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The Liberty Flames defeated the Morehead State Eagles in their home opener, 58-17. If anyone was worried there would be a letdown after the Baylor game, those worries were quickly laid to rest. Liberty cruised to a lead of 24-0 at the end of the first quarter and a 45-10 halftime score.
Lead by budding star quarterback Stephen “Buckshot” Calvert, the sophomore only threw two more incomplete passes as he did touchdowns in an extremely efficient night as he went 13 of 21 for 281 yards with five touchdowns and no turnovers. Receiver B.J. Farrow was the top target for Calvert, hauling in six catches for 177 yards and three scores. Last week’s leading receiver, Antonio Gandy-Golden completed just one catch but made it count for a ten-yard touchdown.
Junior running back Kentory Matthews led the ground game with 103 yards on 13 carries and added two touchdowns. Frankie Hickson and Mitchell Lewis both carried the ball ten times for 57 and 35 yards, respectively. Liberty punted the ball once in the game, further demonstrating their offensive firepower.
Liberty forced an interception on the Eagles’ starting quarterback Lawson Page. The Flames held Page to 18 completions on 31 passes for 187 yards and a score. The Flames run defense did well too, holding the leading rusher, Logan Holbrook, to 44 yards on 13 carries, an average of 3.4 yards per carry (with a touchdown in the third quarter). The defense held the Eagles to just 4-16 on third down conversions.
The Flames are really clicking on offense early in the season. If they can keep up this momentum, they will be a hard team to beat. The defense was much improved this week, though the level of competition was much lower. Next week’s game on September 16th should be a step up against Indiana State (0-2) who is coming off a 42-7 loss at Tennessee. The Flames are at home with a start time of 6:00 PM.