Flames crack Top 25

By Chris Lang
Sports writer
Published: September 8, 2008

For the first time in 10 years, Liberty’s football program has earned a spot in one of the major FCS national rankings.

Liberty is No. 25 in this week’s Sports Network poll, marking its first ranking since being tied for No. 24 in the ESPN/USA Today Division I-AA poll in 1998. Liberty finished the 1997 season ranked No. 19 after beating Appalachian State at home to complete a 9-2 season.

With 147 points, Liberty finished just ahead of Northern Arizona (125) and Furman (113) in this week’s poll. The Flames remained unranked in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll.

Liberty (2-0) has won seven straight games since losing at Toledo by a point last October 6. The Flames will play their first Division I opponent this week when they travel to Cullowhee, N.C., to meet Western Carolina.

The Flames beat the Catamounts (1-1) 21-0 when the teams last met in Lynchburg in 2006. Western Carolina is coming off a 69-0 loss at Florida State. Liberty is seeking its first win on the home field of a Southern Conference opponent since beating Chattanooga 43-40 in 2004.

Liberty hopes to have the services of captains Rashad Jennings and Nick Hursky for Saturday’s game. Both missed last Saturday’s game against Glenville State. Jennings, a preseason Walter Payton Award candidate, was out with a broken right pinkie finger. Hursky missed the game after undergoing arthroscopic surgery to clean out some debris in his right knee.