LYNCHBURG, Va. – For the second-straight week, the Flames’ special team’s unit played a huge factor in a win as Liberty returned a blocked field goal for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter to secure a 27-17 victory over Elon – in the season finale for both teams – Saturday afternoon at Williams Stadium.
The win gives the Flames their first winning season in the Ken Karcher era and the first since tallying a 9-2 overall record in 1997. It also marked the second-straight year that the Flames have finished a season on a four-game winning streak, while accounting for the first time in school history that the Flames have defeated Southern Conference schools in back-to-back games as Liberty downed Chattanooga, 43-40, last weekend.
The contest remained scoreless until the first drive of the second quarter as Brock Farrel (Jr., QB, San Macros, Calif.) tossed a 27-yard touchdown pass to Lauren Williams (r-Jr., WR, Upper Marlboro, Md.) with 10:43 left to play before halftime to give the Flames a 7-0 lead. The touchdown pass capped off a 10-play, 80-yard drive and accounted for Williams’ team-leading fifth touchdown reception on the year.
Three drives later, Elon (3-8, 2-5 Southern) used a deep 50-yard touchdown pass from Kye Hamilton (Fr., QB, Johnson City, Tenn.) to Anthony Crews (So., WR, Madison, N.C.) with 4:09 left before intermission to knot the score at 7-7. Liberty (6-5, 3-1 Big South) looked like it was going to give the ball back on a three-and-out series as the Phoenix forced the Flames to punt; however, Elon was whistled for holding penalty, giving Liberty a new set of downs.
And the Flames made the most of their new life as a 35-yard pass play to Williams, set up a 10-yard touchdown pass from Farrel to Wynton Jackson (r-Fr., WR, Jacksonville, Fla.), marking the first touchdown reception of Jackson’s career and giving the Flames a 14-7 with 1:05 left before halftime.
The score looked like it was going to remain the same until the intermission; however Manny Rojas (r-So., LB, Oakdale, Pa.) picked off a batted Hamilton pass and returned it 14 yards to the Elon 42-yard line, giving the Flames the ball back with 35 second left on the clock.
Back-to-back passes from Farrel to Dre Barnes (Sr., RB, Ocilla, Ga.) for 18 yards and Williams for nine yards, set up a 31-yard field goal by Zacry Kolegue (Fr., K, Naples, Fla.) with seven ticks left on the clock, gave the Flames a 17-7 at the break.
Elon took over possession of the ball on the first drive of the third quarter and trimmed the lead to seven points as William Rawls (Sr., K, Swansboro, N.C.) capped off a nine-play, 56-yard drive with a 29-yard field goal to cut the lead to 17-10 with 10:10 left in the third quarter.
Late in the third quarter, the Flames picked off another Hamilton pass as Jordan Alford (Sr., DB, Cerritos, Calif.) intercepted the ball at middle field and nine plays and 26 yards later, Kolegue connected on a 39-yard field goal to give Liberty a 20-10 lead with 11:16 left in the contest.
However, the Phoenix trimmed the lead to just three points on the following drive as a 37-yard kickoff return by Michael Mayers (Fr., WR, Norfolk, Va.) set up Marcus Johnson (Jr., RB, Hope Mills, N.C.) as the running back rushed four times on the five-play scoring drive, including a two-yard run up the middle to cut the lead to 20-17 with 8:18 left in the contest.
On the ensuing drive, Farrel tossed a deep pass down field that was intended for Jackson, but the pass was picked off by Dwayne Ijames (Jr., DB, Winston-Salem, N.C.) and gave the Phoenix the ball back with 6:56 left on the game clock.
Elon got the ball all the way down to the Flames’ 20-yard line; however, on a third-and-one play, Hamilton fumbled the snap and pushed the Phoenix back seven more yards. On the following play, Rawls attempted a 44-yard field goal; however, Erick Harris made his way from around the outside of the line to block the kick, while Alford scooped up the loose ball and returned it 59 yards to secure the victory for the Flames.
On the day, the Flames’ offense was paced by Barnes, who rushed for 127 yards on 21 carries, allowing him to become the first player in school history to surpass the 4,000 yards rushing in his career and the first to record 20 100-yard games. The senior finished his career with 4,035 yards rushing in four seasons.
Farrel completed 11-of-22 pass attempts for 148 yards and two touchdowns, while Williams proved to be his favor receiver with four receptions for 87 yards and a touchdown.
John Taylor (So., RB, Richmond, Va.) – the Southern Conference's leading rusher – led the Phoenix with 153 yards rushing on 33 carries while Hamilton completed 10-of-18 passes for 103 yards and was picked off four times.
Elon's Chad Nkang (So., LB, Hyattsville, Md.) – the Southern Conference's leading tackler – paced all defenders with 15 total stops, including four tackles for loss. Nick Vaughn (r-Sr., LB, Kingsport, Tenn.) led the Flames’ defensive unit with 12 tackles and a quarterback hurry, while Rojas followed with nine stops and his second interception of the season.
– ELON – Game Box Score
