin injury, quarterback Kaidon Salter started the game for the Flames. He was able to throw for two highlight-reel touchdown passes to give Liberty a 14-0 lead, but the redshirt-freshman was inconsistent and struggled to get into any rhythm. Coach Freeze opted to go with backup Johnathan Bennett in the second half.
“The exact conversation was just, “I don’t think I can move around. I think I can stand in the pocket and still throw,'” Freeze said of Salter at halftime. “I just knew, the way they were bringing pressure, I just didn’t think that was the right answer. It was my decision. He would have tried to go. I really felt like that we had some things in our spread sets if I could empty the box and let the quarterback run some. We he said he couldn’t do that, I felt like it was best to go with JB.”
Salter would complete 10 of 19 passes for 170 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions in the first half. He would not return to the game in the second half as Freeze went to Bennett with a few plays for Nate Hampton in designed run packages.
“At some point, I believe that Kaidon Salter is going to become a really, really good quarterback,” said Freeze. “It’s coming. He’s just young. I got too negative on him, but he was just doing some crazy things and he was not feeling well. He’s not well. He can’t move right now and that’s got his mind messed up. We’ve got to get back and see if our trainers can get him well for our second half of the season.”
With Bennett at quarterback, the Flames relied on the rushing attack to pace the offense. Liberty would rack up 102 rushing yards in the third quarter alone. Both Hunter and Shedro Louis would go over the century mark on the evening, marking the first time two running backs have done that since the 2020 season in a win over UMass.
Liberty led by just one touchdown in the fourth quarter and took over possession of the ball inside the one yard line following an ODU punt with 11:50 to play in the game. Bennett’s poise and presence would help steady the offense and lead them to a 99 yard touchdown scoring drive to take a commanding two-score lead. On the drive, Bennett completed all four of his passes for 88 yards, including a 41 yard touchdown toss and run by Hunter.
Hunter would finish the night with 15 carries for 121 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also caught 3 passes for 60 yards and another score. Shedro Louis added 109 yards on 16 carries.
CJ Yarbrough led the team with 4 receptions for 94 yards and a touchdown. His scoring play came on a first quarter pass by Salter that should have been intercepted but the ODU defender was unable to catch the pass. It would be deflected into Yarbrough’s hands who was able to easily carry it into the end zone.
That was not the only highlight reel touchdown reception for Liberty on the night. On the offense’s first play of the game, Salter would escape the pocket and roll to his right when he tossed a pass to the end zone for Jaivian Lofton. While having his left arm held by the defender for what would be a pass interference penalty that was declined, Lofton reached back towards the ball with his right arm and snatched the ball out of the sky.
“When he came to the sideline, I said I’ve got a few words for you. I said dada dun, dada dun, because that is probably going to be on SportsCenter,” Freeze joked about Lofton’s catch.
Liberty improves to 9-3 all-time against Sun Belt opponents and a 2-0 mark this season, including the season opener against Southern Miss, a 49-47 decision in four overtimes. Freeze is now 30-12 all-time as Liberty’s head coach, as he ties Danny Rocco as the fastest Flames head coach ever to record his 30th victory. Liberty has now started three consecutive seasons with a 4-1 record for the first time in program history.
“I’m proud as heck of our coaches, our kids,” said Freeze. “That’s a big win against a very physical, good football team who has gotten better every week offensively. That quarterback is tough. He played hard and played well. He’s got good receivers. Big win.”
The Flames improve to 3-1 all-time against the Monarchs, winning three straight. This also marks the first time a team has won on the road in the head to head series. Liberty will remain on the road next week with a trip to UMass.
“They are fighters,” Freeze said of his team’s early 4-1 start. “We are going to keep fighting. We are one step closer to being bowl eligible with a very difficult schedule, with a lot of games that could have gone either way. We’re not far from being 5-0. It doesn’t get any easier. We’re going to get their best shot. I’m sure we’re going to be beat up because it was a really physical game. We’ve got to get back, have another late night. I’m begging Ian to let us have a noon kick soon to let us rest these kids some. We will get back and hopefully get in there tomorrow and start getting healthy. We’ve got another road test next week.”
