VMI hands one to Flames

VMI’s offense, the gift that keeps on giving. And giving. And giving …

If one looked at the final stats from Liberty’s 54-14 blowout of the Keydets Saturday night, one wouldn’t have seen a 40-point margin of victory. The Keydets actually outgained the Flames by a yard. Those stats proved meaningless, though.

“Well, we can’t pile up yards, because we get the short field every time,” Liberty quarterback Tommy Beecher said.

VMI’s charity was astonishing. The Keydets, a turnover-prone bunch to begin with, outdid themselves Saturday at Williams Stadium. VMI entered the game ranked 114th out of 118 teams in FCS in turnover margin, and the Keydets’ eight giveaways Saturday -- six fumbles and two interceptions -- contributed heavily to Liberty’s easy victory.

“We might have set an NCAA record for most turnovers,” VMI coach Sparky Woods said. “Eight’s a lot.”

In fact, the plus-eight turnover margin will vault the Flames into the national lead in the category. Liberty entered the game ranked fifth in FCS at plus-1.5 turnovers per game. After Saturday, the Flames are averaging plus-2.2 per game, well ahead of the plus-2.0 margin NCAA leader Southern -- which was idle this week -- owned heading into this week.

And the wealth was spread. Ian Childress gave the Flames a 10-point lead in the second quarter when he intercepted a Kyle Hughes pass that tipped off the fingers of Bryan Barnson and returned it 34 yards for his first career touchdown. Childress spent the week on crutches, nursing a banged up right knee that has a damaged ligament and a hairline fracture. Once the ball hit his hands, Childress found a block and broke free.

“A pretty nice little gift,” Childress said. “Once I saw that end zone, I was in.”

Six different Flames recovered fumbles, and KaJuan Lee intercepted a pass in the second half, his fifth pick of the season.

Despite four first-half turnovers, the Keydets were actually still in the game late in the third quarter, when VMI’s Tim Maypray plunged in from one yard out to cut the Flames’ lead to 27-14.

Then the floodgates opened. Liberty (7-2, 4-0) scored five times in the fourth quarter, with only one drive going longer than 36 yards. On the one sustained drive, Beecher rolled right and threw a five-yard touchdown pass to Chris Summers, who streaked along the back of the end zone and tapped a foot down in bounds before his momentum sent him running up the hill behind the sideline.

Liberty turned the next three turnovers into two Matt Bevins field goal and a SirChauncey Holloway 12-yard touchdown run. The capper came at the end, when Maypray muffed a punt inside the Keydet 10, and Kevin Fogg recovered it in the end zone to put the Flames up 54-14 with 1:15 left.

“We took the ball away, simple as that,” Liberty coach Danny Rocco said. “I do not think the score is at all indicative of the style of play. We did not shut this offense down. We did not necessarily control the tempo of the game. We did not necessarily put a stranglehold on this football team.

“But we were opportunistic and when the ball was on the ground, we got it. And we made plays.”

The Keydets outgained the Flames 335 yards to 334 and had one more first down than Liberty. But none of that mattered, thanks to the barrage of VMI turnovers.

Said Hughes: “Sometimes we turned the ball over before the play could even get started, you know. Center-quarterback exchange caused fumbles. And they stuck it to us pretty good, too. That’s a pretty good hard-hitting team.”