Two late fourth quarter touchdowns and a pair of interceptions helped Liberty rally for a 21-13 victory over visiting Presbyterian, Saturday afternoon, during Military Appreciation Day at Williams Stadium.
The win moves Liberty to 5-4 overall this season and evens the Flames’ Big South record at 2-2. The loss for PC, its sixth in a row, drops the Blue Hose to 1-8 on the year and 0-4 in conference action.
The defensively minded contest saw the two teams combined for 508 total offensive yards, with Liberty outgaining the visitors, 286 to 222.
The Flames did most of their damage through the air, allowing senior quarterback Josh Woodrum to become the Big South’s all-time career leader in passing yards.
The senior completed 16-of-33 pass attempts for 213 yards. His eighth-straight game with 200-plus passing yards gives him 9,827 career passing yards, moving him past Charleston Southern’s Collin Drafts, who finished his career with 9,768 career passing yards.
Woodrum’s top target was All-America wide receiver Darrin Peterson, who finished the game with eight receptions for 86 yards. His eight catches make him the first player in program history with 200-plus career receptions and moves him into second place on the Big South’s all-time career receptions list (205).
Although the Flames rushing attack was limited to 73 yards on 30 carries, Liberty managed to score all three of its touchdowns on the ground.
Todd Macon led the Flames with 13 carries for 67 yards and two touchdowns, while Desmond Rice carried the ball 11 times for five yards and his 26th career rushing touchdown.
PC quarterback Ben Cheek accounted for 99 of the team’s 222 total offensive yards, but he was also responsible for all four of the visitor’s turnovers in the game.
He completed only three of his 18 pass attempts for 31 yards and was intercepted three times. He also carried the ball 14 times for 68 yards and fumbled the ball away once.
Darrell Bridges followed with 17 carries for 64 yards, helping the Blue Hose finish the game with 191 rushing yards. The visitors made some halftime adjustments that allowed them to account for 131 of their 191 rushing yards during the final 30 minutes of play.
Linebacker Jimmy O’Grady and cornerback Tyrin Holloway stopped the final two drives of the game for PC with two of Liberty’s three interceptions on the day.
Linebacker Nick Newman led Liberty’s defensive effort with eight tackles, followed by Alpha Jalloh and Chima Uzowihe, who had seven stops. Jalloh recorded Liberty’s third interception of the game, while Uzowihe moved his career tackle for a loss total to 39 with a shared TFL.
Free safety Kevin Green and linebacker Donelle Williams led the Blue Hose’s defense with eight stops apiece.
The Flames tried to take the game’s first lead when All-America kicker John Lunsford was called on to the field during their first drive. But his 40-yard attempt was blocked, his fifth blocked field goal of the year, to keep the game scoreless.
The visitors were the first to crack the scoreboard, jumping out to a 3-0 lead with 4:56 in the first quarter. PC got to the Liberty four-yard line, but was forced to settle for a 24-yard Brett Norton field goal for the game’s first score.
Liberty finally broke through early in the second quarter on a drive th at started with a 23-yard kickoff return by Zac Parker. Two plays later, Macon took a handoff from Woodrum and got to the outside to score. His 24-yard touchdown run at the 12:24mark of the second quarter was the final scoring play of the first half.
PC opened the second half of the game with its longest drive of the afternoon, a 14-play, 82-yard scoring give to regain the lead. The Blue Hose kept the ball on the ground 10 times during the drive’s 14 plays, including a nine-yard scoring run by Bridges to give the visitors a 10-7 lead at the 6:33 mark of the third quarter.
The Blue Hose looked like they were going to extend their lead to 10 points early in the fourth quarter on a 30-yard touchdown run by Cheek. However, official replay ruled the quarterback stepped out of bounds at the Liberty 11-yard line.
The play proved pivotal on the drive and in the game, as PC was forced to settle for a 30-yard field goal by Norton to push its lead to six, 13-7, with 6:58 left to play.
Woodrum and Macon found a way to quickly move the Flames down the field on an eight-play, 82-yard scoring drive. Woodrum found Peterson three times for a combined 60 yards, while Macon’s third carry on the drive was a two-yard scoring burst up the middle to give Liberty a 14-13 lead with 3:49 left to play.
On the second play of the following drive, Cheek hit Daryl Wilson with a slant pass, but the ball bounced out of the wide receiver’s hands and into O’Grady’s open arms. The linebacker returned it 18 yards to the PC nine-yard line.
Three plays later, Rice found space open on the right side of the line and scored from one yard out to allow Liberty to widen its lead to 21-13 with 1:43 left.
PC tried to move the ball quickly down the field one last time, but Holloway picked off Cheek’s sideline pass on the following drive’s second play to seal Liberty’s victory.
The Flames will play their final regular season road contest of the year next weekend when Liberty travels to Charleston, S.C., to face No. 15/13 Charleston Southern.
The Buccaneers moved to 5-0 in Big South play earlier today with a 28-14 victory at Kennesaw State, clinching at least a share of the conference’s 2015 title. Kickoff from CSU Stadium is set for 2 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN3 through the Big South Conference.
Presbyterian will also play its last road game of the year next weekend when it heads to West Long Branch, N.J., to take on Monmouth for a Noon contest.
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