[qkslvrsrfrboy]

yeah i know u said that i was just reitterating. and the chicken wings throwing def started from the SPC fans. i saw someone bring up the tray and set it on the garbage can and like a minute later someone grabbed it and walked over to the SPC area and i was like what? then a little later i saw a bunch of chicken wings go flying

[El Scorcho]

As for the umbrellas, I know the folks working the stands on my sides asked several people to close theirs. Liberty's fans displayed a great cooperative Christian attitude about that, of course.

As for the new PA system, where was it last night? It doesn't work in the rain? What's the deal?

[Flamesfanva]

I thought umbrellas were illegal inside football stadiums in the Commonwealth. I know got drenched ten years ago at UVa for that reason.

I know it's listed as a prohibted item at Lane stadium in Blacksburg and I have never seen one there. They probably wouldn't even let you take one in, as they do security checks before entering.

I wondered what the two things were wrapped in blue next to the speakers last night, that must have been the rented ones.

[bigsmooth]

great start to the rocco era. the crowd was great, the play on the field was much improved...just a very good atmosphere. also it was great to watch the game with the medic and his dad, and to meet libertine. my grades for the game

defense A+- hard hitting, active on every play. man it was fun to watch
running game A- rashad jennings need i say more? get on the "baby bus". lawrence looked good too.
quarterbacks- B, brock did not look that comfortbale. he had happy feet and zach was ok. he athleticism was incredible on some 3rd down situations, something brock would not have been able to do
kicking game- D, we need help kolegue is bad, and beasley, not much better
coaching- B+, i would have liked to see more passing, but it was rainy.
return game- wynton jackon is a stud...no fear out there.

[Flamesfanva]

I was having flashbacks from last year.

Liberty Notebook: Flames change kickers in mid-game

By Chris Lang
Lynchburg News & Advance
September 1, 2006

The misses weren't quite as dramatic - no spectacular meeting of football and goalpost - but that didn't make the results sit any better with LU kicker Zac Kolegue and Flames head coach Danny Rocco in Thursday night's season opener against Saint Paul's.

Kolegue, a junior who was 1-for-4 on field goals last season, missed a 26-yarder in the first quarter wide left, then pushed an extra point in the second quarter in the same direction. He never saw the field again.

Ben Beasley took over on field goals, making a 27-yarder in the second quarter to put LU up 10-0. He later hit a 32-yarder, but only after a St. Paul's penalty gave Beasley a reprieve after he missed an attempt from 37 yards.

"I was very disappointed in (the kicking game), as was eve-rybody else," Rocco said. "The field goal operation was not good. That's something we're going to address in great deal tomorrow."

Beasley said the stiff, swirling wind played a factor, making any kicks longer than 35 yards a crapshoot. That didn't explain Kolegue's short misses, ones that may very well cost him his job as LU's kicker.

"At Wednesday's practice, he was having a problem pulling his hips through the ball," Beasley said. "I'm guessing that's what factored in tonight - pulling your head up, opening up your shoulders, then you take your eye of the ball. We're going to do a lot of film study and see what's going on."

Rocco said every part of the field-goal operation would be evaluated, and that a change could be in the works before next Saturday's game against Glenville State.

"We're going to take a good hard look at that," Rocco said. "Zac missed one early, and I wasn't going to go much longer without making a change."

Adrenaline rush

Wynton Jackson, like many football players from Florida, loves speed. Returning punts Thursday, he showed he has plenty of it.

Jackson, one of LU's starting receivers, returned six punts for 86 yards, including a 46-yarder in the second quarter that set up the Flames' second touchdown. He also broke off a 16-yard return through heavy traffic in the mid-dle.

"Everything operated smoothly," Jackson said. "I've just got to go ahead and finish. It's going to be a great year for the special teams."

Jackson wasn't Liberty's only solid returner. Ryan Greiser took the kickoff to open the second half back 34 yards, giving the Flames great position to score their third touchdown.

Extra points

Sparky, Liberty's updated mascot, was unveiled at the 50-yard line 15 minutes before the game, arriving in a limousine. ? The 57 yards allowed wasn't even close to the school record, set in 1991 when Liberty held Kutztown (Pa.) to minus-10 yards. ? The Flames recorded a third-quarter safety when St. Paul's quarter-back Demetrius Brown was flagged for intentional grounding in his own end zone. ? Tuesday, Liberty athletics director Jeff Barber spoke about the how well Liberty's new FieldTurf drained. With soggy conditions Thursday night, the field was put to an immediate test and passed beautifully. Players raved about how well the field held up. ? Liberty scored 17 points in its first four games last year, a total the Flames exceeded 5:29 into the third quarter of Thursday's opener when they scored their 22nd point on Zach Terrell's touchdown run.

[bigsmooth]

Rocco unleashes new running back in LU's season-opening victory

By Chris Lang
Lynchburg News & Advance
September 1, 2006

Liberty football coach Danny Rocco looked outside before Thursday's home opener against Saint Paul's and felt the mist hit his face.
He returned to the locker room and told running back Rashad Jennings that the offense would go through him. That probably would have happened anyway, but the conditions firmed Rocco's beliefs.

Jennings was more than happy to oblige. He ran for 49 yards and a touchdown on the first drive and pounded the Tigers relentlessly for two and a half quarters, running for 160 yards on 25 carries in a 27-0 victory that had a deliciously Rocco-ball flavor.

Run the ball. Clog gaps on defense. Watch the frustration mount on the other side.

"We started fast," Rocco said. "We had them ready to play. That's a good feeling for me as a head coach."

The victory, Liberty's first since Sept. 3, 2005, finally offered some answers to the questions that had mounted since Rocco took over for fired former coach Ken Karcher in December.

Had the program really changed? Was the 1-10 laughingstock Liberty had become last season simply an aberration?

Yes on both counts. At least those are thee early returns.

Despite miserable conditions, 8,546 fans attended the opener. That's only 307 more than the 2005 opener, but conditions were perfect that September night when the Flames beat Concord 17-6.

Not so on Thursday. School officials had hoped for a 10,000-fan turnout, but the nasty weather likely scared many away. Those students who remained at the end of the game, as the final seconds ticked off the clock, chanted "Danny Rocco!" in adulation of the man who promised to rebuild a broken program.

"It was awesome," Rocco said. "That was one of the most exciting things I saw out here tonight, that student body was really, really into the game. They created an atmosphere. That's the way college football is supposed to be."

Rocco's defense was more stout than expected and pitched Liberty's first shutout since the Flames beat Samford 24-0 in 2000. St. Paul's managed 57 yards on 40 plays, with 30 yards coming on the last 10 plays when LU's second- and third-stringers roamed the field. The Tigers picked up four first downs and never advanced past their own 35.

"I figured them to be tough, but not that tough," SPC coach Willard Bailey said.

Jason Horn had two sacks for 21 yards and seven tackles. Brandon Duke and Steve Ackley combined on another sack as Liberty suffocated the Tigers.

"There aren't a lot of big creases in there," Rocco said. "If they can't knock you off the ball, it's always going to be tough sledding in there. If you have a bigger, more physical team - like we had - it's just tough for (the opponent) to get big chunks of yards."

The Flames' passing game wasn't sharp, but the conditions weren't exactly conducive to a great effort. Brock Smith completed 4 of 12 passes for 49 yards, but he never really had to be on target. Liberty was so strong in the run game that the passing game was going to be a non-factor anyway.

Zach Terrell ran for 48 yards and a touchdown on nine carries, drawing praise from Jennings, who said "Zach's a special kid."

Freshmen Terron Lawrence (41 yards) and Wes Cheek (25) contributed, too.

"You can't really play around and be fancy with the ball when it's raining outside," Jennings said. "Just two hands on the ball, lower the shoulder and go forward. That's what we did."

The performance was much more dominant than the relatively mild final score indicated. Even if LU only led 16-0 at halftime, the Tigers never had a chance because of their inability to move the ball. Any thoughts of a Tigers comeback were erased quickly after halftime. Ryan Greiser returned the second-half kickoff 34 yards and Jennings ran for 20 yards on the first play of the drive. He finished the drive with a 1-yard run up the gut for a touchdown and a 22-0 lead, and then, a well-earned rest.

"You keep him in for the whole game, and there's no telling how many yards he's going to have," Rocco said. "He's a workhorse."

[SuperJon]

Scorcho, the PA we had for last night wasn't ours. I'm pretty sure it was better to not put a rented PA out in the rain and risk it getting messed up.

[texasballer41]

I think SPC got past the 50 maybe once.



Wrong, they never crossed the 50. They had 2 first downs: 1 on a roughing the passer penalty, and one with a fullback draw. Every other drive was a 3 and out. The score didn't show nearly how bad we could've run up the score on SPC. I think Rocco took out the offensive starters in the 3rd and the defensive LB's and DB's in the beginning of the 4th. The starting D only allowed 27 yards of TOTAL offense. WOW-- i wanna see more shutouts they are fun to watch

[jcmanson]

Yeah, the defense looked amazing. Hopefully, that had more to do with our ability rather than their inability. I think we should get more of a feel next week.

[Stevev]

I listened to the whole game last night and followed it on gametracker and I was pretty impressed with how we played. Dispite horrible conditions we were able to keep it simple and drive the piles forward with the power running game. The passing game and especially the kicking game needs some work though but the conditions contributed to that. And I believe that if the conditions were better the score would be more lopsided. I think St Paul's was supposed to be one of the better teams in their conference even though it is only div 2. Looking forward to next Saturday so we can improve on some things and deal Glenville a serious butt whooping.

[TDDance234]

I think Rocco really called back the dogs towards the end of the game. If he would have run Jennings in the second half, he probably would have gone for 250. The score in itself should have already been MORE lopsided but we left 7 pts. on the field from missed field goals and the missed XP.

[Stevewalt]

How was the O-Line? I have a friend who has a son on the O-line (R-Fresh). Just wondered how they did? By the looks of the running game they did ok.

[Stevev]

I wasn't at the game but I listened to almost the whole thing and it did not appear that Brock Smith or Zach Terrill was in any danger of getting sacked and it seemed like in the second half any running back they put in there had some decent runs. According to the boxscore it looked like a lot of the reserves got some participation. So based on those facts it looks like the line play was much better than last year's Concord game. I am not sure how good St. Paul's defensive line really is. A lot of unknowns here but the line play seemed okay.

[PAmedic]

O-looked pretty good- they blocked down very well and #3 was a friggin steamtrain running amuck.

Throw in Terrel's quickness and the surprising cutback ability of Lawrence (these RBs don't require a lot of help to get into the secondary) and we have a scary-good ground game.

Jennings- my oh my. I love smash mouth football, and watching him go straight ahead, at times dragging 4 or more guys with him- brought back memories of old #86 running free down the sidelines w/ 2 DBs hanging off him.

Other than the monsoon (and thats football, folks)- what a great nite. SJ and company, many of whom were half naked, brought about 5000 on the student side. SMOOTHIE and I couldn't believe the students filing in, filling out their sections, even in a downpour- against a no-name opponent. Truly a first (at least in a LONG time) for LU FB.

Don't even want to talk about the kicking game- Coach is obviously handling THAT

Special teams were unbelievable- before the game I was begging for some bloodshed, and we nearly saw some. One pour soul had his neck snapped back about 30 degrees, and at least 2 SPC guys barely got off the turf after numerous good CLEAN hits.

what a great start.

BTW- #24 had a very solid game. Besides the aforementioned kickoff return, in on several tackles and was close to a pick had the ball not been at his feet. Watch for BIG things from him when he sees an opposing QB that can throw the ball. Good to see the family there and meet his mom, though she probably thinks I'm some psycho fan

[jimflamesfan]

I do give SJ and the people that worked with the Student Flames Club a hand...they did a great job...most of the students stayed the entire game in the rain...and the chants were cool, and everyone seemed more involved.

I hope they keep giving out those red things, or have people bring red towels to wave (sort of like Pittsburgh's Terrible Towel)...it looks intimidating in the stands.

[PAmedic]

I was a bit upset- we came in the back side (by the Ops Ctr) and therefore did NOT get our complimentary pom-poms

[SuperJon]

I can't take credit for jack crap. We had maybe 250-300 SFC members there. That's maybe 5% of the entire student body that was there. The rest of the student body came out and were amazing. Hopefully they keep doing it. Hopefully they join the SFC. I do know that there has been a group created on Facebook that is Anti-SFC. I think things are changing.

[PeterParker]

Does said group just not like the idea or do they have a competing group they want to see usurp your efforts? What is your goal ultimately? A thousand? That would be crazy to see a thousand student strong fan support group for football, basketball and soccer. Looking back at my days, that would have been good times, plus the ladies who join are more than likely real sports fans<----a good attribute to look for in a future Mrs.Your Last Name Here; it's good bootcamp so she'll be understanding of the Fall Saturday and Sunday Afternoon/Now Evening and Monday Evening obsessions and right of passage for American males everywhere.

[PeterParker]

I hope they keep giving out those red things, or have people bring red towels to wave (sort of like Pittsburgh's Terrible Towel)...it looks intimidating in the stands.

Pittsburgh = Terrible Towels

LU = Burn Blankets

Hot Pads (could always get red oven mitts for an added effect when doing the wave...)

[SuperJon]

Does said group just not like the idea or do they have a competing group they want to see usurp your efforts?

They don't like us getting special seating. They think students should be able to sit wherever they want.

As for our goal, my goal is as many as possible. We have over 500 now but probably only half of them are going to be active.

[thesportscritic]

Some of the students need to get over the fact that they can't sit close unless they join the group. In other words quit crying you student crybabies and join the group because we can't get our way all of the time. In other news, nice win against St Pauls.

[qkslvrsrfrboy]

i know thst all 6 people in my suite are wanting to join so theres 6 more as soon as we find you guys

[SuperJon]

Ticket office on Monday sometime or at the meeting on Wednesday. Either one works.

[Sly Fox]

What? Liberty receiving acclaim from beyond our religious boundaries? From the Roanoke fishwrap:

Classic is a big success for TAP, Liberty U.


by Shanna Flowers

So was the decision worth it, transplanting this year's Western Virginia Education Classic -- a daylong social and sporting event popular in Roanoke's black community -- to predominantly white, Christian conservative Liberty University in Lynchburg?

"I started not to come, being it's not in Roanoke," said Lawrence Mitchell, 67, as he ducked under a tent from the steady rain Thursday night as Liberty shut out St. Paul's College at Williams Stadium. A portion of the proceeds from the event benefited Total Action Against Poverty's high school dropout program.

"But I decided I'd come anyway," Mitchell continued. "I'm glad I came."

Not only did the transplanted event pay off for traditional classic devotees who for the past six years had gathered at Victory Stadium for the annual fundraiser, but it also garnered a relative windfall for the Project Recovery program.

On Friday afternoon, program director Annette Lewis said TAP would pocket $23,500 from corporate sponsorships alone. That amount does not include the final tally from ticket proceeds, which won't be available until later this week, she said.

TAP received 300 advance tickets and sold about half of them, Lewis said. The dropout program will receive $4 for each $10 ticket TAP sold.

All of that money -- preliminarily just more than $24,000 by my count -- will go directly to Project Recovery's coffers.

In previous years, the program cleared about $10,000 each year after splitting the proceeds with the teams that came to Roanoke to play.

The poor condition of Victory Stadium took a toll last year, with a turnout of only 3,500 people and a revenue loss of $9,000.

"We didn't quit. We could have very easily thrown in the towel," Roanoke City Councilman Sherman Lea, a founder of the classic, said of TAP's decision to move the game rather than scrap it after Victory Stadium was razed.

"Liberty came in and said, 'We'd like to have you here.' It was a wet night, but it was a great night."

The partnership, which candidly raised eyebrows, including mine, at the thought of the free-spirited classic moving to the more button-down Christian college, turned out to be a success on many levels.

"We wanted to help them," said Kevin Keyes, Liberty's assistant athletic director for external affairs. "Obviously, we want kids to graduate from high school, graduate successfully from high school, and go on from there."

In Roanoke, the classic traditionally has had the feel of a daylong block party, with tailgaters firing up grills and fryers in the parking lot before and during the game.

Because of Thursday's constant downpour, there was none of that, but the rain didn't dampen the enthusiasm.

Buoyed in part by the game being Liberty's season opener, the team having a new coach, the school's efforts to better market its football program and the classic, more than 8,500 screaming fans, including a bus load from Roanoke, filled the stands.

"They're die-hard fans," Scott Terry of Roanoke said moments after the crowd roared its excitement of a play.

Terry rode to Lynchburg with Sherman Lea Jr., who said he expected the game to be sparsely attended because of the weather. But Lea, surveying the crowd, said, "[The Rev. Jerry] Falwell, TAP and everybody really got the word out."

Betty Duncan, a registered nurse from Roanoke, never attended the classic, but she decided to ride up on the bus chartered by TAP.

"I heard so much about it, I wanted to come see for myself," said Duncan, as she ducked out of the rain under a tent with her sister Marilyn Gentry.

Toni Hadden and her 16-year-old granddaughter Charrell Johnson lasted the first quarter in the stands before the rain drove them to the bus.

Still, Hadden, who volunteered in recent years at the game in Roanoke, said she wouldn't have missed the trip.

"When someone says they're going somewhere, I'm going," Hadden said, laughing. "I don't care if they're going to Salem."

Everyone that I spoke with, though, realized that behind the fun evening was a serious need to help dropouts.

"Even though the conditions have changed," Terry said of the fundraiser's venue, "the circumstances have stayed the same."

Shanna Flowers' column runs Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.

http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/81013

[LU'sbestmanager]

Some of the students need to get over the fact that they can't sit close unless they join the group. In other words quit crying you student crybabies and join the group because we can't get our way all of the time. In other news, nice win against St Pauls.

there were alot of people that weren't in the club sitting in our section. they didn't even check. im sure they can't check over 500 members.