Flames Football Falls to Kennesaw State
The 5-0 Flames Football team has officially been dethroned after suffering a 27-24 loss to the winless Kennesaw State Owls in an away game Oct. 23, putting the Flames’ Football Bowl Subdivision win streak in the grave for good.
The Flames capitalized early on a third down conversion for their first score of the game with a 15-yard touchdown pass thrown by junior quarterback Kaidon Salter to senior wide receiver Treon Sibley.
The Owls did not let the Flames get comfortable as they responded with a 41-yard touchdown pass to tie the game.
“If we all played together and did our jobs at the same time, we would be off the field and offense would have had another opportunity,” junior linebacker Joseph Carter said. “But we just had some mishaps, techniques might have been bad, or flags, so we’ve just got to play together.”
After scoring their second touchdown of the game, the Owls held the Flames off until Salter connected on a 15-yard touchdown pass to redshirt sophomore wide receiver Donte Lee Jr. to tie the score before halftime.
The Owls rushed for another touchdown to open the second half, but the Flames fired back with a 47-yard field goal by senior kicker Colin Karhu for 3 points.
The Owls secured another field goal to extend their lead. The Flames rushed toward the end zone, coming out with a field goal of their own. The Owls regained possession, but the Flames still had a spark left in them, creating a turnover on fourth down. The clock ran out before the Flames could score, prompting Owls fans to rush the field as their team claimed its first FBS win.
“You’ve got to give credit to them (KSU). They wanted the game more; again, that’s on me,” Head Coach Jamey Chadwell said. “They played more together as a team than we did, and that showed.”
The celebration was put on hold when officials reviewed the final play and added one second to the clock.
Gameplay resumed as Salter threw a pass that resulted in a game-ending fumble. The fans stormed the field once again to celebrate their first win and the title of being the team that dumped water on the formerly undefeated Flames.
“We all came in here expecting to play our best. We had great weeks of practice with our downtime to think about how we could come out and execute,” Salter said. “I feel like we were doing all the right things at practice, but today, everything just kind of shattered.”
Penalties on the Flames ultimately cost them 100 yards, which the Owls used to their advantage.
“In key situations, in the pressure moments, we’re undisciplined,” Chadwell said. “It hurts me to say that. That’s one of our values, and I’ve done a bad job of allowing those things to happen and not fixing it. It’s frustrating because it costs you maybe an opportunity to win another game.”
While the Liberty University community is mourning over the passing of its 18-game regular-season winning streak, it’s not time to write an obituary just yet. The future of the Flames will be determined Wednesday, Oct. 30, when they face Jacksonville State at Williams Stadium, seeking redemption.
“Maybe it’s a wake-up call, or it could send us into a spiral,” Chadwell said. “Our job as coaches is to make sure we learn from it, and we’ve got to fix the things that need fixing and go forward.”
White is the asst. sports editor for the Liberty Champion.