Liberty notes: Rasberry gaining confidence

During Liberty’s Sept. 13 game at Western Carolina, Flames quarterback Brock Smith dropped back and threw a short pass to tight end Corey Rasberry. It looked like a sure touchdown, save for one problem.

Rasberry dropped the ball.

When Rasberry returned to the huddle, Smith had a message for him.

“That doesn’t mean I won’t come to you again,” Smith said.

Last week at Coastal Carolina, Smith targeted Rasberry three times, and the senior caught all three passes, signaling an increase in trust between quarterback and tight end.

Smith said he could see Rasberry’s confidence rise with each catch.

“The mind is a powerful thing,” Smith said. “If your mind is not in the game, you’re not going to be able to produce. Just being in that leadership role and knowing what to say can really encourage the guys. Rasberry just needed encouragement to keep his head in the game.”

Splitting reps

Left tackle has been a timeshare position for the Flames this season. Though Zach Davis is listed as the starter, he and Justin Vargas are splitting reps nearly equally, Liberty coach Danny Rocco said.

That bodes well for the future, considering Davis is a senior and Vargas, a 6-foot-5, 285 pounder, is a sophomore.

The rotation has helped keep both players fresh for the stretch run of tight games.

“This is my only year playing tackle, so it’s really beneficial for the team to get him in there playing well,” Davis said. “I think we push each other.”

Strength negated

Stony Brook, Liberty’s opponent Saturday at Williams Stadium, wants to run the football. The Seawolves have two of the Big South’s top five tailbacks in Conte Cuttino and Edwin Gowins, who have combined for 729 yards and four touchdowns.

The problem? The Seawolves have fallen behind early in each of their last three games, forcing Stony Brook to abandon the run and rely on redshirt freshman quarterback Dayne Hoffman.

Stony Brook trailed by 14 at halftime against Maine, 17 at the half against Brown and 28 at the break against Hofstra.

“We’re not built to do what we’ve had to do,” Stony Brook coach Chuck Priore said. “(Our running backs) aren’t getting enough touches. When the game is over, I specifically want 40 touches for our backs. If you look at the last two games, they’ve carried the ball 12 or so times each.

“We’ve averaged five yards a carry, if you minus the sack yardage. Hopefully we can control the tempo this upcoming week and stay within that touchdown range on either side where we can maintain our run game, our play-action ability and our bootleg game.”

Extra points

Stony Brook has never won a road game against a full-scholarship team. … Liberty’s five-game road winning streak is a Big South record. … With a win Saturday, Liberty would tie the conference record for consecutive conference victories (eight), set by Coastal Carolina from 2003-05. … Liberty is averaging 43.7 points per game during the league win streak. … Liberty TB Rashad Jennings is on pace to shatter the Big South’s all-time rushing mark. If he continues on his current pace of 157.8 yards per game, he’ll finish with 3,868 career rush yards. Former LU back Dre Barnes holds the record with 3,409 yards.

-- Chris Lang