The Liberty football team defeated Monmouth to move to above .500 for the first time this season. The Flames racked up nearly 700 yards of total offense, led by Todd Macon’s 271 all-purpose yards.
GAME BALLS
Todd Macon: Macon had a career game. The junior running back finished the game with 193 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns. He added 78 receiving yards and a touchdown. Macon’s 271 all-purpose yards ranks tied for 5th best all-time performance in school history. It’s the biggest all-purpose performance since 1998 when Walt Heilig had 315 all-purpose yards against Delaware State, which is the school record. The other top 5 performances are from 1978, 1981, and 1994.
Chris Turner: Turner led the team with 7 tackles. He also made an incredible individual play to force a fumble. More on that play below.
Liberty’s offense: Outside of Macon, there isn’t really one guy that stands out, but the entire offensive unit had a record breaking afternoon. The offense racked up 681 yards of total offense, which fell just short of the school record of 692. The Flames ran 87 plays and had over 300 yards both rushing and passing.
RANKING THE TOP PLAYS FROM THE GAME
- The Flames took the opening drive and scored a touchdown, to take a 7-0 lead. Monmouth botched recovering the ensuing kickoff, and Liberty recovered the ball inside the 10 yard line. The Flames were unable to put any points on the board as they were stopped at the 1 yard line on 4th & goal. Monmouth had their first offensive play from scrimmage at the 1, and Darren Ambush burned Tyrin Holloway for a deep pass completion. It looked like Ambush was going to take it the distance for a 99-yard score to tie the game at 7, but Chris Turner had other ideas. Turner came from the other side of the field, chased Ambush down, and stripped the football. Holloway was able to recover the fumble.
- Tyrin Holloway made an incredible 1-handed interception in the 4th quarter to virtually seal the game. It’s Holloway’s 4th interception of the season as he ranks 9th in the country in interceptions per game.
- The Hawks had an all-out blitz call on, Coach Dailey recognized it from the box, and called in an audible. The audible was a quick screen pass to Todd Macon. Macon caught Buckshot’s pass and rumbled 76 yards for the first quarter touchdown, giving the Flames a 14-0 lead.
- Showing his elusiveness, Buckshot Calvert looked as if he was going to be sacked as two Monmouth defenders had him in their grasp, but he was able to utilize a spin move to get free. After escaping the pocket, Calvert had the poise to find Antonio Gandy-Golden who converted a first down on the 3rd and 14 play.
- Macon broke through the left side of the line and took the ball 65 yards. He came up just short of the goalline as he was knocked out at the 3 yardline. The run stands as Macon’s longest rush in his career.
WHAT IT MEANS
Liberty’s offense put on a display. 681 total yards of offense. 87 plays. 40 minutes of time of possession. 331 rushing yards. 350 passing yards. Todd Macon with 271 all-purpose yards. With the exception of 3 consecutive drives at the end of the 3rd quarter, the offense was unstoppable. This was done against a Monmouth defense which hadn’t allowed more than 35 points in regulation this season. With that said, there were those 3 consecutive drives that didn’t go so well. It’s when we saw the first sacks allowed by the Flames’ new look offensive line in the past two weeks. We also saw Buckshot’s first 2 interceptions since he took over as the starter. It was also the only time Liberty was forced to punt all game.
The special teams continues to invoke questions. We’ve seen Zac Parker, Damian King, and now B.J. Farrow back to return punts, and all 3 of them have had their fair share of issues. This week, it was Farrow who muffed a punt. Alex Probert missed a 32 yard field goal. It was very windy, so maybe it was the wind that messed his kick up. He would later connect on a 26 yarder, and he made all 7 of his extra points. Monmouth also spent most of the day kicking it away from Frankie Hickson.
Liberty’s defense was also really good, with the exception of 3 consecutive drives. The Flames didn’t give up a first down until midway into the 2nd quarter, on Monmouth’s 5th offensive drive. On the 3 drives where the defense faltered, Monmouth racked up 186 yards on 17 plays and 21 points. On all other drives, the Hawks were held below 300 yards of total offense and just 7 points. Solomon McGinty said in the postgame that Monmouth opened up the kitchen sink and showed looks they hadn’t shown all season.
LOOKING AHEAD
If you look at the Big South standings, Presbyterian and Monmouth have already been eliminated from the conference championship. As we’ve learned, a team will win the conference with less than 2 conference losses. The other teams still competing with Liberty for the league’s automatic bid to the FCS playoffs include Charleston Southern, Kennesaw State, and the Flames’ opponent next week, Gardner-Webb. Liberty has already defeated Kennesaw and owns the tiebreaker with the Owls. With a win over the Runnin’ Bulldogs, the Flames can eliminate them.
Gardner-Webb enters the game with a 3-5 overall record and 1-1 mark in Big South play. The Runnin’ Bulldogs opened the year with an impressive win on the road over Elon, 31-6. They followed that up with 3 straight losses against Western Carolina, the Citadel, and Ohio. GWU took care of Division II Benedict and beat Presbyterian, 24-3. The Bulldogs have lost their past 2 games, first to Coastal Carolina, 17-7, and this past week at home against Kennesaw State, 47-39.
Liberty needs to remain focused, and continue to take care of business each week. On paper, the Flames should beat Gardner-Webb. Of course, we all thought the same thing last year before GWU sprung the upset in Boiling Springs, 34-20.
BY THE NUMBERS
681 | The Flames’ racked up 681 yards of total offense and nearly set a school-record in the process, coming just 11 yards shy of the record 692 yards Liberty had against Presbyterian in 2012.
271 | Todd Macon finished the game with 271 all-purpose yards. That mark is tied for the 5th most all-purpose yards in program history.
193 | Macon finished the game with 193 rushing yards, just 7 yards shy of being the Flames’ first 200 yard rusher since Rashad Jennings in 2008.
40:20-19:40 | Liberty dominated the time of possession battle, maintaining possession for over 2/3 of the game.
1 | Liberty’s Trey Turner had a very quiet afternoon, being called on to punt just 1 time.
THEY SAID IT
Flames head coach Turner Gill on the team’s 3-game winning streak:
“I like the direction we’re heading. We’re moving in the right direction. We still have some things to work on, but I love the way that we are improving as a football team.”
Flames head coach Turner Gill on the offense’s success:
“I can’t sit here and say we were saying we were going to get this specific amount of yards. I think we have found 1 or 2 run plays the last 2 weeks that we haven’t run before. We actually have never run since I’ve been here. It’s a simple play, stretch play, but we’ve been able to run that scheme very well. A lot of people run it, particularly in the NFL, just an outside zone. So, we’ve been now putting that in play, and I think we’re doing a lot of great yardage in that situation.”
Quarterback Buckshot Calvert on winning 3 straight games since taking over as the starter:
“When my teammates are playing as good as they are, it’s easy to come out with a win.”
Cornerback Chris Turner on not giving up on the play that led to his forced fumble:
“Just never give up. I believe that with my speed I can catch anyone if I give the effort. The coaches always tell us, don’t ever give up, don’t ever just sit there and watch the play. I saw him breaking, I just tried to have my brother’s back and chase him down.”
Safety Solomon McGinty on not overlooking any opponents as appeared to be the case last year:
“I just tell them, that’s in the yearbook, put it away it’s a new year. They had different guys last year. I told them I’m here to bring a championship home. I’m here to do my role, and play Liberty football, be their brothers and have their back every play. We’re not looking backwards, we’re looking forward.”
Offensive lineman Lucas Holder on the offensive line’s continuity:
“Absolutely. Anytime you get the same lineup in there 2 games in a row, it’s crazy this is the 7th game of the year and that happened, but anytime you can start to gel and practice with one another and understand what all 3 running backs are doing it definitely contributes to that rushing attack. So, it was great to have everybody as one unit tonight.”
Running back Todd Macon on not getting in the end zone on his long 65-yard run:
“Oh man, that’s going to haunt me for the rest of my life! I tried to get in the end zone so bad!”
