2014 Liberty Flames football team

2014 Liberty Flames football
Big South co-champion
FCS Playoffs Second Round, L 22–29 vs. Villanova
Conference	Big South Conference
Ranking
Sports Network	No. 17
FCS Coaches	No. 17
Record	9–5 (4–1 Big South)
Head coach	Turner Gill (3rd season)
Offensive coordinator	Aaron Stamn
Co-defensive coordinator	Robert Wimberly
Co-defensive coordinator	Vantz Singletary
Home stadium	Williams Stadium
Seasons ← 2013 2015 →

2014 Big South Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 5 Coastal Carolina +^		4	–	1					12	–	2
No. 17 Liberty +^		4	–	1					9	–	5
Charleston Southern		3	–	2					8	–	4
Presbyterian		3	–	2					6	–	5
Monmouth		1	–	4					6	–	5
Gardner–Webb		0	–	5					4	–	8
+ – Conference co-champions ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

The 2014 Liberty Flames football team represented Liberty University in the 2014 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by third-year head coach Turner Gill and played their home games at Williams Stadium. They were a member of the Big South Conference. They finished the season 9–4, 4–1 in Big South play to share the conference championship with Coastal Carolina. They received the Big South's automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs where they defeated James Madison in the first round before losing in the second round to Villanova.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 30	6:00 pm	at No. 23 (FBS) North Carolina*		Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC	ESPN3	L 29–56	51,000
September 6	4:00 pm	at Norfolk State*		William "Dick" Price Stadium Norfolk, VA	LFSN	W 17–0	6,150
September 13	7:00 pm	Brevard*		Williams Stadium Lynchburg, VA	LFSN	W 56–31	15,755
September 20	7:00 pm	Bryant*	No. 24	Williams Stadium Lynchburg, VA	LFSN	W 38–21	16,873
September 27	3:00 pm	at Indiana State*	No. 22	Memorial Stadium Terre Haute, IN	LFSN	L 19–38	5,633
October 4	7:00 pm	No. 20 Richmond*		Williams Stadium Lynchburg, VA	LFSN	L 39–46 2OT	20,838
October 11	3:30 pm	at Appalachian State*		Kidd Brewer Stadium Boone, NC	ESPN3	W 55–48 OT	26,058
October 25	3:30 pm	Gardner–Webb		Williams Stadium Lynchburg, VA	ESPN3	W 34–0	20,217
November 1	2:00 pm	at Presbyterian		Bailey Memorial Stadium Clinton, SC	LFSN	W 28–7	2,691
November 8	3:30 pm	Monmouth		Williams Stadium Lynchburg, VA	ASN	W 34–24	16,053
November 15	3:30 pm	Charleston Southern		Williams Stadium Lynchburg, VA	LFSN	L 36–38	12,362
November 22	1:00 pm	at No. 1 Coastal Carolina		Brooks Stadium Conway, SC (rivalry)	ESPN3	W 15–14	8,576
November 29	4:00 pm	at No. 15 James Madison*	No. 20	Bridgeforth Stadium Harrisonburg, VA (FCS Playoffs First Round)	ESPN3	W 26–21	13,040
December 6	4:30 pm	at No. 5 Villanova*	No. 20	Villanova Stadium Villanova, PA (FCS Playoffs Second Round)	ESPN3	L 22–29	3,113
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from The Sports Network FCS Poll released prior to game Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

• Source: Schedule

Game summaries

@ North Carolina

Liberty @ North Carolina

1 2 3 4 Total Flames 7 8 7 7 29 • #23 Tar Heels 14 7 28 7 56 Date: August 30 Location: Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC Game start: 6:00 PM EDT Game attendance: 51,000 Television network: ESPN3

Scoring summary 1 11:25 UNC Bug Howard 7-yard pass from Marquise Williams,Thomas Moore kick UNC 7–0 1 4:44 LIB Todd Macon 1-yard run, Avery Echols kick Tied 7–7 1 3:22 UNC Romar Morris 1-yard run, Thomas Moore kick UNC 14–7 2 5:09 LIB Team Safety UNC 14–9 2 1:37 LIB D.J. Abner 1-yard run, two-point conversion failed LIB 15–14 2 0:28 UNC Marquise Williams 3-yard run, Nick Weiler kick UNC 21–15 3 9:25 LIB Jacob Hagan 27-yard fumble return, Avery Echols kick LIB 22–21 3 5:55 UNC Mack Hollins 33-yard pass from Marquise Williams, Nick Weiler kick UNC 28–22 3 5:42 UNC Jeff Schoettmer 19-yard interception return, Nick Weiler kick UNC 35–22 3 3:47 UNC Marquise Williams 15-yard run, Nick Weiler kick UNC 42–22 3 2:06 UNC Jack Tabb 4-yard pass from Mitch Trubisky, Nick Weiler kick UNC 49–22 4 10:16 LIB Todd Macon 1-yard run, Avery Echols kick UNC 49–29 4 1:16 UNC Charles Brunson 2-yard run, Nick Weiler kick UNC 56–29

In their first game of the season, the Flames lost, 56–29 to the North Carolina Tar Heels.^[1]

@ Norfolk State

Liberty @ Norfolk State

1 2 3 4 Total • Flames 3 7 0 7 17 Spartans 0 0 0 0 0 Date: September 6 Location: William "Dick" Price Stadium Norfolk, VA Game start: 4:00 PM EDT Game attendance: 6,150 Television network: LFSN

Scoring summary 1 2:47 LIB Avery Echols 22-yard kick good LIB 3–0 2 6:39 LIB Josh Woodrum 7-yard run, Avery Echols kick LIB 10–0 4 5:52 LIB D.J. Abnar 22-yard pass from Josh Woodrum, Avery Echols kick LIB 17–0

In their second game of the season, the Flames won, 17–0 over the Norfolk State Spartans.^[2]

Brevard

Brevard @ Liberty

1 2 3 4 Total Tornadoes 0 17 7 7 31 • Flames 21 14 7 14 56 Date: September 13 Location: Williams Stadium Lynchburg, VA Game start: 7:00 PM EDT Game attendance: 15,755 Television network: LFSN

Scoring summary 1 12:03 LIB D.J. Abnar 13-yard run, John Lunsford kick LIB 7–0 1 8:47 LIB Dante Shells 38-yard pass from Josh Woodrum, John Lunsford kick LIB 14–0 1 3:19 LIB Todd Macon 3-yard run, John Lunsford kick LIB 21–0 2 10:40 BRE Jordan Ollis 2-yard run, Alex Noboa kick LIB 21–7 2 10:29 LIB Zac Parker 65-yard run, John Lunsford kick LIB 28–7 2 4:20 BRE Jordan Ollis 6-yard run, Alex Noboa kick LIB 28–14 2 1:42 LIB D.J. Abnar 7-yard run, John Lunsford kick LIB 35–14 2 0:18 BRE Alex Noboa 42-yard kick good LIB 35–17 3 7:52 BRE Tanner Wright 5-yard run, Alex Noboa kick LIB 35–24 3 2:38 LIB Dexter Herman 10-yard pass from Josh Woodrum, John Lunsford kick LIB 42–24 4 13:53 LIB Darrin Peterson 86-yard pass from Josh Woodrum, John Lunsford kick LIB 49–24 4 9:32 BRE Jordan Ollis 1-yard run, Alex Noboa kick LIB 49–31 4 7:33 LIB Gabe Henderson 32-yard pass from Josh Woodrum, John Lunsford kick LIB 56–31

In their third game of the season, the Flames won, 56–31 over the Brevard Tornadoes.^[3]

Bryant

Bryant @ Liberty

1 2 3 4 Total Bulldogs 0 14 0 7 21 • #24 Flames 10 14 7 7 38 Date: September 20 Location: Williams Stadium Lynchburg, VA Game start: 7:00 PM EDT Game attendance: 16,873 Television network: LFSN

Scoring summary 1 7:41 LIB John Lunsford 57 yard kick good LIB 3–0 1 2:42 LIB Josh Woodrum 10-yard run, John Lunsford kick LIB 10–0 2 13:46 LIB D.J. Abnar 3-yard run, John Lunsford kick LIB 17–0 2 5:19 LIB D.J. Abnar 22-yard run, John Lunsford kick LIB 24–0 2 2:22 BRY Ricardo McCray 11-yard pass from Dalton Easton, Tom Alberti kick LIB 24–7 2 0:41 BRY Ricardo McCray 2-yard run, Tom Alberti kick LIB 24–14 3 10:48 LIB Thomas Kennedy 4-yard pass from Josh Woodrum, John Lunsford kick LIB 31–14 4 12:17 LIB Josh Woodrum 30-yard run, John Lunsford kick LIB 38–14 4 8:05 BRY Paul Canevari 1-yard run, Tom Alberti kick LIB 38–21

In their fourth game of the season, the Flames won, 38–21 over the Bryant Bulldogs.^[4]

@ Indiana State

Liberty @ Indiana State

1 2 3 4 Total #22 Flames 3 10 0 6 19 • Sycamores 3 21 0 14 38 Date: September 27 Location: Memorial Stadium Terre Haute, IN Game start: 3:00 PM EDT Game attendance: 5,633 Television network: LFSN

Scoring summary 1 11:00 LIB Eric Heidorn 25-yard kick good INST 3–0 1 4:30 INST John Lunsford 22-yard kick good Tied 3–3 2 11:19 INST Gary Owens 17-yard pass from Mike Perish, Eric Heidorn kick INST 10–3 2 11:03 LIB Dante Shell 71-yard pass from Josh Woodrum, John Lunsford kick Tied 10–10 2 9:16 INST Dimitri Taylor 6-yard pass from Mike Perish, Eric Heidorn kick INST 17–10 2 3:16 LIB John Lunsford 48-yard kick good INST 17–13 2 0:10 INST Robert Tonyan Jr. 14-yard pass from Mike Perish, Eric Heidorn kick INST 24–13 4 6:10 INST Mike Perish 1-yard run, Eric Heidorn kick INST 31–13 4 4:51 LIB Darrin Peterson 8-yard pass from Josh Woodrum, two-point conversion failed INST 31–19 4 12:03 INST Buck Logan 7-yard run, Eric Heidorn kick INST 38–19

In their fifth game of the season, the Flames lost, 38–19 to the Indiana State Sycamores.^[5]

Richmond

Richmond @ Liberty

1 2 3 4 OT 2OT Total • #20 Spiders 15 7 0 10 7 7 46 Flames 0 7 15 10 7 0 39 Date: October 4 Location: Williams Stadium Lynchburg, VA Game start: 7:00 PM EDT Game attendance: 20,838 Television network: LFSN

Scoring summary 1 7:19 RICH Seth Fisher 2-yard pass from Michael Rocco, Peter Yoder kick RICH 7–0 1 0:30 RICH Seth Fisher 8-yard pass from Michael Strauss, Porter Abell pass to Brian Brown for two-point conversion RICH 15–0 2 11:09 LIB Josh Woodrum 1-yard run, John Lunsford kick RICH 15–7 2 2:51 RICH Michael Strauss 1-yard run, Peter Yoder kick RICH 22–7 3 11:35 LIB Josh Woodrum 8-yard run, John Lunsford kick RICH 22–15 3 5:03 LIB Darrin Peterson 16-yard pass from Josh Woodrum, Josh Woodrum run for two-point conversions Tied 22–22 4 11:42 RICH Stephen Barnette 3-yard pass from Michael Strauss, Peter Yoder kick RICH 29–22 4 2:02 LIB Darrin Peterson 11-yard pass from Josh Woodrum, John Lundsford kick Tied 29–29 4 0:08 RICH Peter Yoder 21-yard kick good RICH 32–29 4 0:00 LIB John Lundsford 60-yard kick good Tied 32–32 OT 0:00 LIB Darrin Peterson 15-yard pass from Josh Woodrum, John Lundsford kick LIB 39–32 OT 0:00 RICH Seth Fisher 16-yard run, Peter Yoder kick Tied 39–39 2OT 0:00 RICH Seth Fisher 1-yard run, Peter Yoder kick RICH 46–39

In their sixth game of the season, the Flames lost, 46–39, in double overtime, to the Richmond Spiders.^[6]

@ Appalachian State

Liberty @ Appalachian State

1 2 3 4 OT Total • Flames 14 14 13 7 7 55 Mountaineers 7 17 16 8 0 48 Date: October 11 Location: Kidd Brewer Stadium Boone, NC Game start: 3:30 PM EDT Game attendance: 20,058 Television network: ESPN3

Scoring summary 1 14:52 APP Marcus Cox 38-yard run, Bentlee Critcher kick APP 7–0 1 8:23 LIB D.J. Abnar 1-yard run, John Lundsford kick Tied 7–7 1 0:46 LIB Dexter Herman 24-yard pass from Josh Woodrum, John Lunsford kick LIB 14–7 2 14:49 APP Simms McElfresh 63-yard pass from Taylor Lamb, Bentlee Critcher kick Tied 14–14 2 11:50 APP Aaron Krah 0-yard fumble return, Bentlee Critcher kick APP 21–14 2 11:42 LIB Dante Shells 75-yard pass from Josh Woodrum, John Lunsford kick Tied 21–21 2 6:58 LIB Kenny Scott 39-yard fumble return, John Lundsford kick LIB 28–21 2 0:04 APP Bentlee Critcher 33-yard kick good LIB 28–24 3 12:11 LIB John Lunsford 33-yard kick good LIB 31–24 3 11:36 APP Bobo Beathard 60-yard pass from Taylor Lamb, Bentlee Critcher kick Tied 31–31 3 8:29 LIB John Lunsford 35-yard kick good LIB 34–31 3 6:42 APP Shaedon Meadors 48-yard pass from Taylor Lamb, Bentlee Critcher kick failed APP 37–34 3 4:47 APP Bentlee Critcher 38-yard kick good APP 40–34 3 0:29 LIB D.J. Abnar 1-yard run, John Lundsford kick LIB 41–40 4 12:46 APP Terrance Upshaw 60-yard run, Taylor Lamb pass to Bobo Beatheart for two-point conversion APP 48–41 4 6:19 LIB Josh Woodrum 13-yard run, John Lundsford kick Tied 48–48 OT 0:00 LIB Darrin Peterson 9-yard pass from Josh Woodrum, John Lundsford kick LIB 55–48

In their seventh game of the season, the Flames won, 55–48, in overtime, over the Appalachian State Mountaineers.^[7]

Gardner–Webb

Gardner–Webb @ Liberty

1 2 3 4 Total Runnin' Bulldogs 0 0 0 0 0 • Flames 10 10 14 0 34 Date: October 25 Location: Williams Stadium Lynchburg, VA Game start: 3:30 PM EDT Game attendance: 20,217 TV announcers (ESPN3): Mike Hogewood and Mike Gleason

Scoring summary 1 9:00 LIB Josh Woodrum 4-yard run, John Lunsford kick LIB 7–0 1 5:54 LIB John Lundsford 35-yard kick good LIB 10–0 2 11:12 LIB D.J. Abnar 19-yard run, John Lunsford kick LIB 17–0 2 0:00 LIB John Lunsford 39-yard kick good LIB 20–0 3 12:48 LIB D.J. Abnar 5-yard run, John Lunsford kick LIB 27–0 3 10:52 LIB Jaquan Glover 6-yard pass from Josh Woodrum, John Lundsford kick LIB 34–0

In their eighth game of the season, the Flames won, 34–0, over the Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs.^[8]

@ Presbyterian

Liberty @ Presbyterian

1 2 3 4 Total • Flames 7 14 0 7 28 Blue Hose 0 0 0 7 7 Date: November 1 Location: Bailey Memorial Stadium Clinton, SC Game start: 2:00 PM EDT Game attendance: 2,691 Television network: LFSN

Scoring summary 1 11:35 LIB Josh Woodrum 2-yard run, John Lundsford kick LIB 7–0 2 7:44 LIB Gabe Henderson 29-yard pass from Josh Woodrum, John Lundsford kick LIB 14–0 2 2:39 LIB Darrin Peterson 70-yard pass from Josh Woodrum, John Lundsford kick LIB 21–0 4 9:25 PRE Jordan Hallum 5-yard run, Brandon Morrow kick LIB 21–7 4 1:03 LIB D.J. Abnar 1-yard run, John Lundsford kick LIB 28–7

In their ninth game of the season, the Flames won, 28–7, over the Presbyterian Blue Hose.^[9]

Monmouth

Monmouth @ Liberty

1 2 3 4 Total Hawks 7 7 10 0 24 • Flames 7 10 7 10 34 Date: November 8 Location: Williams Stadium Lynchburg, VA Game start: 3:30 PM EST Game attendance: 16,053 Television network: ASN

Scoring summary 1 9:31 LIB D.J. Abnar 5-yard run, John Lundsford kick LIB 7–0 1 8:49 MON Hakeem Valles 68-yard pass from Matt Choi, Lucas Santangelo kick Tied 7–7 2 14:31 LIB Darrin Peterson 31-yard pass from Josh Woodrum, John Lundsford kick LIB 14–7 2 12:09 MON Jake Mauro 3-yard pass from Brandon Hill, Lucas Santangelo kick Tied 14–14 2 0:00 LIB John Lundsford 26-yard kick good LIB 17–14 3 8:25 MON Lucas Santangelo 24-yard kick good Tied 17–17 3 5:07 LIB Gabe Henderson 13-yard pass from Josh Woodrum, Josh Lundsford kick LIB 24–17 3 3:30 MON Darren Ambush 37-yard pass from Brandon Hill, Lucas Santangelo kick Tied 24–24 4 10:19 LIB D.J. Abnar 2-yard run, John Lundsford kick LIB 31–24 4 3:27 LIB John Lundsford 27-yard kick good LIB 34–24

In their tenth game of the season, the Flames won, 34–24, over the Monmouth Hawks.^[10]

Charleston Southern

Charleston Southern @ Liberty

1 2 3 4 Total • Buccaneers 0 17 14 7 38 Flames 3 13 7 13 36 Date: November 15 Location: Williams Stadium Lynchburg, VA Game start: 3:30 PM EST Game attendance: 12,362 Television network: LFSN

Scoring summary 1 11:34 LIB John Lundsford 51-yard kick good LIB 3–0 2 13:20 CHSO Christian Reyes 4-yard run, David Kennedy kick CHSO 7–3 2 10:22 LIB Darrin Peterson 6-yard pass from Stephon Masha, John Lundsford kick LIB 10–7 2 7:03 CHSO Christian Reyes 52-yard run, David Kennedy kick CHSO 14–10 2 2:21 LIB Darrin Peterson 19-yard pass from Stephon Masha, John Lundsford kick failed LIB 16–14 2 0:15 CHSO David Kennedy 27-yard kick good CHSO 17–16 3 10:01 CHSO Nathan Prater 11-yard pass from Austin Brown, David Kennedy kick CHSO 24–16 3 8:11 LIB Darrin Peterson 16-yard pass from Stephon Masha, John Lundsford kick CHSO 24–23 3 6:35 CHSO Ben Robinson 2-yard run, David Kennedy kick CHSO 31–23 4 13:04 CHSO Mike Holloway 40-yard run, David Kennedy kick CHSO 38–23 4 10:09 LIB Gabe Henderson 26-yard pass from Stephon Masha, two-point conversion failed CHSO 38–29 4 5:24 LIB D.J. Abnar 3-yard run, John Lundsford kick CHSO 38–36

In their eleventh game of the season, the Flames lost, 38–36, to the Charleston Southern Buccaneers.^[11]

@ Coastal Carolina

Liberty @ Coastal Carolina

1 2 3 4 Total • Flames 3 3 6 3 15 #2 Chanticleers 0 14 0 0 14 Date: November 22 Location: Brooks Stadium Conway, SC Game start: 1:00 PM EST Game attendance: 8,576 TV announcers (ESPN3): Mike Hogewood and Mike Gleason

Scoring summary 1 8:48 LIB John Lundsford 32-yard kick good LIB 3–0 2 10:07 CCAR Bruce Mapp 38-yard pass from Alex Ross, Alex Catron kick CCAR 7–3 2 4:45 CCAR DeAngelo Henderson 19-yard run, Alex Catron kick CCAR 14–3 2 0:03 LIB John Lundsford 42-yard kick good CCAR 14–6 3 2:01 LIB Darrin Peterson 72-yard pass from Shephon Masha, two-point conversion failed CCAR 14–12 4 1:20 LIB John Lundsford 32-yard kick good LIB 15–14

In their twelfth game of the season, the Flames won, 15–14, over the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers.^[12]

FCS Playoffs

@ James Madison

Liberty @ James Madison

1 2 3 4 Total • #20 Flames 3 7 10 6 26 #15 Dukes 0 21 0 0 21 Date: November 29 Location: Bridgeforth Stadium Harrisonburg, VA Game start: 4:00 PM EST Game attendance: 13,040 Television network: ESPN3

Scoring summary 1 14:52 LIB John Lundsford 26-yard kick good LIB 3–0 2 14:53 LIB D.J. Abnar 19-yard run, John Lundsford kick LIB 10–0 2 14:33 JMU Jauan Latney 73-yard run, Ryan Maglio kick LIB 10–7 2 8:47 JMU Vad Lee 9-yard run, Ryan Maglio kick JMU 14–10 2 2:48 JMU DeAndre Smith 16-yard pass from Vad Lee, Ryan Maglio kick JMU 21–10 3 10:16 LIB D.J. Abnar 7-yard run, John Lundsford kick JMU 21–17 3 4:45 LIB John Lunsford 56-yard kick good JMU 21–20 4 2:53 LIB Nicky Fualaau 1-yard run, two-point conversion failed LIB 26–21

In their thirteenth game of the season, the Flames won, 26–21, over the James Madison Dukes in their 2014 FCS First Round playoff game.^[13]

@ Villanova

Liberty @ Villanova

1 2 3 4 Total #20 Flames 10 9 3 0 22 • #5 Wildcats 0 14 0 15 29 Date: December 6 Location: Villanova Stadium Villanova, PA Game start: 4:30 PM EST Game attendance: 3,113 Television network: ESPN3

Scoring summary 1 12:11 LIB Josh Woodrum 1-yard run, John Lundsford kick LIB 7–0 1 5:07 LIB John Lundsford 50-yard kick good LIB 10–0 2 9:20 LIB John Lundsford 23-yard kick good LIB 13–0 2 7:29 VIL John Robertson 3-yard run, Chris Gough kick LIB 13–7 2 5:24 VIL Austin Medley 1-yard run, Chris Gough kick VIL 14–13 2 1:31 LIB Nick Newman 58-yard fumble return, two-point conversion failed LIB 19–14 3 5:22 LIB John Lundsford 21-yard kick good LIB 22–14 4 13:17 VIL Kevin Guylas 70-yard pass from John Robertson, John Robertson run for two-point conversion Tied 22–22 4 1:12 VIL John Robertson 1-yard run, Chris Gough kick VIL 29–22

In their fourteenth game of the season, the Flames lost, 29–22, to the Villanova Wildcats in their 2014 FCS Second Round playoff game.^[14]

Ranking movements

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	Final
Sports Network	RV	RV	RV	24	22	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	20	17
Coaches	RV	RV	RV	RV	23	RV	—	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	23	17

References