A record crowd of 24,076 was on hand at Williams Stadium Saturday night to see the first six offensive plays – a three and out for each team – before a four hour and 37 minute weather delay forced those fans to exit their seats.
When the game resumed at 10:45 p.m., it was the visiting East Carolina Pirates who were ready to go. ECU scored on three of their first four possessions after the weather delay to take a seemingly commanding 17-0 lead midway through the second quarter.
Liberty would just keep striking though, the Flames would come back and win the game going away, outscoring the Pirates 35-7 in the final 33 minutes of game action to win, 35-24. With the win, Liberty improves to 4-0 on the season while East Carolina slips to 2-2, suffering their second straight setback.
“The first minute and 10 seconds was special,” said Liberty head coach Jamey Chadwell of the crowd and atmosphere to begin the game. “I mean, looking up there and seeing all that, it was unbelievable. It was unbelievable. I hate that we couldn’t get everybody back, and they missed a heck of a game. I’m sure they saw 17-0 and turned it off, and probably happy they left. Never count us out. Might not win them all, but never count us out.”
Both teams exchanged three and outs to begin the game before the delay halted play. Following the delay, East Carolina moved the ball into the Liberty red zone. The Flames appeared to get a stop on 3rd and goal to force a potential ECU field goal attempt, but Liberty LB Joe Carter was whistled for a late hit following the play. Three plays later, ECU QB Jake Garcia broke free from a TJ Bush would-be sack and was able to dive into the end zone to give the Pirates the lead. It marked the fourth straight game the Flames faced a first half deficit to begin this season.
The teams would then exchange punts once again with East Carolina winning the field position battle and getting their punt downed at the 1-yard line. Liberty’s Kaidon Salter would fumble the exchange with the running back with ECU recovering at the one. On the next play, the Pirates punched it in for the 14-0 lead.
After another Liberty punt which was returned 33-yards to the Liberty 40, the visiting Pirates would tack on a 36-yard field goal to extend their advantage to 17-0. On the ensuing Liberty possession, Salter would scramble out of the pocket and throw on the run, his pass sailing over his intended receiver and intercepted for the first time on the season. Fortunately, the Flames were able to force an ECU field goal attempt from 25-yards which was missed.
Liberty would finally get something going with a 12-play, 80-yard drive that took over 6 minutes of game action. Quinton Cooley would pick up 42 yards on the ground in the drive that culminated in a 14-yard touchdown pass from Salter to Elijah Canion to put the Flames on the board. The game would enter halftime at 17-7 East Carolina.
To Chadwell, that sequence was the change in the game his team needed.
“I think the biggest the point of the game to change is, we were not doing anything offensively, through an interception, they get the ball down there inside the 10,” he recalled. “We held them to a field goal. They could have went up 24-0, that would have really tested our will, and they missed it, and then we went down and scored after that. Completely changed the game.”
Getting the ball to start the second half, Liberty was able to cut the deficit to one score. The Flames converted a 2nd and 23 with two Salter passes to pick up the first down and keep the drive alive. The Liberty gun-slinger first found Donte Lee for a 16 yard connection and then Smith for 7 yards and the third down conversion. A few plays later, on third and five, Salter would find Smith again, this time for a 17-yard touchdown strike to cut the deficit to 17-14.
East Carolina attempted to extend their lead, driving into Liberty territory. However, Garcia’s pass on 4th and four fell incomplete and the Pirates turned it over on downs at the 31-yard line. Salter and Smith would push the Flames in front for the first time on the night on a 3rd and eight pass from 14 yards out, making it 21-17 Liberty.
The visitors from Greenville would not go away easily. They came back and took the lead once again at 24-21, scoring just before the third quarter ended. Rahjai Harris took it in from two yards to cap the drive.
As the fourth quarter began, Liberty would score on a fourth straight drive to regain the lead. Facing a 3rd and 12 on the first play of the fourth quarter and with the Pirates trying to quell the Liberty run, Salter was able to escape the pocket and raced 12 yards to pick up the first down. Three more third down conversions on the drive, including a 15-yard scoring strike to Smith on 3rd and 11 would put the Flames back in front for good at 28-24 with 8:14 left to play.
A 35-yard pass from Garcia to Tyler Savage brought ECU right back into Liberty territory and knocking on the front door of the red zone. On a 2nd and five, Harris ran for two yards but Liberty defensive tackle Chris Boti would jar the ball free and A’Khori Jones was able to recover the fumble for the turnover.
With all the momentum and seeking to put the game away, Liberty ate up over 4 minutes of clock, punctuated by a 21-yard Quinton Cooley run for the decisive margin of 35-24. A few plays prior, Coach Chadwell elected to go for it on 4th and two at the ECU 38. Salter was able to scramble left and pick up three yards and the first downs to maintain possession and keep the clock running.
“We’re going to have to come up with something to get started better, obviously,” Chadwell said after the game. “But you know, the thing I’m most proud of, I told the team, they don’t doubt themselves. I’ve got to figure out how for us to get off to a better start, because we’re not doing that, mostly offensively. But they never think they’re out, and they keep fighting for each other. They keep believing. They keep fighting to make plays and for us to be down to a group like that that’s talented, that’s got big aspirations, for us to be able to be down like that and come out and outscore them 35-7 over the last 2+ quarters at 2am in the morning – I guess that New Mexico State trip helped us win this one too.”
He got off to a slow start, but Salter finished with a solid game. He completed 19 of 32 passes for 223 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 1 interception. He also rushed 12 times for 36 yards.
“He didn’t play very well the first quarter, first half,” Chadwell said of his quarterback. “We had two fumbled meshes that he’s responsible for and then obviously the interception wasn’t a good decision. I don’t know if he’s trying to do too much and make every play, but he really settled down and maybe we call it a little bit different for him, just to make sure we can settle him down. H played really well from that interception on, played really well. Made some really big throws in key situations. I thought some guys made some great plays for him.”
Smith entered the game with two career touchdown catches, both coming during his time at West Virginia. He would lead the team with 6 catches for 80 yards and the three scores. His three touchdown catches tied a program single-game record and were the most since Antonio Gandy-Golden caught three touchdown passes against Old Dominion during the 2018 season opener.
It was a coming out party for him after missing all of the 2023 season due to a torn ACL and meniscus. He would tear his meniscus in the same knee again this summer, but Smith has been able to return to the field and seems to finally be hitting a groove.
Tyson Mobley had 6 passes for 56 yards, his best stat total at Liberty. Donte Lee caught his first three passes as a Flame, totaling 50 yards. Elijah Canion caught two passes for 21 yards including his first touchdown catch since transferring to Liberty.
“I think (all three touchdowns) were on third down,” Chadwell said of Smith’s catches. “If we don’t catch those, you’re kicking a field goal and maybe you make it, maybe you don’t. The thing I’ve shared a lot about this team is we’re a work in progress offensively, as far as trust and all the things that you need to have. For Reese to have the game he did, Elijah Canion, got a touchdown, that can continue to help us grow, help us trust, help our quarterback trust that anybody can make a play. Tyson last week a little bit, and then obviously, what happened this week. I’m happy for him because if you’ve ever had an injury and then redo it, it gets in your head and you start questioning whether, hey can I do this. If you’d have seen the, just the joy, I’m going to cry a little bit, the joy in his eyes when he made that, it was pretty special, pretty special.”
After exiting last week’s game against UTEP in the first quarter, Liberty RB Quinton Cooley returned to action Saturday night. He finished with 19 carries for 105 yards and a touchdown.
“His injury that he had, the way it happened, it was a nerve, and it shut him down for a couple days,” Chadwell said of Cooley. “That really wasn’t the issue he had also on that tackle, ended up having like a turf toe, and that was the biggest issue. He practiced a little bit this week. We didn’t know how much he was going to (play). When we needed tough yards, he made it happen.”
The Flames started the game 0 for 3 on third downs but responded to convert 13 consecutive before finishing the game 13 of 17. It allowed the Flames to win the time of possession battle and keep the quick-pace East Carolina offensive attack on the sideline.
The attendance of 24,076 topped the previous Williams Stadium record of 24,012 set against BYU on Oct. 22, 2022. This is the first time that Liberty has drawn 21,000 or more fans in three different home games during the same season, doing so in the first three home contests of 2024.
Liberty’s win over East Carolina marks the first win over an American Athletic Conference opponent in football for Liberty, improving to 1-1 all-time. The only other contest was at SMU in 2016. Chadwell is now 5-0 head-to-head against ECU head coach Mike Houston. The two head coaches have met at three different institutions now (North Greenville-Lenoir-Rhyne; Charleston Southern-The Citadel; Liberty-East Caroilna).
Liberty gave up the opening score for the third week in a row. The Flames are now 3-0 this season and 9-0 under Chadwell when their opponent scores first in the game. The Flames’ 17 point deficit was the largest overcome ina win since trailing Duquesne 24-7 on Nov. 14, 2017 before rallying to win 27-24. It was also the largest deficit in a regular season game under Chadwell.
