Liberty comes away from Norfolk with the 17-0 victory Saturday night. The Flames led nearly the whole way in a defensively minded contest.

Offense

The Flames offense struggled to run the ball for most of the game. Liberty’s leading rusher, D.J. Abnar was only able to manage 38 yards on 15 carries.

Quarterback Josh Woodrum was able to get enough done through the air to push Liberty to the victory, hitting several mid range throws. However he did miss an oft open Darrin Peterson several times on the deep routes. The one that he did hit was negated by a holding penalty.

The offense was able to get over the turnover bug they caught in the UNC game. The Flames finished with no turnovers.

Most importantly, Woodrum and the Flames found a way to finish a non-conference opponent in the 4th quarter of a road game.

The Flames came away from Norfolk with a big out of conference victory.

The Flames came away from Norfolk with a big out of conference victory.

Defense

The story of this game was the play of Liberty’s defensive line, which dominated the bulk of the contest. The Flames registered 6 sacks, keeping pressure on Norfolk State Quarterback Terrance Ervin the entire game.

Jacob Hagen continued his impressive play, as he was responsible for both Norfolk State turnovers, forcing a fumble and intercepting a pass. The two turnovers led to the Flames’ first two scoring drives of the game.

This was the first Liberty shut out since Gardner Webb last season.

Special Teams

Aside from an ugly first kickoff, Shane Blanchard looked solid on kickoff duty. He had 2 touch backs and another that carried to about the 5 yard line.

Zac Parker had very few return opportunities, as the Norfolk State punter forced quite a few fair catches.

 

Overall this was a much needed win against a team still trying to find its offensive identity. The Spartans have a very good defense, but they will struggle to get wins without significant improvement on the offensive side of the ball. The main take away here is the Flames’ ability to finish a game finally showed itself. This is the first non-conference win against an in-state foe since 2003 for Liberty.