Eagles exhausted

Flames dominate Morehead State in home opener

After their biggest win in school history last week against Baylor, the Flames continued their success by winning their 5th straight home opener in a 58-17 defeat of Morehead State Saturday, Sept. 9.

For the second straight week, the Flames offense tallied more than 500 total yards with the help of sophomore gun slinging quarterback Stephen “Buckshot” Calvert and junior receiver B.J. Farrow.

Farrow was forced to sit out the historic win against Baylor due to eligibility concerns.

The Flames receiver could only watch the game in frustration, knowing he was due to be a large part of the Flames passing game this year.

However Friday, Sept. 8, Farrow was given the green light to suit up, and he didn’t look back.

The 6-foot-2-inch receiver quickly made up for lost time, scoring a touchdown on his first catch of the season and eventually tallying 177-yards receiving on six catches, with a career-high three touchdowns.

“I just wanted to come out here and put on a show for the fans,” Farrow said.

“(After) missing the Baylor game, I wanted to show the fans that I’m still back.”

Calvert finished the day with 13 completions on 21 attempts, 281 passing yards and a career high of five passing touchdowns.

 

 

“Coach DeArmon and Coach Dailey always say just put the ball up and give the (receivers) a chance,” Calvert said.

“When people’s names are called they step up and make big-time plays.”

The Flames got the ball rolling right from the start of the game as sophomore running back Frankie Hickson returned the initial kickoff to the 50-yard line, sending the crowd of 17,118 to their feet.

Just three plays later, Calvert faked a handoff and dropped back to pass to find Farrow breaking open over the middle on a post route for the first touchdown of the game.

The Flames defense quickly made their presence known as they held the Eagles to a three-and-out after making tackles for loss on the first two plays.

The Eagles punt soared out of bounds at the Morehead State 49-yard-line, giving the Flames another short field to work with.

Three plays later, on his second pass of the game, Calvert found junior receiver Damien King on a screen pass over the middle who then juked and dodged his way 42 yards for the Flames second touchdown of the game.

Despite the 14-0 lead, the Flames defense continued to relentlessly apply pressure, which led to an interception from sophomore linebacker Jaylyn McKinney, who returned the ball to the Morehead State 15-yard-line.

The Eagles were finally able to slow down the Flames after a dropped pass in the end zone led to a field goal from sophomore kicker Alex Probert, increasing the lead to 17-0.

However, they were unable to shift the momentum as the Flames defense continued to pressure the Eagles quarterback, forcing them to punt again.

The Flames received the ball at their 38-yard-line and quickly went to work on an eight play drive that ended with a 10-yard touchdown pass to sophomore receiver Antonio Gandy-Golden.

With the game quickly getting out of hand, the Eagles received the ball at their 25-yard line with 2:41 left in the first quarter.

Thanks to the help of multiple Liberty penalties — including a targeting call on junior defensive end Juwan Wells that ejected him for the next two quarters – the Eagles finally got on the scoreboard with a 53-yard-field goal.

When it seemed as if the Flames were finally slowing down, it took Calvert just four plays to find the end zone again as he connected with a wide open Farrow, to put the Flames lead at 31-3.

Both teams would be held to a punt on their next possessions, but on the Eagles ensuing drive the Flames would stop Morehead State on a fourth-and-short play in their own territory.

Eight plays later, junior running back Kentory Matthews found the end zone on a three-yard-run, to give him his first touchdown as a Flame since transferring from Blinn College.

Matthews finished the day as the Flames leading rusher with 109 yards rushing on 13 carries and two touchdowns.

“The (offensive line) did great today,” Matthews said.

“This was some of the best holes all year.”

After a missed tackle that led to a 45-yard pass, the Eagles were able to score on their final drive of the half off an 11-yard touchdown pass, shortening the lead to 38-10.

The Flames took the field for their final drive of the first half with 1:31 left on the clock.

However, they needed just four plays to go 77 yards, as Calvert would connect with Farrow again for a 45-yard touchdown.

With a 45-10 lead to start the half, the Flames began to rotate in their younger players.

The second string unit showed promise, but allowed the Eagles to go 92-yards on a 13 play drive that ended in a nine-yard touchdown run.

Sophomore quarterback Mason Cunningham saw his first on-field action as a Flame, but was intercepted on the drive – which was the Flames first turnover of the season.

The Flames were able to keep the Eagles off of the scoreboard for the rest of the game, and also reached the end zone once more, along with a pair of Probert field goals, putting the final score at 58-17.

“I like the way our guys came out in the first half and really got after it on offense and defense,” Head Coach Turner Gill said.

“It was good to get a lot of guys playing time, because we’ll need some of them in the future.”

The Flames will look to continue their win streak next week at Williams stadium Saturday, Sept. 16 at 6 p.m.

Davis is the sports editor.