Moderators: jcmanson, Sly Fox, BuryYourDuke, Class of 20Something
SuperJon wrote:By the way, it wouldn't even have to be two years. You could go back to Week 4 or whenever it was that they got killed by Presby last year and I would've never believed it.Good point...
Flames make a statement
By Chris Lang
Lynchburg News & Advance
November 12, 2006
Fifteen minutes after the game ended, the celebration continued. Players were so loud and rowdy that the floor just outside the Flames' locker room vibrated.
That's what two years of frustration ending feels and sounds like.
Saturday's 34-20 victory over Charleston Southern was remarkable in many ways. It gave Liberty its first win against a ranked I-AA foe in nine years, ended CSU's 14-game win streak and snapped Liberty's six-game Big South skid.
It was a statement game, one that signaled a downtrodden football program finally turning the corner.
Afterward, Flames coach Danny Rocco began to talk about how he thought this sort of breakout performance could have happened several games earlier.
But he backtracked, quickly shifting paradigms.
"This isn't a copout. This is 100 percent how I feel," Rocco said. "If we're sitting here now at 8-2, it isn't fair. You don't take over a program that's been struggling, that had won one game, and go 8-2. It's not that easy.
"Nothing in life is that easy. Those were my expectations, hopes and ambitions. But nothing ever comes that easily. This team, this program, will be better served because of the trials and tribulations that we did go through this year."
The Flames (5-5, 1-2 Big South) lost four games to I-AA teams by a combined 13 points and dropped their first two conference games by a combined five.
Those hard lessons served Liberty well Saturday. The Flames went up 13-0 in the first eight minutes, answered a Bucs special teams score with one of their own, and dominated No. 24 CSU physically.
"I felt like it was a different speed than we were accustomed to playing," CSU coach Jay Mills said. "I felt like the tempo of the game was such where we were playing catch-up on both sides. We just couldn't get into a rhythm."
Charleston Southern (9-1, 2-1) pulled within 13-7 when C.J. Hirschman returned a second-quarter punt 63 yards for a touchdown. The Bucs' euphoria lasted all of 17 seconds.
Wynton Jackson took the ensuing kickoff, a pop fly at the Liberty 20, broke through the first wave of defenders thanks to blocks from Chris Stokes and Darnell Edwards and saw "nothing but green field," he said. His 80-yard return ended in a touchdown and gave Liberty a 20-7 lead.
"That was a killer," CSU receiver Maurice Price said. "It took the wind right out of us."
Liberty's offense made sure the lead stood. Zach Terrell ran for 81 yards and two touchdowns. Brock Smith parlayed a fantastic week of practice into his best game of the season - 12 of 17, 224 yards and two touchdowns.
Brandon Turner (five receptions, 110 yards) and Jackson (five catches, 83 yards) caught touchdown passes.
Liberty's defense, though, was the dominant storyline Saturday.
The Flames hit CSU harder than anyone the Bucs had seen this season, Bucs quarterback Collin Drafts said.
Drafts threw for 406 yards last week against Gardner-Webb but was limited to 116 yards on 15 of 20 passing Saturday. He scrambled for 38 yards on nine carries before Liberty safety Ryan Greiser crushed him after a 12-yard scramble in the third quarter.
Drafts, the Big South's preseason player of the year, stayed on the turf for several minutes after the hit. He eventually limped off and didn't return.
Drafts said Greiser's helmet hit his left thigh directly underneath a pad, leaving a nasty bruise and severely limiting his mobility.
"I would have been a sitting duck in the pocket," Drafts said about staying in the game.
Said Greiser: "I had no intentions of hurting him, but I was trying to hit him hard and affect his game a little bit. I was trying to rattle him."
The performance finally put to rest a popular notion about Liberty football, at least around Big South circles. Last year's Liberty team was known as a finesse group, one not known for being physical and forceful on defense.
"I hated it," said Liberty linebacker Brandon Duke, who had nine tackles - three for loss - and a sack. "I took it personally and it bugged me all offseason. "
Saturday's score was only respectable because the Flames allowed two garbage touchdowns in the final five minutes. Liberty's aggressive defense never allowed CSU to find a rhythm, and the end result was the biggest victory in Rocco's short tenure.
"This is definitely a statement game for us," Duke said. "All year long, we've shown spots of being a dominant team, on offense and defense. That's what we've been talking about all season; having an explosion. Putting a whole 60-minute game together. That's what we did
Liberty QB Smith has 'sick' day
Chris Lang
Lynchburg News & Advance
November 12, 2006
Brock Smith has found the perfect way to remedy his pre-game nerves: Get sick.
Battling a bout of the flu last year at Gardner-Webb, the Liberty quarterback threw for 261 yards and a touchdown.
Saturday, battling a nagging cold, Smith had his best game of the season, completing 12 of 17 passes for 224 yards and two scores in LU's 34-20 win over Charleston Southern.
"I was more relaxed," Smith said. "I was just not trying to concentrate on my sickness. It made me calm down. I don't know why."
Liberty coach Danny Rocco said Smith was sharp, especially with short passes early on. Smith concentrated on completing 10-yard outs and quick slants instead of throwing deep balls, and he found an immediate groove.
"We wanted to get him into a rhythm and give him a chance to get some completions under his belt," Rocco said. "We thought we'd be able to have some catch-and-run plays, which we were able to do."
Smith's 56-yard TD pass to Brandon Turner in the first quarter was a short slant. Turner broke a tackle and sped to the end zone.
Tricky, tricky
There is one advantage of having a converted quarterback as your starting tailback.
In the second quarter, Smith pitched the ball to Zach Terrell on the right, only Terrell stopped and threw back across the field to a wide open Smith, who rumbled 27 yards down the left sideline to the CSU 12. Terrell later scored on an eight-yard TD run.
"I love those kind of packages," Smith said. "We goof around with those things a lot, and we finally got a chance to make one work."
Just not right
Liberty running back Rashad Jennings admitted Saturday that he won't be 100 percent again for the rest of this season.
He suffered a high-ankle sprain against William & Mary Oct. 14 and hasn't been right since. Still, he showed a flash of his old burst in the second half Saturday.
He bolted up the sideline for a 23-yard gain, a run punctuated when Jennings served Charleston Southern defensive back C.J. Hirschman with a nasty stiff arm.
He finished with 43 yards on nine carries.
"Coach came up to me in the locker room and said, 'we know you're hurting, but we still expect more out of you,'" Jennings said. "It kind of woke me up. I just ran hard and followed my blocks."
Good on his word
In September, Rocco noted it wasn't a matter of "if" but a matter of "when" in regards to Wynton Jackson breaking a kickoff return for a touchdown.
"When" finally happened Saturday. Jackson answered Hirschman's 63-yard punt return for a touchdown with an 80-yard kickoff return for a score, turning the momentum of the game.
"The hardest part is getting past that first wave," Jackson said. "After that, it's just getting past the safeties and the kicker."
Extra points
Liberty defensive end Jason Horn returned and played limited snaps Saturday. He finished with one tackle. ? Inside linebacker Manny Rojas led Liberty with 11 tackles and an interception. ? Outside linebacker Brandon Duke injured his right hand on the second play of the game but played through the pain. He said his hand might be broken. He'll find out more when he has an X-ray performed either today or Monday.
Libetty-Charleston Southern player of the game and more
Chris Lang
Lynchburg News & Advance
November 12, 2006
Player of the game:
Brock Smith, QB, Liberty
Smith ran the offense with poise, rarely made risky throws and helped Liberty dominate an undefeated foe. He was 12 of 17 for 224 yards and two touchdowns.
Play of the game:
Charleston Southern kicks off
7:54 left in the second quarter
The Buccaneers kick off after returning a punt for a touchdown. Liberty's Wynton Jackson fields the ball at the Liberty 20, gets through the initial wave of defenders and takes off down the left sideline for an 80-yard touchdown. Liberty leads 20-7 with 7:37 to go in the half.
Quotable:
'Our defense looked fast out there. They pursued the ball with quickness and they got there with an attitude. When you get later and later in the year, that's what helps you win football games.'
Danny Rocco
Liberty Head Coach
Grading the three keys
Speed up Drafts. The Flames pressured Drafts all game long, forcing him to scramble earlier than he wanted to. And when he hit the open field, Liberty defenders made it a point to hit him hard. He left the game in the third quarter with a thigh bruise. Grade: A+
Tackle, tackle, tackle. Maurice Price had 13 receptions Saturday, but he managed just 61 yards because Liberty's corners made sure to stay disclipined in tackling him on screen plays. Grade: A+
Run hard, run long. Liberty only managed 103 yards on the ground and actually trailed in time of possession. It's hard to grade against the Flames, though, because their offense struck quickly and efficiently, leaving CSU to play catchup all day. Grade: B.
auntieann wrote:Oh I was wondering what Medic thought of his boy today.. Greiser is really something.. When you watch the stats board his name is always in the picture. Love that player.. What an asset he is, but boy is he hard on the other team....MAN - of all the games to miss- and the ONLY one I missed this year!
JLFJR wrote:Thanks for your input, PA! Very helpful.
Sly Fox wrote:Great pic, krh. I love Zach's extension to break the plane.Thanks Sly - got lucky on that one. I was getting camera ready for the play Greiser leveled Drafts but I was trying to locate my 2 yr old. That would have been nice, Ryan hit him pretty hard.
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