Liberty dominated the first quarter, despite having to settle for two field goals after reaching the red zone, and cruised to a 30-14 win over Delaware in the Conference USA opener for both teams on Friday night. Liberty improves to 4-1 on the season and have won four straight.
** The Flames took the early lead 3-0 for a second straight week. It was a heavy dose of Kam Davis on the opening drive to get the Flames into the red zone before settling for a 47 yard Chase Reeves field goal. Liberty scored on four of its five offensive drives in the first half, taking a 20-0 lead into the intermission.
** Liberty racked up 338 yards of offense in the opening half, compared to 188 yards for Delaware. The Flames had 199 rushing yards in the opening half. Kam Davis paved the way with over 100 yards on the ground before halftime including a 66 yard touchdown run. The Flames also dominated time of possession, with over 20 minutes of possession in the first 30.
** Liberty was unable to put the game away in the third quarter, as the offense was extremely anemic. Despite great field position throughout the quarter, the Flames couldn’t get into the end zone and put the game away. Kam Davis finally got into the end zone, scoring his second time of the day, with just over 11 minutes remaining in the game to stretch the lead to 30-0.
** Deshawn Purdie was solid once again. He completed 13 of 20 passes for 158 yards. Ethan Vasko continued to rotate in during short yardage and red zone opportunities.
** Liberty finished the night with 282 yards on the ground, setting a new season high for a 5th straight week to begin the season. Kam Davis was Liberty’s bell-cow at running back for a second straight game. He finished the night with 17 carries for 147 yards and 2 scores. Jaylon Coleman had 53 yards on the ground and Peyton Jones added 37.
** Makai Jackson led the team in receiving once again. He finished the night with 5 catches for 90 yards. He did not get into the end zone for the first time this season. Jamari Person had 3 catches for 30 yards.
** As expected, Delaware was without starting quarterback and CUSA Preseason Offensive Player of the Year Nick Minicucci as he was injured in last week’s loss at Virginia. EJ Archield, Jr. made his debut for the Blue Hens, getting the start in a surprise move after Braden Streeter and Riley Trujillo came on in reserve of Minicucci last week. The loss of Minicucci really derailed the Blue Hens offensive attack much of the night as the Liberty defense took advantage. In the second half, Delaware rotated quarterbacks as they tried to find a spark from anywhere on the offense.
** The red zone offense continues to plague Liberty. For a second straight week, the Flames had opportunities to create even greater margins but had to continually settle for field goals in the red zone. Tonight in Newark, Liberty was held to three field goals on its first four red zone possessions, coming away with 16 points on those drives and allowing the Blue Hens to stay within striking distance.
** Liberty edged the Blue Hens in total yards, 440-359. The Flames had a shutout into the fourth quarter before the Blue Hens got into the end zone. That score was the first time Liberty has allowed a point in the fourth quarter this season.
** Play of the Game: With Liberty’s offense struggling to get into the end zone, Kam Davis broke free on 3rd and 2 and would not be caught as he took it the distance from 56 yards away from pay dirt. Davis’ touchdown run put the Flames up 13-0, with the score going to a seemingly insurmountable 20-0 before halftime.
** Up next: Liberty has a short week, playing at home from Williams Stadium on Thursday night against Sam Houston. The Bearkats are coming off an open date and will have just shy of two weeks off before taking the field in Lynchburg. Sam Houston is currently 1-3 on the season and coming off a 49-14 loss at No. 11 Texas Tech.
