Liberty just likes having close games during the 2022 season, it appears. 26.5 point favorites entering the game, the Flames were able to pull out a close game, 21-12, against Akron (1-3) as Liberty moves to 3-1 on the year.
With Kaidon Salter out of the game with a groin injury, Johnathan Bennett made the start, the third quarterback to start a game for the Flames so far this season. Bennett led the Flames to two first quarter touchdowns as Liberty took the early 14-0 lead and it looked like it was going to cruise to an easy victory.
That wouldn’t be the case though as the Liberty offense struggled for much of the game, unable to find any momentum. Nate Hampton would enter the game in the 4th quarter with Liberty leading, 14-12, and helped lead a touchdown drive to secure the victory.
QB carousel continues for Flames
With Charlie Brewer and Kaidon Salter going down to injury, head coach Hugh Freeze turned to Johnathan Bennett to start the game. He is the third quarterback to start a game this season, marking the first time that has happened at Liberty since 2005 when Brock Farrell, Brock Smith, and Zach Terrell all started a game during Ken Karcher’s last season as head coach when the Flames finished 1-10.
Bennett looked really good in the first quarter. He guided the Flames on two touchdown drives, ending with touchdown passes to Khaleb Coleman and Treon Sibley. Things began to take a turn for the worse from there, becoming stagnant and unable to have any consistency.
Midway through the fourth quarter, with Liberty clinging to a 14-12 lead, Freeze opted to turn to Nate Hampton. The fourth-string quarterback provided a spark to get the offense going and quickly into the red zone. After a couple of runs, Dae Dae Hunter would find the end zone on a one yard score to provide some margin with less than 5 minutes to play.
Bennett finished the night completing 13 of 27 passes for 152 yards, 2 touchdowns and an interception. He also ran the ball six times for a loss of 9 yards and one lost fumble. Hampton threw just one recorded pass, an incompletion and ran 5 times for 19 yards.
PUNTING HELPED TURN THE GAME IN LIBERTY’S FAVOR
It’s not usual that you write about punting or speak to a team’s punter following a game, but that’s how this game unfolded. Liberty’s Aidan Alves had three crucial punts in the fourth quarter that helped flip the field position, put the defense in great position, and set the offense up with short fields.
He had punts of 44, 64 (downed at the 1), and 37 (downed at the 11) yards in the final 15 minutes. The 64-yarder was chased down by Javon Scruggs before it rolled into the end zone for a touchback. The Liberty defense would force a three and out and the Flames took over near midfield after a punt. With the short field and behind Nate Hampton, Liberty would score a touchdown to push their lead to two scores in the closing minutes.
DEFENSE COMES THROUGH ONCE AGAIN
If it wasn’t for the play of the Liberty defense early in the season, the Flames very easily could be 0-4 rather than 3-1. The defensive unit, led by co-defensive coordinators Josh Aldridge and Jack Curtis, continues to come through in the clutch.
Akron was held to just 52 rushing yards on the night, was only 6 of 18 on third downs and 1 of 3 on third downs. They reached the red zone four times, but were held to 12 points on those trips. The Flames finished the game with 7 tackles for loss, 5 sacks, and an interception. Durrell Johnson led the way with 3.5 TFLs and 2.5 sacks.
Up Next
Liberty hits the road for two straight away from Williams Stadium. The Flames will stay in-state and take on the Old Dominion Monarchs next Saturday at 6 p.m. The Monarchs are 2-2 on the year. They began the season with a 20-17 upset win at home over Virginia Tech before suffering setbacks the next two weeks at East Carolina (39-21) and Virginia (16-14). ODU got back in the win column on Saturday night with a come from behind win, 29-26, at home over Arkansas State.
