Flames clip Hawks
D.J. Abnar carries the Flames to their fourth-straight victory
Big Night— Running back D.J. Abnar powers past the Monmouth defense for his first of two touchdowns against the Hawks. Photo credit: Leah Seavers
Two games. That is all the Liberty Flames football team (7-3, 3-0 Big South) currently needs to win in order to reclaim the Big South Championship after defeating the Monmouth Hawks (5-4, 0-3 Big South), 34-24, Nov. 8.
After Monmouth deferred the coin toss, Flames quarterback Josh Woodrum took the field and led his offense with relative ease. An 18-yard pass to senior wide receiver Gabe Henderson got the offense clicking.
After Woodrum connected with the senior tight end, Dexter Herman, for 20 yards, the Flames found themselves in the red zone. In prime position to score, the Flames pounded away at the Monmouth defense until they had the ball at the Hawks five-yard line. Woodrum handed the ball off to Abnar, who took it to the endzone for his eleventh rushing touchdown of the season and gave the Flames the early 7-0 lead. Putting up points early was vital. Heading into the game, the Flames were undefeated when scoring first, and they kept that streak alive Saturday.
The Hawks took the field and used their very first drive to run a play that fooled nearly everyone in the stadium, especially the Flames defense.
Down by seven early, Hawks redshirt senior quarterback Brandon Hill pitched the football to a receiver in motion, who then pitched the ball to sophomore receiver Matt Choi for the double reverse. It appeared that Choi was going to run the ball. But instead, he stepped back and found a wide-open tight end Hakeem Valles for a 68-yard touchdown, tying the game at 7.
Monmouth’s perfect execution of the reverse was something the Flames did not anticipate.
“They ran a couple different reverses out of a couple of different formations that we had not seen before,” Flames Head Coach Turner Gill said. “… You’ve got to
have discipline.”
With five minutes left in the first, Gill and the Flames faced a tough fourth-and-one situation. Woodrum handed off to Abnar , who broke free and got the first down but was then surrounded by a host of Hawks, who stripped and recovered the ball from the Flames running back. Monmouth, however, did not capitalize on
the turnover.
The first quarter ended and the Flames had the ball near midfield. Abnar finished the first quarter with 14 carries, almost tripling Monmouth’s number of rushes.
Woodrum found his favorite target, wide receiver Darrin Peterson, 30 seconds into the second quarter for a 31-yard touchdown, giving Liberty the 14-7 lead. Peterson increased his league-leading touchdown total to eight with this reception.
Similar to the first quarter, the Hawks marched down the field after Liberty scored. After Hill completed a 20-yard pass, sophomore running back Lavon Chaney torched the Flames defense for a 45-yard carry, putting the Hawks deep in Liberty territory. A few plays later, Hill found running back Jake Mauro to tie the game at 14.
The two teams were tied until the very end of the first half when John Lunsford chipped in a 24-yard field goal to give Liberty the three-point advantage.
Monmouth began the second half with the ball. Hill led his offense quickly down the field, eventually getting within Liberty’s 10-yard line. But a series of
defensive stops forced the Hawks to settle for three, tying the game once more.
This offensive shootout continued when Woodrum hit an unlikely target, senior wide receiver Jaquan Glover, for 30 yards in the very next drive. Soon after, Woodrum found Henderson for the 13-yard touchdown, giving the Flames the 24-17 lead.
Each time Liberty scored in the first three quarters, Monmouth always responded with a scoring drive of its own. This drive was no exception. Hill passed to a variety of receivers to get the Hawks past midfield. Less than two minutes after the Flames scored, Hill found wide receiver Darren Ambush streaking past a Flames cornerback and connected for the another game-tying score.
During the first drive of the fourth quarter, the Flames continued to give Abnar the ball, who was having his way against the Hawks defense. The Flames once again marched down the field, Abnar capping off the drive with a two-yard touchdown to give the Flames a 31-24 lead.
With eight minutes left in the fourth, and Monmouth’s offense constantly scoring, Gill needed his defense to make a play.
Hill dropped back and scanned the field. He picked a target, then released the football. However, Flames cornerback Justin Guillory jumped the route, but bobbled it, ultimately dropping the ball.
The Flames did get one more opportunity to get the ball back, however. Two plays after the drop, defensive lineman Chima Uzowihe penetrated the offensive line and got to Hill just as he was throwing the ball. The ball came loose and the Flames recovered.
“We had to make some adjustments,” Gill said. “That’s what you got to do. You’ve got to make plays.”
Abnar continued his dominance as each rush chipped away at the clock and Monmouth’s defense. A Lunsford field goal with three minutes left ended all scoring and any chance for a Hawks comeback.
Abnar finished with a career-high 39 carries, a feat that had not been reached in more than seven years. Neither Callahan nor Gill expected to see the back’s surplus in touches.
“I knew we were going to ride (Abnar),” Gill said. “But as far as having 30 to 40 carries, we will do whatever it is going to take to win
football games.”
The Flames continue their race to a Big South Championship in their last home game this season against conference foe, the Charleston Southern Buccaneers, Nov. 15.
Haywood is the asst.sports editor.