Coach Gill and the Flames lose another heartbreaker
The Flames led 42-23 with less than 2 minutes remaining in the 3rd quarter as Liberty students began filing out of the stadium. 18 game home conference win streak to remain in tact. Playoff hopes remain alive. Then the 4th quarter happened.
Liberty was outscored 15-3 in the 4th quarter before eventually losing 55-52 in double overtime to the 4th ranked Coastal Carolina Chanticleers.
Coastal won the toss and elected to receive the ball, but the Chanticleers were forced into a quick 3 and out. The Flames took over on their own 12 yard line. On the Flames’ first offensive play, Josh Woodrum connected with Darrin Peterson for a 12 yard out. D.J. Abnar then caught a screen pass for another first down moving the ball out to the 36. On a 3rd and 6 play, Gabe Henderson caught the ball in the flat, and there wasn’t a Chanticleer within 10 yards of him. Facing a 3rd and 3 from the Coastal 16, Des Rice picked up 7 yards to pick up a 1st down at the 7. Rice would cap the 11 play 88 yard drive with a 7 yard scamper to give Liberty the early 7-0 lead.
On their ensuing drive, the Chanticleers would pick up their first 1st down of the game, and would face a 3rd and 13 from their own 33. Quarterback Alex Ross would pick up the first down as he ran for 16 yards. Coastal would get a 15 yard unsportsmanlike penalty which set them up with a 3rd and 24. The Flames would get Coastal off the field on the next play.
Gabe Henderson finished with 9 receptions for 135 yards and this touchdown
After a 16 yard Kevin Fogg punt return, Liberty took over on their own 35. On the Flames first play, Woodrum was picked off by Alex Scearce as he tried to force the ball to Brandon Apon. Coastal took over at the Liberty 49. On 2nd down, Alex Ross would scamper 36 yards on a quarterback draw to get to the 12. After three consecutive Taliaferro rushes, the senior running back would find pay dirt and would tie Coastal’s single season rushing touchdown mark. The Chanticleers would miss the extra point putting the score at 7-6 with just over 3 minutes to play in the 1st quarter.
Liberty would take over on their own 31 yard line, and would quickly face a 3rd and 9. Woodrum would find Gabe Henderson who would pick up the first down at the Liberty 43 following the 12 yard pickup. Following another first down pickup from a Woodrum to Peterson connection, Woodrum found Des Rice on a screen pass for a gain of 16 yards to the Coastal 29. On the next play, Gabe Henderson utilized the mismatch with a Coastal linebacker and Woodrum found him in the end zone to give the Flames the 14-6 lead with just 31 seconds left in the 1st quarter.
After a John Lunsford touchback, Coastal took over on their own 25. Facing a 3rd and 2, Taliaferro would pick up the first down on a 15 yard run off the right tackle. Matt Hazel, with the benefit of some poor tackling by Liberty’s secondary, would score a touchdown from 34 yards to make it 14-13.
The Flames would pick up a few first downs, first from a Woodrum scamper, then from a couple of passes to Henderson across the middle and Dante Shells on an out pattern, moving the Flames into Coastal territory. On a 3rd and 2 from the Coastal 23, Woodrum would keep the ball on the option to pick up the first down at the 20 yard line. On 1st down, Josh Woodrum connected with Brandon Apon across the middle for a touchdown giving the Flames a 21-13 lead with 8:20 left in the 1st half.
Coastal would fumble Lunsford’s squib kick, and Liberty would recover. However, there were offsetting penalties on the play forcing a rekick which Coastal would return to the 23. After two incomplete Alex Ross passes, the Chanticleers faced a 3rd and 10 where Ross found Matt Hazel open in the flat for a 16 yard pickup. Coastal would move into Liberty territory, but Ross would overthrow Matt Hazel on a pass intercepted by Jacob Hagen that he would return to midfield.
Rice’s career day wasn’t enough
Woodrum and company would quickly move the ball downfield, and following a Des Rice 30 yard run around the left end the Flames had the ball 1st and goal at the 3. On the next play, Josh Woodrum would find Nicky Fualaau after the play action pass for a touchdown giving Liberty the 28-13 lead with 2:45 left in the 1st half.
With the help of a holding penalty and great Liberty defense, Coastal was forced into a 3 and out where they would punt to the Liberty 41. The Flames would quickly have to punt after being forced into a 3 and out of their own. The Chanticleers took over at their own 24, and quickly moved the ball into Liberty territory. Coastal would set up a 48 yard field goal attempt by Alex Catron which ne sneaked over the cross bar bringing the score to 28-16 Liberty at halftime.
The Flames outgained the Chanticleers 298-232 in the 1st half including 218 passing yards. Liberty also won the time of possession battle 18 minutes to Coastal’s 12.
Liberty got the ball to start the 2nd half, and quickly faced a 3rd and 5 from their own 28 yard line. Woodrum would scamper for the first down out to the Liberty 42. Des Rice would run for 20 yards on the toss sweep around the right end moving the Flames into Coastal territory at the 34. Following two more Rice first downs, the Flames pushed inside the 10 yard line where Clifton Richardson needed 2 plays to punch it in the end zone giving Liberty a 35-16 lead.
Coastal was able to pick up 1 first down, but Liberty’s defense was again able to force Coastal into a 4th down. On 4th and 5 from their own 41, Coastal would use a nifty fake punt to pick up 25 yards and a first down at Liberty’s 34 yard line. The Chanticleers successfully converted another 4th down on the drive which ended in a Taliaferro touchdown, setting a new single season rushing touchdown record for Coastal cutting Liberty’s lead to 35-23 with just over 5 minutes left in the 3rd quarter.
With the help of a 27 yard completion to Darrin Peterson, and a flea flicker from Rice to Woodrum to Jaquan Glover, the Flames moved into the red zone. Following a holding call, 2 Des Rice rushes resulted in another Liberty touchdown, pushing the score to 42-23 Liberty with 2:06 left in the 3rd.
Darrin Peterson finished with 9 catches for 111 yards
Alex Ross connected with Matt Hazel for a 46 yard pass moving Coastal inside the Liberty 30 where the Chanticleers would eventually punch it in for a touchdown making the score 42-30 at the end of the 3rd quarter. The touchdown came on a 13 yard pass from Ross to Hazel as Hazel beat cornerback Kevin Fogg to the corner pylon.
Facing a 3rd and 1 from their own 33, Des Rice was corralled in the backfield for a loss of 1 yard forcing the Flames into a 3 & out. Grant Bowden’s punt was partially blocked, and it rolled dead at the Coastal 40 where the Chanticleers took over. Coastal was able to successfully convert three 3rd downs on the drive that ended with a Taliaferro 9 yard touchdown run pulling the Chanticleers within 5 at 42-37 with 8:42 left in the game.
Flames took over on their own 20 yard line needing to quell Coastal’s rally and momentum. On 3rd and 1 from their own 29, Des Rice was able to penetrate the line, pushing the pile across the 30 yard line for a first down. On the next play, Woodrum found Peterson for a 45 yard gain on a play Darrin made a spectacular catch in tight coverage. Coastal was able to hold the Flames to a 22 yard John Lunsford field goal making the score 45-37 with 4:13 to play.
Alex Ross led the Chanticleers down the field on a 9 play 75 yard drive which ended in a touchdown reception by Thomas Pauciello. 2 point conversion was caught by Bruce Mapp which tied the game at 45 with 45.3 seconds to play.
Liberty moved the ball to midfield where Josh Woodrum’s hailmary pass fell in the end zone incomplete. Flames and Chanticleers head to overtime.
Coastal won the toss and chose to go on defense first. On the first play of overtime, Des Rice lined up in the wildcat and took the ball 25 yards for the touchdown. The Chanticleers responded with a Taliaferro touchdown from 7 yards out tying the score at 52 as the teams head to double overtime.
John Lunsford had his game tying FG attempt blocked
In the 2nd overtime, Liberty’s defense would force Coastal into a 35 yard field goal which was nailed by Alex Catron giving Coastal their first lead of the game at 55-52. The Flames were forced to settle for a 40 yard field goal attempt from John Lunsford hoping to send the game into the 3rd overtime; however, Lunsford’s kick was blocked and Coastal’s players and fans stormed on the field in celebration. Liberty’s players were left with their heads in their hands.
Josh Woodrum finished 29/41 for 382 yards. It is just the 3rd time in the sophomore quarterback’s career with over 300 yards passing. Des Rice finished with a career high 170 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns. Gabe Henderson and Darrin Peterson each had 9 catches and over 100 yards receiving.
Here’s a few quotes from Coach Gill and a few of the players following the emotional loss:
QB Josh Woodrum:
- “52 points should be good enough to win a football game. We need to play better as a team. It’s weird that whenever our defense balls out, our offense doesn’t play well. ODU, our defense played great and we only scored 17 points on offense. We need to figure out how to really mesh as a team.”
- “I thought our defense was going to come out there and shut them down that last drive.”
Coach Gill – “Coastal made more plays than we did, simple as that.”
RB Des Rice – “It was pretty demoralizing as a team. We really wanted this ball game and to lose like that, it’s pretty tough.”
LB Nick Sigmon:
- “The hardest thing to take in is when you know you’re playing your best and you’re playing your hardest, but sometimes things just haven’t gone our way this season.”
- “We haven’t put a complete game together where we’re really playing at our best.”
- “They just happened to make more plays than us.”
Liberty looks to bounce back next week as they head to Boiling Springs to face the Gardner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs.
These games (3 close losses) would almost be more tolerable to take if the Flames were just blown out. However, it’s clear that LU has the player and coaching talent to hang with those teams and convincingly defeat them. But they don’t……Bridesmaids but never the Bride.
This team is much better than last year’s team (fewer penalties, more turnovers) and yet that improvement is not reflected in the win-loss column. It’s a shame all around for players, coaches, and fans. We are ready for sustained success and want opportunities to promote our team.
It’s a shame too that Aldreakis Allen’s season is being lost to the mysterious leg injury that cannot be named. We need a big back that can pick up first downs in the 4th Quarter and control the clock.
Post-season hopes seem dim at this point. Let’s hope the players finish 2013 strong and finally get that elusive “complete game” they keep talking about. That over-used phrase is getting old quickly. I’d be happy with a “complete 4th Quarter” for starters.