Flames now 5-2 after Midweek on the Mountain loss to Gamecocks

The Liberty University Football team suffered a 31-21 loss against Jacksonville State University Oct. 30 following its upset loss against Kennesaw State the previous week. The Flames proved that the loss against Kennesaw was not a fluke, exchanging its winning streak for a 5-2 record. 

Liberty won the coin toss to start the game, leaving JSU to receive starting the first quarter. JSU gained possession after a touchback kickoff, and senior quarterback Tyler Huff ran a QB keeper rushing to the left for a gain of 15 yards and a first down before senior safety Quinton Reese ran him out of bounds. 

Huff ran another QB keeper rushing to the right for a gain of 2 yards before being taken down by senior linebacker Jerome Jolly Jr. and junior defensive end CJ Bazile Jr. With JSU on second and eight, Huff’s pass to the left intended for redshirt freshman wide receiver Cam Vaughn fell short. Huff was sacked on the next play for a loss of 10 yards while on third and eight by Bazile Jr.  

JSU then opted for a punt return, which was recovered by junior safety A’Khori Jones at Liberty’s 38-yard line. Senior running back Quinton Cooley started off Liberty’s possession with a rush, gaining 6 yards before being taken down by freshman defensive lineman Talan Carter and senior linebacker Ky’won McCray.  

Cooley rushed again for a gain of 14 yards and inched closer to a touchdown, but his final rush resulted in no gain. Redshirt freshman running back Vaughn Blue showed out with his first rush of the game to the right for a gain of 25 yards to put the Flames on the board with the first touchdown and a good kick by senior kicker Colin Karhu. 

The Flames led the Gamecocks 7-0, but it wasn’t long before Jax State answered back with a touchdown of its own. Senior running back Tre Stewart rushed up the middle for a gain of 75 yards and a touchdown, bringing the score to 7-6. Redshirt freshman kicker Garrison Rippa’s kick attempt tied the score at 7-7.  

During Liberty’s next drive, the team had multiple rushes but struggled to gain yards. The Flames’ most productive play during this drive was made by junior quarterback Kaidon Salter, who threw a deep pass to the left to junior wide receiver Elijah Canion for a gain of 20 yards and a first down.  

Jax State kept Liberty on edge with a forced fumble on Salter, which he recovered.  With time running out, the Flames chose to punt, resulting in a touchback.  

The Gamecocks looked to take a lead in their next drive, but a slipup from Stewart resulted in a fumble forced by junior defensive tackle Bryce Dixon, which was recovered by sophomore cornerback Dexter Ricks Jr. Liberty did not capitalize on the turnover before the first quarter ended leaving the game still tied at 7-7. 

Early in the second quarter, redshirt senior linebacker Laletia Hale forced Liberty to fumble the ball a second time, but Salter recovered it. The Flames had two more rushes with no results before junior punter Max Morgan punted the ball 34 yards, which was downed by redshirt sophomore linebacker Aidan Vaughan.  

To extend the lead, Jax State kept its cool throughout its drive. Stewart then rushed to the left for a gain of 28 yards and a touchdown. A good kick attempt from Rippa brought the score up to 14-7 with the Gamecocks leading.  

Liberty regained possession, had multiple rushing attempts and was successful when Cooley rushed up the middle for a gain of 2 yards and a touchdown. With another good extra point, the score sat at 14-14 going into halftime. Almost halfway through the third period, the Gamecocks kicked a field goal attempt from 25 yards. The kick added 3 points to the board and put Jax State back into the lead at 17-14.  

Jax State scored another touchdown late in the third quarter. Stewart found an opening in Liberty’s defense to sneak in for another touchdown. The kick attempt from Rippa brought the score to 24-14. Liberty again tried to respond but failed to score before the quarter ended.  

The Flames typically thrive in the fourth quarter, and there was evidence from the offense early on that they were looking to turn things around. Salter had a short pass to the right to junior tight end Jacob Jenkins for a gain of 4 yards and his first touchdown. The kick attempt resulted in Liberty putting itself back in the fight by raising the score to 24-21 with Jax State still leading.  

Neither team was able to capitalize on its drives until late in the fourth quarter, when Jax State ran away with the lead on another touchdown following an intercepted pass thrown by Salter. The score was 31-21, and Liberty tried to do everything it could in the final two minutes to regain the lead, but nothing worked.  

Ultimately, the Flames’ spark was extinguished for the second week in a row as Jax State defeated Liberty. Despite the tough loss, Head Coach Jamey Chadwell took some positives away from the game. 

“We played more together tonight than probably we have all season long,” Chadwell said. “It was in a loss, but I’m proud of the way they responded to last week.” 

Bazile Jr., who was a star player during this game, also made some points.  

“It was just a little bit of lack of execution,” Bazile Jr. said. “Football is a four-quarter sport. We just have to continue to push strong because you never know what could happen during the season.”  

Both Chadwell and Bazile Jr. agreed that the team cannot let these losses snowball; they have to go into the next game knowing what they are going to do and execute it the right way.  

“We were a good team last year, but we have to stop comparing ourselves to last year,” Cooley said. “That’s last year. This is a new year and a new team with new guys.” 

Cooley said he felt like the team put out energy and effort. He said they knew what kind of game this was going to be and what kind of Liberty team needed to show up, but it just did not work in their favor.  

“The whole world compares us to last year,” Cooley said. “They expect us to be great, but we’re also players and normal people. Hard times make hard people, and right now we’re going through a hard time.” 

The Liberty Flames will be back in action Nov. 9 against the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The game will be streamed on CBS Sports. 

Schlösser is a sports reporter for the Liberty Champion.