Liberty and East Carolina will meet for the first time on the gridiron Saturday night at Williams Stadium, but the teams’ two head coaches are quite familiar with one another.

They first met in 2011 when Houston was the head coach at Lenoir-Rhyne in North Carolina and Chadwell was at North Greenville in South Carolina. Chadwell and North Greenville won that game, 35-27, as the Crusaders went on to an 11-3 season and Division II Quarterfinals run.

In 2014 and 2015, the two head coaches faced off against one another three times. Chadwell was the head coach at Charleston Southern while Houston was at the Citadel those two seasons.

The two head coaches built their respective programs into perennial FCS Playoff participants, and the teams, both located in Charleston, South Carolina, had a home and home series in 2014 and 2015.

It was Houston’s first year at the Citadel, coming there after three very successful seasons at Division II Lenoir-Rhyne. Meanwhile, Chadwell was in his third season at Charleston Southern in what would turn out to be the first of two straight FCS Playoff teams.

The second meeting between Chadwell and Houston was in 2014 at Charleston Southern, a 20-18 win for Chadwell and the Buccaneers. The next season, the two played at the Citadel, ending in a 33-20 Charleston Southern win.

That wouldn’t be the final meeting for these two. Later that year, both CSU and the Citadel reached the FCS Playoffs and would meet in the second round, a 14-6 Chadwell and Charleston Southern victory as the now Liberty head coach is 4-0 all-time against Houston.

“They always play hard, they’re disciplined and they’re tough, and they’re not going to beat themselves,” Chadwell said of Houston’s teams. “In the games we’ve played, that was always going to be tough, and they’re always going to be challenging. They always played extremely hard. You’re not going to out-scheme them, and typically you’re not going to out-tough ’em. They’re a tough team, and they’re not going to quit. You’re going to have to play for the whole time.”

Houston had similar thoughts on Chadwell and his teams.

“You can always count on them being a hard-nosed bunch and he’s done a good job everywhere he’s been,” Houston said of Chadwell. “They’re always going to be able to run the ball effectively, then they’ll have a passing game off that. They’re going to be sound in all phases.”

Following that 2015 season, Houston left the Citadel for James Madison for three years. He was 18-2 in his first two seasons leading the Dukes, helping them to the FCS Championship both years, including the FCS Championship in 2016.

He then joined the FBS level at East Carolina, where he has been since 2019 and compiled a 26-35 record. Houston has guided the Pirates to two bowl games.

Chadwell would stay at Charleston Southern for one more season before heading to Coastal Carolina. He posted a 39-22 record leading the Chanticleers and earned three bowl bids. He left following the 2022 season to come to Liberty where he is 16-1 and led the Flames to the 2023 CUSA Championship and a Fiesta Bowl appearance.

Houston and Chadwell were set to meet again in the 2022 Birmingham Bowl, but that didn’t happen as Chadwell had left Coastal Carolina for Liberty prior to the bowl game against Houston and the Pirates. The former coaching rivals from Charleston will meet once again under the lights at Williams Stadium in Lynchburg, Virginia.

“He obviously has a very talented roster,” said Houston of Chadwell and the 2024 Flames. “The combination of the job that they do and the talent that they have makes them a formidable foe. I think Coach Durkin does a great job with the offensive line. He’s one of the better offensive line coaches in the country and he’s got this bunch playing really, really well.”

For Liberty and Chadwell, it’s another game to try and prove itself against an opponent from a respected conference. The Flames have never beaten a team from the AAC, only facing one team from the conference at the time the game was played, a 2016 loss to SMU.

“You get an opportunity to play against another conference that you’re always compared to, from a location standpoint,” Chadwell said. “It’s obviously the biggest challenge we’ve had to in my two seasons (at Liberty). They’re the most talented team that’s come in to Lynchburg, by far, in all three phases. They’re big and they’re fast. They play with unbelievable effort, and they play disciplined. They do a good job. Coach has done a good job wherever he’s been, and the guys that have been with him, and so it’s going to be a big challenge for us.”

Liberty has been very good at home in recent years. The Flames are 34-6 at Williams Stadium since joining the FBS in 2018. Last year, the Flames were a perfect 8-0 at home and are riding a 10-game home winning streak, all under Chadwell.

The Pirates are just a couple of plays away from making this a matchup of unbeatens. They beat two other teams from Virginia to open the season 2-0 with wins over Norfolk State and Old Dominion before falling at home to Appalachian State, 21-19 last week.

ECU took a 16-0 first quarter lead over the Mountaineers thanks to a 50-yard pick-six by Shavon Revel, Jr. Appalachian State fought back to 16-14 at halftime before taking the lead late in the third quarter.

“We’ll have to play well,” said Chadwell. “We can’t start slow because they’ll bury us. We’ll have to play a clean game. Our guys are excited about it. They know it’s a big game, just from the standpoint of having the opportunity to play an out of conference team that’s here close, that maybe we recruit against, maybe they’ve got friends that (they went) to school (with). There’s a lot of different things there, so we’re excited about the opportunity to host it, but we also know we’re gonna have to play really well because they’re really good.”

Liberty has gotten off to a slow start in each of its last two games, falling behind to both New Mexico State and UTEP. The Flames were able to fight back in both of those games for wins, but the competition level will certainly be at a higher level this week.

“It’s going to be a big challenge for our guys,” Chadwell said of Saturday night’s game against East Carolina. “I think our guys are excited about that, knowing that you’re playing a team that’s traditionally got a lot of respect nationally and has played high level football.”