[SuperJon]

I'm hoping I can get some people to go with me. I hate going to games alone (ala Coastal).

[SuperJon]

The only thing is I don't think most of the students care enough to dish out $17 for a game.

[TDDance234]

I'd be up for it but I'll be on my way to PA.

[SuperJon]

I just got the newspaper to put on my wall and got excited again.

[nickrichard]

SJ you need to search out a player and have them put you on the pass list. Is it really $17 for students... GA? That is outrageus prices for 1AA FB! Playoffs, I can understand it, but a regular season game for VMI?

[SuperJon]

Coastal tickets were $15. I got an e-mail from Bob Good that said they were $17.

[pbow]

Brandon Turner had an amazing game against CSU. That 56 yard touchdown catch of his was probably my favorite play of the game, of course i'm not including plays where the opposing team's qb gets hammered and his helmet flies off.

[madmat]

Just pulled in......draggin butt after a great weekend.
What a great day in the recent history of this program (my awareness starting Fall of 2004). These guys have been thru a lot, and a lot of it difficult and challenging. But I firmly believe that we will look back at this game and mark it as a pivotal moment in the Rocco Era. My real hope is that we will be remembering this win, as we celebrate a league championship next year around this time. IMOP that would be the time to bring the goal posts down.

Hilights from Sat.
Tail gating is growing, in numbers, and in duration. We left at 7:30 pm. We were comfortably nestled between the Flamefans.com tent and the coaches tailgate. We had about 12 players stop and experience authentic Skyline Chili (plenty of fuel for the ride home Sunday!)

First LU drive. Masterful, creative, balanced, well executed and tone setting. The vertical push from the O line was impressive.

Shutting down the vertical passing game of CSU. Give 'em the flats, make 'em run east & west.

We had the discussion about the odd front on another thread.....OK......Rush 2, drop 9 and when Draft takes off, put shots on him. Nice variations defensively Coach Clark!

Halfback pass throwback to Brock....could have gone deep too as Bolden? was behind the coverage. Hookn Ladder was fun too.

Best response of the day-kickoff return for a TD after CSU punt return for a TD. Snatch momentum right back.

Brock on the money and receivers making catches.....across the middle on slant routes.
On the other side, our secondary had the buc receivers hearing footsteps and dropping balls.....they must of watched film.

Violent hits on the field by our guys, both sides of the ball.....LOVE IT!
Finesse out, punishment in. That is a pivotal change in attitude around here.

In closing, watching these guys grow and mature has been tough at times, but worth every moment. Thanks to the SRs and here's to an everbrightening future. The next step in the maturation process is to take care of business next Sat. in Lex. If we want to be taken seriously, we must not be satisfied.

GO FLAMES, BEAT KEYDETS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[SuperJon]

One thing I loved:

Me: Hey Coach, can I grab a picture with you?
Rocco: Sure, as long as Mike Godsil's not in it.

[madmat]

Where's the post game love? Guess that's why the oline are called the big uglies.

[SuperJon]

You guys were eating right. We had a good amount there too. With our tailgate, your tailgate, the coach's tailgate, and the Society's tailgate all next to each other people see a good amount of tailgating. Add that to Stevie Ray's dad at the top of P1 and people know what the goal is.

[ATrain]

I thought VMI only charged like $5 bucks with a student ID...or at least thats what they did when I went up there 2 years ago

[SuperJon]

That's probably the case. I need to call them. Liberty was advertising tickets for Towson at $12 when they were really $6 with a student ID.

[Sly Fox]

Skyline Chili! That is so wrong to bring up in a thread that I'm reading from Texas. I'm instantly starving for a 3-way or coney right now.

Thanks for the recap guys.

[LU'sbestmanager]

Halfback pass throwback to Brock....could have gone deep too as Bolden? was behind the coverage. Hookn Ladder was fun too.

that was jackson that was open. i wish they would have thrown it to him because that would have been 6

[thepostman]

sounds like an amazing game...I knew from the time school started I would be out of town this weekend...I wish I could have been there, my mind was on the game a lot of the day on Saturday...sounds like a great time....a great win for our guys for sure...I hope they continue to build on this and take care of VMI a 6-5 record after a 1-10 season is nothing to be ashamed of....keep improving and next year could be a lot of fun....

[PAmedic]

Finesse out, punishment in. That is a pivotal change in attitude around here.

quote of the week!

that's what its all about- 2 thumbs up!

[jcmanson]

All I can do is echo others. I thought the guys played great, defense, offense, special teams. A truly well played game all round and for the full game. This is a game we can build on in the offseason, and into next year.

[flameshaw]

I would just like to say that on the way up to The Burg, I told my brother he would definitely see a better hitting team than he has ever seen at LU. Little did I realize they would put on the best demonstration EVER at The Bill. GO FLAMES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[bigsmooth]

i echo what madmat said....BTW, madmat tailgates right next to flamefans, and he is good people.

[PAmedic]

my apologies if anyone did:

Flames Close Out Home Schedule With 34-20 Victory Over 24th-Ranked Buccaneers

November 11, 2006
Lynchburg, Va.
» Box Score

The 2006 Flames football senior class closed out their days at Williams Stadium in style as Liberty ended 24th-ranked Charleston Southern’s 14-game winning streak with a 34-20 Big South Conference victory Saturday afternoon.

With the victory, the Flames even their record at 5-5 on the season and snap a six-game Big South Conference losing streak to improve to 1-2 in league action this year.

The loss, Charleston Southern’s first since dropping a 34-12 decision at VMI on October 18, 2005, drops the Buccaneers’ record to 9-1 on the year and 2-1 in league play.

The win gave Liberty’s its first victory over a nationally-ranked team since 1997 and the eighth win over a ranked I-AA team in school history. Liberty’s last win over a nationally-ranked team was a 25-19 victory over 15th-ranked Appalachian State on November 22, 1997, allowing the Flames to finish the season with a 9-2 record.

The Flames wasted little time getting on the scoreboard as Liberty marched down field on the opening drive of the game 80 yards on six plays for a score. The drive was capped off by an eight-yard touchdown run by Zach Terrell at the 11:45 mark to give Liberty a 6-0 lead as Zac Kolegue’s extra point sailed wide left.

The drive was highlighted by a trick play as quarterback Brock Smith handed the ball off to Terrell who threw the ball back to Smith on the opposite side of the field for a 27-yard gain, giving Liberty the ball inside the Buccaneers’ Red Zone.

After holding Charleston Southern on the ensuing drive, the Flames quickly added to their lead as Smith found Brandon Turner open in the flat and the junior scampered 56 yards down field for a score, upping the Liberty advantage to 13-0 with 6:48 left in the first quarter.

The score remained the same until midway through the second quarter as C.J. Hirschman returned a punt 63 yards for a touchdown at 7:54 to pull the Buccaneers within six points, 13-7. The punt return marked the fourth time this year that Liberty has allowed an opponent to score in the first half this year.

However, Liberty had some special team’s magic of its own as Jackson fielded the ensuing kickoff at the 20 yard line and found a few gaps down field, allowing him to return the kickoff 80 yards for the Flames’ third touchdown of the afternoon and give Liberty a 20-7 lead.

It is the second time this year that Liberty, who entered the game ranked seventh nationally in kickoff return yardage, has returned a kickoff for a touchdown as Dominic Bolden returned a kickoff 93 yards against Coastal Carolina on October 28.

Charleston Southern started to march down field on the next drive until Collin Drafts fumbled the ball on a quarterback scramble, forced by Tyler Turner and recovered by Colin Dugan, giving the Flames the ball back at the Liberty 43-yard line .

Seven plays later, Terrell found the end zone for the second time of the afternoon and the 12th time this year as the sophomore ran nine yards to the near side of the field and dove into the corner of the end zone for a 27-7 Liberty lead just 2:18 before halftime.

Neither team found the scoreboard in the third quarter; but, the Buccaneers did suffer a loss late in the quarter. Drafts scrambled 12 yards down field for a Buccaneer first down to get to the Liberty 30-yard line, but the quarterback was injured on the play and did not return.

And two plays later, Draft’s back-up Eli Byrd was picked off by Ryan Greiser.
Liberty sealed its victory early in the fourth quarter as Smith found Wynton Jackson open deep down field, lofting a ball over two defenders and the wide out scampered 45 yards to the end zone for the score to give Liberty a 34-7 lead with 8:58 left to play in the contest.

However, the Buccaneers never quit as they tried to make the most of their last nine minutes. Byrd completed a 31-yard scoring strike to Bryant Burch on the next drive, while Charleston Southern took advantage of botched punt snap to set up Byrd for a one-yard touchdown run with 19 seconds left, but Liberty’s lead was too large, ending the Buccaneers’ undefeated season.

For the first time in school history, the Flames had over 10,000 fans attend four different games on the year, including today’s game with 10,823 fans. Liberty’s finished the 2006 home season with a school record 66,765 in total home attendance, surpassing the previous record of 55,990 set over seven games during the 1990 campaign.

The Flames finished the game with a season-high 251 passing yards, including 224 yards and two scores by Smith as he completed 12-of-17 attempts, plus the 27-yard pass play from Terrell to Smith. Drafts finished the game with a season-low 116 yards passing, despite completing 15-of-20 passes in three quarters of action.

Terrell led the Flames’ rushing attack with 20 carries for 81 yards and two touchdowns, making him the seventh player in school history with 12 rushing touchdowns in a season. Rashad Jennings added 43 yards on nine carries. Drafts was the Buccaneers’ leading rusher with nine carries for 38 yards.

Turner became the ninth player in school history to post back-to-back 100-yard receiving games as the junior caught five passes for 110 yards and a touchdown and Jackson followed with five receptions for 83 yards and a score. Maurice Price, who entered the game leading the nation in receptions per game, was held to just 61 yards on 13 receptions.

Senior linebacker Manny Rojas closed out his playing days at Williams Stadium with his 11th career double-figure tackle game with a team-best 11 stops, giving him 340 career tackles, which ranks sixth best in school history. Hirschman led the Buccaneers with 12 tackles, followed by Jonna Lee who added 11 stops.

The Flames close out the 2006 season with a battle of Blue Ridge Mountain teams as Liberty travels to Lexington, Va., to face VMI next Saturday at Alumni Stadium. Kickoff for the Big South Conference contest is set for 1 p.m.

[PAmedic]

WOW! lots of record making performances there- hoping for many more to come by the end of next season!