After our post game wrap up, we typically move on to the next game, but since this Coastal game was so vital we will give it one more post before flushing it. The final score ended up being very lopsided, but the game could have gone a completely different direction early on…
Coastal got the ball first, and Liberty’s defense forced them into a 3 & out after Coastal only picked up 2 yards. Then Liberty got the ball at their own 43, and began to put together a successful drive. Of course, the drive ended with a Josh Woodrum interception after the ball bounced off of Pat Kelly. If Kelly catches that ball, like he does 99% of the time, Liberty has a 1st and 10 around the 35 yard line. As John Lunsford proved during the game, he could have easily made a field goal from there. The score should have been (at least) Liberty 3 Coastal 0. Instead, the score was Liberty 0 Coastal 8.
| LaDarius Hawthorne returns an interception for a touchdown |
On the ensuing Liberty possession, the Flames again mounted a successful drive as they moved the ball all the way down to the Coastal 24 yard line. On 3rd and 2 from the Coastal 24, Liberty set up Aldreakis Allen on a screen pass. Allen made the catch and was going to easily be able to pick up the first down. Instead, Allen slipped on the soggy field conditions, and lost 3 yards. This forced Liberty to kick a field goal instead of having a 1st and 10 inside the red zone with an opportunity to score a touchdown. Again, another failed opportunity at points. The score could have easily been Liberty 10 Coastal 0 at this point. Instead, the score was Liberty 3 Coastal 8.
After this point Coastal clearly dominated the game and deserved to win. But this goes to prove the point that there are only a handful of plays that can swing an entire game. Those handful of plays continue to go against Liberty. And thus, Liberty sits at 3-5 and highly unlikely to win the Big South Conference auto-bid.
