DeArmon finds way to contribute

Kyle DeArmon moved to wide receiver last season because Liberty needed help at the position.

On the Flames’ scout team, that is.

Once the coaching staff saw how well DeArmon took to the position, though, they realized he could help the Flames in much bigger ways. Saturday, DeArmon -- who came to Liberty as a walk-on quarterback -- caught his first career pass and took it 27 yards for a touchdown.

Then he caught three more passes, including an impressive 23-yard grab on 3rd-and-22 that kept a drive alive, and he finished with 78 yards. And when DeArmon roped in another touchdown pass -- a 10 yarder from Tyler Brennan in the fourth quarter -- had had gone from walk-on fourth-string QB to tied for the team lead in touchdown receptions.

“He is a perfect example of a guy who is committed to our program,” Flames coach Danny Rocco said. “He’ll do anything, any time and just wants to contribute. We found a role for him in the spring, and he gained confidence in the summer. Now he finds himself out there.

“He’s smart. He can play a couple of different receiver positions. He’s got size. He can get open and make a catch, and he certainly did that today.”

DeArmon’s experience working at quarterback has helped him in his transformation to receiver. He’s not just a slot guy or an outside guy.

“I didn’t come in as a receiver who only played one position,” DeArmon said. “I came in as a quarterback who had to know all of the positions. When I moved over to receiver, it gave me the opportunity to play all of the positions, which has given me the opportunity to get on the field.”

Schedule rumblings

Liberty assistant athletics director for football operations Paul Rutigliano confirmed Saturday that the Flames will play a home-and-home series with Richmond, beginning in 2013 at UR’s Robins Stadium.

The Spiders will visit Lynchburg in 2014. Rutigliano also said Liberty was working on completing the 2011 and 2012 schedules, and that the school is in talks with both William & Mary and Old Dominion to fill dates in those years.

The Flames completed a four-game series with William & Mary in 2007, with the Tribe sweeping all four games. Old Dominion resurrected its long dormant football program last season.

Liberty’s upcoming lineup of FBS games is as follows: North Carolina State (2011), Wake Forest (2012), Kent State (2013) and West Virginia (2014). Virginia was originally scheduled for ‘14, but with the coaching change in Charlottesville, that date has been pushed back, “maybe to ‘17,” Rutigliano said.

Different gameplan

St. Francis did a solid job of taking away the Flames’ interior run game, forcing Liberty to throw the ball more than it expected Saturday.

The top two tailbacks, Korrey Davis and SirChauncey Holloway, combined for 86 yards on 17 carries, and Holloway scored the Flames’ lone rushing touchdown, an 11-yard run up the gut in the third quarter. Chase Barnett led Liberty with 56 rush yards on eight carries, but that all came in the fourth quarter when the game was well in hand.

“It was one of those games where you really didn’t know what they were going to do,” Rocco said. “They were just multiple enough early that just when you thought they were going to be like this, they ended up being like that. Give them credit. They had some good ideas and they were able to execute those ideas and they were able to maintain some momentum early.”

Extra points

Both true freshmen who were expected to play Saturday did. Gabe Henderson made two receptions for nine yards, and linebacker Scott Hyland made two tackles. … Safety Corey Lillard (hamstring) did not play but is expected to return to practice this week. In his place, Fork Union transfer Chris Mayo got more playing time behind starter Brandon Robinson at strong safety and made a team-high 10 tackles. … The last time Liberty played St. Francis, the Flames scored 42 straight points to open the game before the Red Flash scored. This time, the Flames scored the final 52 points after St. Francis scored first.