VMI falls just short of big upset at #22 Liberty

In a game that was close from start to finish, VMI’s Eric Kordenbrock threw for a career-high 320 yards and three touchdowns with a school record 31 completions, but #22 Liberty held on for a 37-31 win over the Keydets in Big South football action Saturday in Lynchburg, Va.

VMI (1-8, 1-3 Big South) held a 17-16 lead at halftime, looking to surprise homestanding Liberty (7-3, 5-0 Big South) and hand the Flames’ senior class its first-ever home conference loss. Liberty scored midway through the third period, when quarterback Mike Brown had a one-yard touchdown run to give the Flames the lead, but VMI fired right back with a six-play drive that T.J. Talley capped with a 12-yard scamper, putting the Keydets back up by one, 24-23.

Liberty’s Kevin Fogg then took the ensuing kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown, making the score 30-24, Flames, and the home team would never trail again. Dexter Bridge had a leaping touchdown grab with 14 seconds remaining, pulling the Keydets within six, but Liberty recovered the onside kick and held on for the victory.

All told, Kordenbrock was 31 of 47 on the day, with his longest pass coming on a 55-yard touchdown strike to Tracy Hairston in the opening quarter. Hairston had 94 yards receiving, while Talley made nine catches and Trent White hauled in eight passes.

VMI senior back Talley returned to the lineup after missing the previous week with an ankle injury and led the Keydets in rushing with 73 yards and a touchdown while also hauling in a career-high nine receptions for 64 yards. Hairston added six catches for 94 yards and his two scores while sophomore Trent White posted a career-high eight catches for 67 yards.

Liberty held the total offense edge, 420-403, as senior quarterback Brown completed 24 of 34 passes for 286 yards and two touchdowns. Sophomore running back Aldreakis Allen added 75 yards on 15 carries and a touchdown to spark the Liberty attack. Senior receiver Chris Summers snared eight passes but was limited to 84 yards receiving, but a fourth quarter touchdown grab from Brown helped turn aside VMI’s bid for an upset.

Senior linebacker A.J. Gross topped the VMI defensive charts with nine stops including seven solo tackles.

Liberty fumbled the ball away on the opening kickoff when Hardy Temoney jarred the ball free from Fogg which resulted in a recovery by VMI’s Byron Allen at the Liberty 39. VMI eventually moved to the Flame 20 but came up empty when James Devans 37-yard field goal attempt was blocked after a low snap. The Flames then punted away after a three-and-out and VMI began its second possession at its own 42.

The Keydets, facing their fourth nationally ranked opponent of the season, wasted little time producing the game’s first points as Kordenbrock threw long down the right sideline to a leaping Hairston who snatched the ball over Liberty defenders at the LU 19, then turned and raced down the boundary for the 55-yard scoring pass play. Devans tacked on the extra point and VMI led 7-0, with 9:41 left in the first quarter.

Liberty answered with a 9-play, 74-yard drive capped by an Allen one-yard burst with 5:53 left in the first quarter. Redshirt freshman kicker Alex Kacere missed the extra-point and Liberty continued to trail 7-6 after a drive that saw Brown connect on passes to four different receivers covering 69 yards.

An interception of a Kordenbrock pass by Liberty’s redshirt freshman linebacker Nick Sigmon at the VMI 24 on the first play of the next Keydet possession set up a 35-yard field goal by Kacere to give Liberty its first lead, 9-7, with 4:45 left in the first quarter.

The Keydets answered with a 12-play drive that covered 61 yards and chewed up nearly seven minutes of the first half clock as Kordenbrock completed all six of his passes including a four-yard quick out pass to Hairston in the right corner of the endzone to put VMI back on top, 14-9 following Jeff Sexton’s extra point with 12:50 remaining in the second quarter.

VMI recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff at the Liberty 44 and converted the opportunity into a 37-yard field goal by Devans to push the Keydet lead to 17-9 at the 10:58 mark.

The Flames responded by covering 78 yards on 12 snaps and reaching the endzone on a three-yard flip pass from Brown to tight end Brandon Apon in the back corner of the end zone. VMI led 17-16 with 6:16 left in the half and took that slim one-point margin into the locker room at halftime.

VMI was forced to punt on the opening drive of the second half, and the Flames produced a 90-yard drive to retake the lead. Starting at its own 10, Brown completed a trio of third down passes to junior wide receiver Pat Kelly covering 27 yards, 22 yards, and a 32-yard snag on a third and goal from the VMI 33 that setup a Brown one-yard touchdown keeper. The Flames led 23-17 following the successful extra-point conversion with seven minutes remaining in the third quarter.

The Keydet offense answered again to take a lead for the third time on the day when TJ Talley cut loose up the middle for a 12-yard touchdown run at the 4:08 mark of the third period. Sexton’s extra-point nudged VMI ahead 24-23 after a scoring drive in which Talley contributed a fourth-down conversion run of 24 yards from the VMI 44 which set up a 20-yard Hairston reception to the Flame 12 one play later.

VMI’s elation was quickly subdued after Fogg took the ensuing kickoff  and bounced left  out of a logjam  and raced down the left boundary for a 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown putting the Flames up 30-24.

As the game moved to the fourth quarter, the Keydets came away empty handed on a scoring opportunity when Devans missed on a 38-yard field goal try from the right hash mark with 11:30 left. Liberty took over at its own 21 and Brown engineered a 79-yard scoring possession keyed by four pass completions – the last on a pump-and-go route to Summers in the left corner of the end zone to push the Liberty lead to 37-24 with 6:43 left.

The Keydets still kept Liberty sideline celebrations at bay until the final snap of the game after Kordenbrock lofted a 22-yard touchdown strike to freshman wideout Bridge who made a leaping catch of the aerial against two defenders with 13.8 seconds left. VMI attempted an on-side kick on the ensuing kickoff and nearly recovered the ball after it ricocheted off a Flames up-man but the Flames ultimately ended with possession and ran out the clock to end the contest.

VMI will wrap up its three-game road stretch next Saturday at Presbyterian College at 1 p.m.

VMI Head Coach Sparky Woods -

“I’m proud of our football team for competing. We came down without our starting tailback (Chaz Jones-shoulder) without our starting nose guard (Charlie Jones) and without any of our starting defensive backs we had earlier in the season. But they competed hard. The two plays that stick in my mind are the third and goal from the 33 that they converted to set up a score, and the kickoff return for a touchdown. It’s hard to win with a play or two like that coming from a good team like Liberty.”

“T.J. Talley also played hurt but he made some good plays for us. He’s a great kid.”

“If you can’t run it, and can’t stop the run, it’s hard to win. So many times when they ran it, it was second and one after they picked up nine yards. But it’s a lot more fun to call plays when you are in the game rather than behind, and we got into their end of the field a little bit. I saw some guys make some plays – Tracy Hairston made great catch and run and the last score was a good catch by freshman receiver Dexter Bridge. But they made more plays than we did.”