Willis Shines in Liberty Debut as Flames Defeat Western Kentucky, 30-24

Football is back, and a new quarterback is in town.

A cancelled spring season, an open quarterback spot and complicated health protocols have handed Liberty a fall season full of uncertainty. But Saturday afternoon, in a 30-24 grind of a win against Western Kentucky, debut quarterback Malik Willis burst onto the scene – and he never looked back.

Rushing for 168 yards and three touchdowns (not to mention his 133 passing yards), Willis blasted his way into Liberty history to take the Flames single-game QB rushing record, cementing his hold on the quarterback spot as he helped the Flames ride out a late surge by the Hilltoppers to ultimately take home the first win of the season. 

 “I was so happy to see our offense clicking like that,” Willis said. “Our O-line was amazing. Our running backs were amazing. Our receivers were catching everything. It made me really happy to know that I have all these pieces around me, all these people I have around me – great players. It was just a great day.”

Coming into Saturday’s game, the duel between Auburn transfer Willis and grad transfer Chris Ferguson for the starting QB spot had been a regular talking point at Coach Hugh Freeze’s press conferences throughout the summer. Freeze announced earlier in the week that Willis would be starting, marking his first start on a football field since high school. 

Kevin Shaa hauls in a pass against Western Kentucky in Bowling Green, KY on September 19, 2020. (Photo by Jessie Rogers)

But with CBS Sports reporting Western Kentucky as 14-point favorites, many news outlets predicted that Liberty would fall short against WKU. The Hilltoppers came into Saturday’s game with an extra game of experience (albeit a 35-21 loss to Louisville) under their belts, giving them the chance to acclimate to the new, strange playing conditions of a season transformed by COVID-19. 

The Flames seemed determined to upset those odds, however, with Liberty’s defense coming roaring out of the gates from kickoff and forcing the Hilltoppers into two consecutive 3-and-outs on their first two drives. 

WKU had very little margin for error – and Willis capitalized, dancing his way into the endzone for a touchdown in his first drive as a Liberty quarterback. 

A theme was established – Liberty would be running the ball a lot. 

On his next drive, he led the Flames to another scoring drive for a 10-0 lead within 10 minutes of kickoff, ultimately combining with veteran running backs Joshua Mack and Peytton Pickett to give Liberty a total of 354 rushing yards on the day – the program’s highest rushing total since Oct. 13, 2012, when the Flames hit 429 yards against Presbyterian College. 

As the game continued, however, Willis made some risky plays, including two fumbles luckily recovered by Liberty players – decisions Freeze knows will need some work. 

“We’re pleased with most of his play today. He made some mistakes that we can correct. We knew he was athletic, (and) knew we could do some things in the run game with him. I thought he was efficient in throwing the football,” Freeze said. “I was really pleased. He’s got to get better at ball security when he’s running. … I’m pleased for his first start in a college game.”

WKU’s offense seemed off-kilter, failing to get on the board until the second quarter, when kicker Brayden Narveson kicked a 43-yarder to inject some much-needed energy into the Hilltoppers offense for a 10-3 score. 

As the second quarter continued, however, WKU quarterback Tyrrell Pigrome started to find his stride, exchanging touchdown drives with Willis to leave the game at 17-10 in favor of Liberty at halftime. 

Much of the pregame discussion focused on Pigrome’s dual-threat capabilities, and with 62 rushing yards, he led his team in rushing – but his passing aptitude ultimately proved crucial as he hauled the Hilltoppers level with Liberty at 17-17, throwing a 24-yard passing touchdown to suddenly leave the Flames control of the game in doubt. 

With the game teetering on the edge, the Flames needed some momentum – and once again, the defense showed up, pulling off another stop as the Hilltoppers marched down the field. 

“It was very big,” safety Javon Scruggs said. “We needed to give our offense the ball so that we could keep the momentum on our side (and) take the momentum that they had gained from those couple stops that they had gotten. … Those couple stops we got were very, very, very crucial.”

Willis scores one of his three rushing TDs against Western Kentucky in Bowling Green, KY on September 19, 2020. (Photo by Jessie Rogers)

The Flames religiously ran the ball up the middle for most of the game – so when Shedro Louis pulled to the outside on the next drive, a path was clear for a 29-yard rushing touchdown and a 24-17 Flames lead as the third quarter ended. It was still a one-possession game, however, and Willis needed to provide another spark to get the Flames over the hump.

That spark, his third touchdown, would ultimately be the difference-maker as the game drew to a close. 

Though WKU would score once more to narrow the gap to 30-24, Freeze’s preseason work with his players paid off, and Liberty gradually wound the clock down on its final possession, grinding the game to a slow close after a tense second half.  

“We’ve been here before,” senior Joshua Mack said. “New Mexico State was kind of similar last year, (where) we had to have that one drive to pull us out, so it’s definitely something that we had in the back of our heads. … We had a few fans out there, but we preached in the locker room, ‘We have each other. We’re each other’s cheerleaders out there,’ and that being in our hearts and minds helped us with the victory today.”

Though the Flames have plenty of kinks to work out, Freeze believes that Saturday’s game was a crucial first step in a strange season – and an important confidence boost for Willis. 

“I think it’s a big win for our program,” Freeze said. “(Western Kentucky) had nine wins last year in Conference USA and (are) probably expected to battle for that championship this year in that conference. … I’m really proud of our kids and our staff. They’ve done a remarkable job during all of the different times that we’re in right now. Our administration, our academic team, our strength and conditioning staff, and our nutrition team all did a great job of everything that was thrown at them. To come here and beat a senior-laden team that added a great quarterback from a nine-win season is a great start for us in year two.”

John Nekrasov is the Sports Editor. Follow him on Twitter at @john_nekrasov.

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