It was a game Hugh Freeze said was unlike any he had ever been a part of before, as Liberty was able to outlast Southern Miss on Saturday, 29-27, in four overtimes.
Both starting quarterbacks were knocked out of the game due to injury. Liberty starter Charlie Brewer left in the first quarter after suffering a fractured right hand
arm/hand. He was replaced by Johnathan Bennett who kept the Flames in the game but struggled to find any consistency. Redshirt-freshman Kaidon Salter replaced Bennett and led Liberty to a come from behind victory.
Southern Miss quarterback Ty Keyes left the game in the first half after being hit in the head by Liberty safety Rocket Rahimi. Rahimi was disqualified from the game following the play due to targeting while Keyes left and did not return.
The game went back and forth throughout and was a defensive slugfest before Liberty was able to pull out the victory in the fourth overtime. It was the first four overtime game in school history, The Flames are now 8-9 all-time in overtime games, playing their first overtime game since the 2020 Cure Bowl against Coastal Carolina when Liberty won, 37-34.
Charlie Brewer exits game in first quarter
Liberty quarterback Charlie Brewer was unable to make it through the first quarter as he exited the game with a right arm/hand injury. He left the game with 6:12 left in the opening quarter of the game. In the second quarter, Brewer was seen returning to the stadium in an ambulance and on the sideline with his right arm in a sling.
“It’s a fracture, I heard,” Liberty head coach Hugh Freeze said at halftime. “I got to get in to talk to the docs, but I don’t expect him back tonight.”
Brewer was 3 of 4 passing for 18 yards with 3 carries for 13 yards before leaving the game. Brewer was making his first appearance for the Flames after transferring in from Utah prior to the spring semester. He was named Liberty’s starting quarterback towards the end of training camp. Brewer struggled with concussions late in his career at Baylor before transferring to Utah for the 2021 season.
The 6’1″, 208 pound Brewer started 39 games for Baylor from 2017-2020, helping the Bears to the Big 12 championship game in 2019. He began his Baylor career under head coach Matt Rhule who is now the head coach of the Carolina Panthers. Brewer ranks second on Baylor’s career list for passing yards (9,700) and passing touchdowns (65). He then transferred to Utah prior to the 2021 season and won the starting job before being benched three games into the season, at which point he entered the portal.
Turnovers keep the Flames in game
While the Liberty offense was trying to figure things out in the first half, the defense was carrying the torch. The Flames had just 11 takeaways during the 2021 season, but forced four turnovers in the first half alone against Southern Miss on Saturday night.
Durrell Johnson had a forced fumble and interception, Mississippi native Mike Smith, Jr had an interception, and Southern Utah transfer Kobe Singleton also had a first half interception. The Flames’ 10 first half points all came off turnovers, to take a 10-3 lead at the intermission. Liberty finished the game with five turnovers, the first time with that many turnovers forced in a game since Nov. 10, 2012 against Stony Brook.
Kaidon Salter coming out party
The Liberty offense struggled to move the ball most of the evening and particularly in the third quarter. After Bennett threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown in the opening minute of the fourth quarter giving Southern Miss the 17-10 lead, Coach Freeze turned to the redshirt-freshman Kaidon Salter.
Salter would immediately provide a jolt of energy to the Liberty offense, engineering a scoring drive that ended with a touchdown pass to Demario Douglas to even the score. Not to be outdone, Salter, the highest rated high school quarterback to ever play at Liberty, tied the game in the closing minute to send it to overtime.
The Flames were trailing 24-17 with just 1:47 left in the fourth quarter. Liberty had the ball and it’s own 19 yard line, and Salter entered the game poised and with confidence. On first down, he connected with Douglas for a 51 yard gain. Then a completion to Jerome Jackson for 17 yards would set up the 23-yard touchdown toss to Douglas to tie the game. His pass to Jackson in the fourth overtime would prove to be the winning score.
For the game, Salter completed 8 of 13 passes for 148 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception. He also led the team in rushing with 9 carries for 65 yards.
Up Next
Liberty returns home for its home opener next Saturday, Sept. 10 with kickoff at 6 p.m. against a very good UAB team. The Blazers are 1-0 on the season after a 59-0 beatdown of Alabama A&M on Thursday night, and they will be looking to exact some revenge from the Flames’ spoiling their home opener in their brand new Protective Stadium last year.
