Flames football falls to Kennesaw State on Homecoming weekend

• Flames lose third straight game of the season partly due to struggling offense.
• Slow start to the game kept the Flames behind despite a strong defensive game.

Despite trailing 35-7 with 4:33 left in the third quarter, Liberty football scored three unanswered touchdowns to bring the game within one score with nine minutes remaining in the game.

Kennesaw State began its possession with nine minutes left from their own 25-yard line, hoping to kill the clock and finish off their upset over the Flames. The Owls continued to run the same three plays that had already torched the Flames defense for 423 rushing yards – speed option, dive and trap.

The Owls methodically marched their way down to their own 44-yard line, but after six plays they faced a fourth-and-two with just over four minutes remaining in the game. With the game on the line, Kennesaw State continued to rely on their rushing attack by running a quick pitch that successfully converted the fourth-and-two opportunity. Five plays later the Owls broke off a 30-yard touchdown run to put the final score at 42-28 and spoil the Flames Homecoming game for Liberty’s third loss in a row.

“I’m proud of the way our football team played hard,” head coach Turner Gill said. “They gave us a chance, they didn’t give up, and that shows a lot of character and what our football team is about. We’ll regroup. We’ll come back here and get ready for the next one. The bottom line is we were not executing early in the football game. It was too little too late. I want the (guys) to focus on getting better individually, and the staff getting better individually. I keep talking about playing our best football game – we haven’t done that yet.”

After starting the season 3-0, the Flames have now lost three games straight for the first time since 2012, mostly due to their offensive slump. Liberty only tallied 337 total yards in the game, 143 of which came in the fourth quarter. The Owls also handed the Flames one of their worst games defensively, as Kennesaw State only converted 2-7 passes for nine passing yards, but still gained 498 total yards on the ground.

“There’s no excuses,” junior linebacker Lucas Irons said. “We’ve got to be better. We can’t come out sluggish and slow and expect to win.”

The Flames began the game by scoring on the opening possession for the first time since week two. Liberty drove 75 yards in 11 plays and capped the drive off with a 1-yard touchdown run from senior running back Carrington Mosley to give them a 7-0 lead. Kennesaw State confidently established its running game by going 75 yards in seven plays, all of which was on the ground, and the game at 7-7.

Liberty looked to re-establish its lead, but was forced to punt six plays later, opening the door for the Owls to take control of the game. Kennesaw State started its drive from their own 25-yard line, and drove to the Flames 34-yard line in eleven plays, but faced a fourth-and-13. The Owls elected to go for it on fourth down, but the Flames defense forced a turnover on downs, to keep the game tied 7-7 at the end of the first quarter.

Despite the Flames strong showing on defense, Liberty’s offense was unable to take advantage of the momentum and went three-and-out on their following possession. Kennesaw State began its drive from its own 37-yard line, and on the following play they raced off to the end zone on a 63-yard touchdown run, giving the Owls a 14-7 lead. On the Flames following possession, Liberty struggled to match the Owls intensity, and were forced to punt after six plays.

At this point the game began to get out of reach, as Kennesaw State scored two more unanswered touchdowns to fortify a 28-7 lead going into halftime.

The Owls took the field in the third quarter hoping to increase its 21-point lead, but five plays into Kennesaw State’s drive junior defensive back Corbin Jackson intercepted the Owls pass and returned it to their 35-yard line. However, the Flames newfound momentum quickly ended three plays later when junior receiver Damian King was stripped of the ball and the Owls recovered. King also sustained an injury on the play and did not return to the game.

Kennesaw State seized its opportunity from the turnover and drove 77 yards in 15 plays, giving them their largest lead of the game at 35-7, with 4:33 left in the third quarter. The Owls lead finally lit a spark in the Flames and they scored three unanswered touchdowns on their following three drives. Sophomore quarterback Stephen “Buckshot” Calvert caught a rhythm as he completed 11 straight passes, two of which were touchdowns, in that stretch.

With the Flames within a touchdown, the crowd of 17,729 furiously cheered on the Flames Defense as the Owls took the field. However, the Flames came up short as Kennesaw State was able to march down the field and clinch the victory over the Flames.

“[Kennesaw State] played a great game but it comes back to us,” Calvert said. “We’ll go watch film and we’ll learn from it, and we’ll get better.”

The Flames return to action next week as they travel to West Long Branch, New Jersey, to play Monmouth University Oct. 21.