Liberty gets the upset, but is it enough to earn an elusive postseason berth

By Chris Lang
Sports writer
Published: November 22, 2008

Liberty athletics director Jeff Barber stood underneath the goal post at the north end of Williams Stadium on Saturday afternoon after the Flames’ 26-3 dismantling of 12th-ranked Elon. Well-wishers stopped to shake Barber’s hand. One asked about Liberty’s playoff hopes.

“We’re 10-2 with a chance,” he sighed. “Now we hold our breath.”

Indeed, the wait for today’s NCAA FCS playoff selection show will be a long one. The team will gather to watch the 7 p.m. ESPNU broadcast this evening, content with the knowledge that it had done its part to make an impression on the selection committee.

The 22nd-ranked Flames held an Elon team that ranked 24th nationally in total offense to 133 yards below its season average. Liberty held the Phoenix (8-4) out of the end zone for the first time in Pete Lembo’s three-year coaching tenure at the school. The Flames, so poor on special teams in a loss here to Lafayette last month, dominated the kick game, returning a punt for a touchdown and blocking a third-quarter Elon field-goal attempt.

“I would like to think that when this score comes across the ticker, everybody’s going to be looking at this score very closely,” Liberty coach Danny Rocco said. “This Elon program has had an outstanding season. They came in here 8-3. They won some big games against some tough Southern Conference competition. They went down last week to play Appalachian State in a very hostile environment and played App State off their feet.

“So I think that statement is going to be resounding, and hopefully it will get the attention of those that it needs to as they give us consideration for the postseason.”

Since a 31-28 loss at Presbyterian Nov. 1, Liberty added some wrinkles to its defense, specifically a “penny” package to defend against the short pass. PC lived on it that day, and Elon punished Liberty with it in a 42-14 win against the Flames in North Carolina last September.

The Flames identified when Elon was going to throw quick slants and outs, and they pounced, making clean hits precisely when the ball reached the hands of an Elon receiver. Scott Riddle’s final numbers were decent. The Elon sophomore completed 27 of 43 passes for 204 yards, but the longest was a 25-yarder to Bo Williamson that moved the Phoenix into field-goal range in the third quarter.

That was Elon’s only trip to the Liberty red zone, and it ended with Trey Jacobs blocking a 28-yard Andrew Wilcox field-goal attempt with 3:20 left in the third quarter. Liberty led 16-3, and any momentum Elon had gained from sustaining a 10-play drive was drained.

“That was one of the big emphases we had,” Liberty center Mike Godsil said. “When we played Lafayette, one of the problems that we had was that we had blunders in the kicking game, big time. It really hurt us, and we ended up losing. So we had to get the kicking game figured out and get it right. We said, ‘let’s make this a big part of our game.’”

And it was. Liberty’s lone touchdown in the first three quarters came on Dominic Bolden’s 74-yard punt return that put the Flames ahead 10-0, nearly immediately after Elon had stuffed Zach Terrell on fourth-and-goal from the 1.

Opponents had negated Bolden’s skill in recent games. In its last six games, Liberty had just six punt returns for a total of seven yards. Bolden found a seam created when Elon’s wing and gunner tripped over each other, leaving only 6-foot-5, 255-pound punter Brandon Lane to beat. He never had a chance against the speedy Bolden.

“The punt return was a backbreaker,” Lembo said.

The Phoenix stuck with a run game that never gained traction. Jamal Shuman and Brandon Newsome combined for 64 yards on 19 carries, and the Phoenix never found a rhythm. Liberty limited the short passing game, and as the game went on, the Flames continued to gain defensive confidence.

Still, Liberty only led 19-3 when Elon made one last march down the field. The drive ended with 5:41 left when Riddle’s fourth-and-16 pass to Williamson fell incomplete inside the Liberty 5. Then Rashad Jennings, who had been bottled up for much of the day, carried the Flames to victory. He ran the ball six times for 46 yards and capped the drive with a 20-yard touchdown run with 1:58 left, the lone offensive touchdown of the game.

“They played good defense,” said Jennings, who finished with 109 yards on 22 carries. “We couldn’t pound it in. We couldn’t throw it in. Give credit to them. But I knew it would come eventually.”

Liberty quarterback Brock Smith outgained the Phoenix by himself, throwing for 273 yards. Elon finished with 267 total yards. Now Liberty must wait and see if Saturday’s victory is enough to vault it into the field of 16.

“We want to make it so badly,” Smith said. “We know we’re one of the 16 best teams in the nation. We know we can play with anybody. We just proved it.”