Liberty "Stays Alive" With 27-12 Victory Over Akron

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This was my second home game on “The Mountain” and the atmosphere was amazing! It was a beautiful, sunny fall evening game that hosted 20,004 fans from all over this past Saturday at Williams Stadium. The Liberty Flames (3-1) defeated the Akron Zips 27-12 in the first meeting of both teams in 20 years.

The marching band made their special entrance and played a few songs that I recognized such as “Staying Alive” by the Bee Gees (hence the title of this article).

The Flames put up a fight at #22 Wake Forest (ranked #18 at the time) last week and came into Saturday night’s game looking to redeem themselves after losing to the Demon Deacons.

Liberty came out strong within the first few quarters and held a 14-0 lead in just 15 minutes. They struggled to find offensive consistency during the last 45 minutes of play. Akron scored 12-straight points (field goals) and failed at a two-point conversion. The Flames converted 5-out-of-8 third downs, outlasting the Zips that who converted 2 of 8 third down conversions.

Liberty finished the night with 157 rushing yards and 152 passing yards. Redshirt Junior quarterback Johnathan Bennett started for the Flames, as quarterback Kaidon Salter is out with an injury. Bennett completed the game with 13-of-27 passing attempts for 152 yards and two touchdowns.

Prior to Saturday’s game, Liberty’s defense had 11 takeaways. I noticed that the defense was looking very sharp against the Akron Zips as well. Coach Freeze mentioned that he thought that Aidan Alves punted the ball very well. He credited Alves and the defense for keeping Akron out of the endzone. Liberty’s defense was also fired up after getting a turnover (interception from Akron quarterback DJ Irons).

In the first quarter, Liberty wide receiver Khaleb Coleman scored a 22-yard touchdown. Running back Dae Dae Hunter showed his speed and agility throughout the game and rushed a total of 18 times for 118 yards, posting his first 100-yard performance with Liberty. Also, this performance was the fourth of his college career.

Demario Douglas led Liberty in receiving Saturday night with five receptions for 40 yards. Additionally, Jaivian Lofton contributed four catches for 47 yards, and Khaleb Coleman recorded two receptions for 31 yards (scoring his third-career touchdown reception).

In the post-game interview, Coach Freeze mentioned that there is still a lot of work to be done offensively. The offensive line allowed Bennett to create opportunities for potential receptions, but they are still somewhat “lacking” in this area. The running game was very solid, but in terms of the receiving game, Liberty must create more opportunities in the red zone. Liberty was able to benefit from numerous penalties from Akron, helping them advance to the red zone for more scoring opportunities.

When I watch football games, I normally pay very close attention to the quarterback position and the defensive line. Coach Freeze added, “Football starts at quarterback, and then it goes to D-line. If you play really well at both of those, you’re going to win a lot of games.” At that moment I thought, “I couldn’t agree more.” He read my mind. Freeze admitted that Akron’s head coach Joe Moorhead had a “great” game plan against them.

“The Mountain” has been protected for yet another week. The Flames get to celebrate their third win of the season as they head into next week’s matchup at Old Dominion.