Liberty Flames (2-4. 2-0 Big South)
vs.
Concord Mountain Lions (4-3, 3-2 WVIAC)
The Liberty Flames return to the friendly confines of Williams Stadium and welcome the Division II Mountain Lions in the final non-conference matchup of the regular season. Liberty is fresh off a dominating performance in Clinton, SC as they routed the Presbyterian Blue Hose 56-7 on the strength of a school record 692 yards of total offense.
Liberty has a record of 28-2 against current Division II schools, including 21 in a row dating back to September 25, 1993 when the Flames lost to Indiana University of Pennsylvania 23-7. The closest anyone has come since then came in 2005, when Concord held a 6-0 lead at halftime before Liberty rallied with a pair of Marcus Hamilton TDs and a Zac Kolegue field goal and won 17-6.
Times have changed on the mountain, and as noted by LU Flames Nation, Liberty has posted a 48-24 record since that season (where the Flames finished a school worst 1-10 after the victory over the Mountain Lions), including dominating wins over WVIAC members Glenville State (31-7 in 2006 and 44-27 in 2008) and West Virginia Wesleyan (45-7 in 2009).
Since Kenny Little of Gardner-Webb scored on a 1 yard run with 13:53 remaining in the third quarter of their matchup on homecoming Saturday, Liberty has outscored their opponents, 87-14, including the first 28 points in their win over PC last Saturday.
Josh Woodrum, after going 3-5 for 14 yards in the loss to Norfolk State, has lit up the scoreboard, throwing for 200+ yards in all four starts, including a career high 373 yards in the comeback win over the Runnin Bulldogs, and 232 yards against PC. The redshirt freshman's efforts have not gone unnoticed, as he was named to the watch list for the Jerry Rice Award given to the outstanding freshman football player in all of Division I-AA/Football Championship Subdivision (FCS).
Aldreakis Allen and SirChauncey Holloway, after having some tough sledding against Montana, have each put up dominating performances the last four games, with Allen rushing for 100+ yards the last four games (including a career high 183 yards at PC), and Holloway in three of the last four.
Pat Kelly, who was thrust into the #1 receiver role after the graduation of Chris Summers, has had no trouble adjusting to the limelight (and extra coverage attention), as he already has eclipsed his total number of catches from last season (40) and is only 119 yards from eclipsing his career high in receiving yards for a season (635 in 2010). With 172 yards in the final 5 games, Kelly will move into the top 5 all time for receiving yards, ahead of former Flame and NFL wide receiver James McKnight.
This weekend comes at a good time for Liberty, after losing four in a row, the Flames are riding high and will likely dominate, even though Concord enters with the #32 overall defense and #26 pass defense in the country for Division II. This will give the team a chance to work out a few more of the kinks before the first of two huge conference matchups in the second half of the season down in Myrtle Beach.
Liberty 56
Concord 7
Concord 7
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