Liberty (1-0) Bowling Green (0-1), 34-24, on Saturday afternoon at Williams Stadium in Lynchburg, Virginia.
After keeping it quiet until right before kickoff, Kaidon Salter was Liberty’s starting quarterback to begin the game. The redshirt-sophomore led a very impressive scoring drive to open the season as the Flames took a quick 7-0 lead. He picked up 30 yards on the ground on 3rd and 7 to get the drive started.
On the Flames’ third possession of the afternoon, Salter completed 4 of 5 passes for 50 yards and a 12-yard touchdown pass to Vaughn Blue as Liberty went up 14-0.
Less than two minutes later, Kobe Singleton intercepted the Connor Bazelak pass and returned it 36 yards for a touchdown. A Brylan Green interception came on the next Bowling Green offensive play, and the Flames tacked on a 36-yard Teagen Lenderink field goal As the score grew to 24-0, it seemed like the route was on.
The Falcons would finally get on the scoreboard and grab some momentum on their ensuing drive. They ran 5 plays, all rushes, picking up 65 yards and a touchdown. As Liberty was driving deep into Bowling Green territory in the final minute of the first half, Lenderink’s 28-yard field goal attempt was blocked and returned 76 yards for a touchdown, making the score 24-14 at halftime and the visitors from Ohio clinging to the momentum.
The Falcons would continue with their momentum into the second half, scoring a field goal on their opening possession of the second half to cut the lead to seven. The Flames would respond with a touchdown, as Kaidon Salter found Bentley Hanshaw for a touchdown pass.
Bowling Green kept coming, cutting the lead to seven at 31-24. Liberty’s defense withstood the Falcons’ late charge, with Jerome Jolly recording two interceptions in the second half. Lenderink had a huge 37-yard field goal with less than 3 minutes to play to push the lead to 10.
BLOCKED FIELD GOAL CHANGES MOMENTUM
Liberty was in complete control of the game in the first half, leading 24-0 late into the second quarter. That all changed quickly on the blocked field goal that was returned for a touchdown. Happening just before half, it cut the Liberty lead to 24-14, and gave Bowling Green all the momentum.
The Falcons came out of the locker room with plenty of juice, and they were able to consistently move the ball on the Liberty defense. That’s not something they were able to do in the first half, as Bowling Green found something on the ground.
JEROME JOLLY WITH STANDOUT GAME
Making his first career start on defense, Liberty linebacker Jerome Jolly had a great game. He was able to make plays at the line of the scrimmage early in the game, and also provided some strong play in the secondary. Jolly recorded a pass break up and two interceptions, all of which were very critical to the team’s success.
KAIDON SALTER IMPRESSES IN START
Salter enters the season as QB1 for the Flames, and he had a strong showing. The most important thing is he did not turn the ball over. He also rushed for a career high 82 yards while completing 11 of 20 passes for 143 yards and 2 touchdowns. A great start for him to build off as the season progresses.
Up Next
Liberty will play its first ever Conference USA game next Saturday, back at Williams Stadium, against New Mexico State. The Aggies are currently 0-1 on the season following a season opening loss to UMass, 41-30, a week ago. They face Western Illinois tonight with kickoff scheduled for 9 p.m. EST on ESPN+. Next week’s game between the Flames and Aggies is scheduled for 6 p.m. on ESPN+.
