Liberty (4-4, 3-1 CUSA) had a season-high in yards and points on their way to a 59-30 win over Delaware (4-4, 2-3) in front of a Homecoming crowd of 18,455 at Williams Stadium.
“I’m very thankful for a victory,” said Liberty head coach Jamey Chadwell. “We played a great game offensively, the best game we’ve played all season from that standpoint. I was really pleased with how we took care of the ball, and we didn’t put ourselves in any bad situations. I thought our quarterback played well. Obviously, our running back Evan Dickens was fantastic running the ball. I thought our defense played well in the first half limiting them to field goals. The third quarter was very disappointing from that standpoint. We gave up way too many easy passes and catches and couldn’t get a pass rush. We got that fourth down stop, and then we ended up stopping them three or four times in the fourth quarter. I was pleased with how we finished, but we can’t have lulls on defense like we did in the third quarter.”
Evan Dickens had a career game, rushing for 217 yards on 22 carries with four touchdowns. He entered the game with four career rushing touchdowns, all coming earlier this season, and matched that total in the win over the Blue Hens. His four rushing touchdowns tied a Williams Stadium single game record, and he is the first Flame since Malik Willis in the 2020 Cure Bowl against Coastal Carolina to rush for four touchdowns in a game. His 217 rushing yards are the most by a Liberty player in the FBS era and the most ever against an FBS opponent. The last Liberty player to rush for 217 or more yards was Rashad Jennings who had 220 yards on the ground at Youngstown State on Sept. 27, 2008.
“He looked fast,” Chadwell said of his running back. “He’s taken the bull by the horns and is playing really well. He’s been able to get healthy. He runs angry. If he can get in the open, he’s got some speed. That showed tonight. We’re thankful we have him. When Vaughn (Blue) is in there, he gives us a little 1-2. I was proud of our running backs, just the way they competed.”
Dickens capped three straight Liberty drives in the second quarter with touchdowns, helping extend the lead from 7-6 to a commanding 28-6 in the final two minutes of the opening half. Then, on the second play of the second half, he took a handoff around the right side and outran the Delaware defense for a 72-yard touchdown run as the Flames extended its lead to 35-9. That was the longest rush from scrimmage by a Liberty player since Dae Dae Hunter’s 78-yard touchdown run against BYU during the 2022 season.
It felt like the game was over at that moment, but the visitors from Delaware would not go down without a fight. They answered with a touchdown score just 84 seconds later. The Blue Hens forced a Liberty punt and scored again, cutting the lead to 11 at 35-24 with 5:49 remaining in the third quarter. Liberty would answer with touchdowns on its next two possessions, pushing the advantage to 49-24 to begin the fourth quarter. The Flames would outscore the Hens, 24-6, in the final 18:07 of the game.
Liberty’s 59 points scored were the team’s most under Chadwell and the most since a 62-17 win over UMass, Oct. 30, 2021. The Flames recorded season highs in rushing yards (282) and total offense (561), outgaining Delaware 561-420 for the game. It marked Liberty’s first game this season rushing for over 200 yards, topping the 199 yards on the ground the Flames had in Week 2 at Jacksonville State.
“We felt like we could run the ball, and you had to be smart with the way you were going to throw it,” Chadwell stated. “The run game, obviously, was big. I don’t know if we had a negative yards play when we handed the ball off, which was big. That was one of the big emphasis this week was to stay out of third-and-long. Hopefully, we can build off this. We’re going to play better defenses going forward.”
Vaughn Blue and Ethan Vasko also had rushing touchdowns on the game, as the Flames finished with six rushing touchdowns on the day, the most against an FBS opponent in program history. Liberty’s 29-point victory was its largest winning margin since beating Eastern Michigan 56-20 in the 2021 LendingTree Bowl.
“It’s taken us a while to find a rhythm,” Chadwell said of the rushing attack and offensive line. “Those guys the last two or three weeks have started to play the way we believe they should are capable of. When we do that, it opens up a lot of stuff. Your quarterback doesn’t feel as pressured, and he feels more confident. They played well better the last three weeks. We’ve got a chance to get some guys back healthy. We’re rotating guys a little bit. Our starting five are not at their best when they have to play 70 snaps. I think that’s helped us with those guys being as mentally fresh as possible. We’re eliminating some of the mistakes we were making earlier in the season.”
Vasko completed 14 of 20 passes for 221 yards and two touchdowns, adding 31 yards rushing on five carries and the touchdown. It marked t he first time this season that he has accounted for three touchdowns in a game.
His favorite target was Donte Lee, Jr. who had 5 catches for a career-best 92 yards, including a 31-yard touchdown catch with 29 seconds left in the third quarter, his team-leading fourth touchdown reception of the season. Tight end Jacob Jenkins registered a career-high 83 receiving yards on three catches, including a 15-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter. It was his first touchdown catch of the season and first since Nov. 9, 2024 at Middle Tennessee.
Jay Billingsley was a perfect 8 for 8 on extra points, tying his career high for PATs. Amarian Williams posted five tackles with an interception, his second interception of the season and fifth of his career.
“We’ve got a pathway to earn a right to playing for a conference championship,” said Chadwell. “This was another step towards that. That’s big for our confidence, but obviously there’s a lot of room for improvement. We were grateful to be in front of a Homecoming crowd.”
The Flames are currently behind Jacksonville State and Kennesaw State who sit atop the Conference USA standings at 4-0 while Western Kentucky is 5-1 in conference play. Liberty returns to action this coming Saturday against Missouri State back at Williams Stadium with kickoff scheduled for 1 p.m.
