Rain Doesn’t Stop LU Flames from Winning

The Liberty Flames routed the Old Dominion University Monarchs in a 52-10 win Saturday night after a nearly two-hour rain delay.

The Flames could not be quenched as they took on the Monarchs in their historic Football Bowl Subdivision debut. Williams Stadium was packed with its fourth-largest crowd in school history of 20,425 fans.

“I want to say ‘to God be the glory.’ Thank our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ there for the victory. I want to thank the fans for coming all the way out,” Flames head coach Turner Gill said. “It was great to see our student sections and really everybody was totally into the game.”

The game was delayed by nearly an hour due to a thunderstorm that affected much of the Lynchburg area, but it didn’t seem to affect the fans’ spirits one bit. The energy in Williams Stadium was intense and electric.

Liberty surged into a 14-0 lead early on and never gave it up, despite strong efforts from the Monarchs.

Despite an offensive slump in the end of the first quarter and much of the second quarter, the Flames defense only gave up a field goal and a touchdown to Old Dominion.

The game’s momentum completely changed at the end of the first half and after halftime, however, when Old Dominion missed two crucial field goals. The Flames then pushed their game into high gear and racked up an immense 38 points in the second half.

Liberty broke loose in the third quarter when redshirt senior running back Kentory Matthews completed a 57-yard run, denying any would-be defenders with sheer speed.

Old Dominion failed to keep up as Liberty launched its sixth drive scoring streak, suddenly forcing the score up from 17-10 to 52-10 in the second half. The Flames defense prevented the Monarchs from scoring in the second half.

The game ended when Liberty took a knee at the end of the fourth quarter.

“We got some things we need to work on but I am proud of the way they continued to play,” Gill said.

The Flames will be back in action in Williams Stadium on Saturday, September 15 when they face off against the Norfolk State Spartans.