Let’s start by saying Malik Willis is going to be Malik Willis. Every phase of the offense flows through him because of his skill level. He has already won back-to-back Player of the Game honors and the Heisman hopeful will likely be a leading candidate each week.
We are going to highlight the defense this week though, specifically DT Kendy Charles, who earns our Player of the Game honors against ODU. The redshirt freshman was a destructive force against the Monarchs. While he had a modest 3 tackles, he spent most of his time in the offensive backfield accounting for 3 sacks and 3 tackles for loss.
Charles’ performance is at the core of an impressive showing by the Flames defense which limited the ODU offense to 201 total yards, 134 through the air and 67 on the ground. They gave up just 17 points (10 of which came from special teams mistakes) in the first half and held the Monarchs scoreless in the second. Charles wasn’t the only one spending time in Old Dominion’s offensive backfield as the Flames totaled 5 sacks and 9 tackles for loss.
After being held in check for most of of the first half, the Monarch offense started to get things going midway through the second quarter. Back-to-back touchdown drives had ODU within striking distance and they had the ball coming out of the half. The Liberty defense stiffened through, forcing three straight three and outs and allowing -10 yards to open the third. Kendy Charles was in the middle of this defensive stand, ending the Monarch’s second drive of the half with his second sack of the game on a 3rd and 10. His third sack came in the next drive which resulted in another 3 and out for ODU.
While the Liberty offense stands in the spotlight for this team, the defense has had three solid outings and seems to get stronger as the game goes along. No doubt these guys will be difference makers down the stretch if they continue to play at this level.
