- November 2nd, 2006, 2:11 pm
#38396
a little late, but here it is...i did not see it anywhere on the board.
LU Notebook: Personal fouls irk Flames coach
By Chris Lang
Lynchburg News & Advance
October 31, 2006
After Liberty was flagged for two personal fouls on the same extra-point attempt last Saturday at Coastal Carolina, Flames coach Danny Rocco had seen enough.
He pulled his team aside on the sideline and got down on one knee. In full view of a small bunch of Liberty fans, Rocco ripped into the Flames, making one very real threat.
"I told them if I saw one personal foul penalty from this point on, for a retaliation or a cheap shot or whatever, I was going to kick them off the team," Rocco said.
On the next drive, a Coastal Carolina player was hit with a personal foul for a late hit on a Flames offensive lineman. The lineman didn't retaliate.
Message sent.
"I don't take these things very lightly," Rocco said.
Tough times
Liberty and Western Carolina have one thing in common: The teams each have just one win against Division I competition this season.
The Flames, who host the Catamounts Saturday at Williams Stadium, beat Savannah State Sept. 22. Western Carolina has lost six straight since beating Eastern Kentucky Sept. 16 for its lone Division I victory.
During that streak, Western has lost overtime games to Chattanooga and The Citadel and dropped a 10-point game at home to Georgia Southern.
The Catamounts lost badly to Elon (37-19), Furman (42-7) and Wofford (35-7).
"In all but one game, we've played with great effort," WCU coach Kent Briggs said on Tuesday's Southern Conference teleconference. "But we've been inexperienced in key situations.
"We've gotten a lot younger, but we've got to keep battling through."
The Catamounts start three freshmen on defense and four others get significant playing time in the secondary.
Young squad
Only nine of the 88 players on Liberty's roster are seniors, meaning many of the lessons learned from this season of tough losses will be put to good use next year.
Of those seniors, five are starters - linebacker Manny Rojas, offensive linemen Jarrett Winfrey and Stephen Sene, defensive end Jason Horn and punter Ben Beasley.
Of the other four seniors, only linebacker Weston Lambert and wide receiver Darnell Edwards have been regular contributors.
Extra points
Rocco said he didn't expect cornerback E.L. Estes to be punished further by the Big South after his ejection from the Coastal Carolina game. Rocco said he was being disciplined internally, but wouldn't specify how. Rocco said Estes will play Saturday. ? Horn (broken leg) remains out. His earliest potential return is Nov. 11 for the Charleston Southern game, and Rocco said Horn is showing good progress in his rehabilitation. ? S Ryan Greiser (shoulder) and DB Donald Manns (ankle) are questionable for Saturday's game. ? Unless Western Carolina upsets No. 1 Appalachian State next week at home, the Catamounts will go winless in the Southern Conference for the first time since joining the league in 1977.
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