The Fightin’ Blue Hens Give Up Season High 59 Points In Third CUSA Loss

The Liberty Flames (4-4, 3-1 CUSA) scored 42 combined points in the second and third quarters to defeat the University of Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens (4-4, 2-3 CUSA) Saturday evening.

The Blue Hens lined up to punt from their own 26-yard and it felt like a streak of luck to have that opportunity. The play before the punt, quarterback Nick Minicucci threw what appeared to be an interception but was ruled as an incomplete pass following a review. Instead of sending the defense out to about midfield, Delaware had a chance to flip the field and make the Flames traverse a longer distance. Liberty ended up having an even shorter field than if the interception had stood.

On fourth and six with more than eleven minutes remaining in the second quarter, the Blue Hens snapped the ball to linebacker Gavin Moul standing on the right hash of the punt formation. Moul ran the ball toward the middle of the field and flipped the ball to safety KT Seay, running the opposite direction. Seay was met in the backfield by junior Bryson Jennings seconds after receiving the ball, and the play ended without any chance of earning the first down.

The Flames outscored the Blue Hens 21-3 following that play in the second quarter, coasting to a 59-30 victory over UD, Saturday evening in Lynchburg, Virginia.

The former Georgia Tech running back — Evan Dickens — was the beneficiary of Delaware’s questionable attempt at trickery. Two plays after Liberty took over at the Blue Hen 21 yard line, Dickens rushed up the middle five yards to the endzone for his first of three consecutive touchdowns.

Dickens’ next touchdown was a one-yard run that followed a UD three-and-out on the Blue Hens’ ensuing possession. Following a punt from the Hens, the Flames marched 79 yards downfield on 13 plays to set up Dickens’ second touchdown run of the quarter. The redshirt sophomore finished his terrific second frame with a 30-yard run to the endzone in the Flames final possession of the first half.

Delaware’s offense only mustered nine points on three made field goals from graduate kicker Nate Reed in the first half. The Blue Hen’s offense struggled both on the ground and in the air against the conference’s highest-ranked passing defense and third-ranked scoring defense.

The Blue Hens had six big plays — passes of more than 15 yards and runs of over ten yards — in the first half compared to nine for the Flames. None of UD’s plays went for more than 30 yards.

Delaware finished the first half with 205 total yards, of which only 39 came from the ground game — an area where Liberty had struggled all year, allowing close to 190 yards on the ground per game entering the contest.

Following Dickens’ fourth touchdown of the game on a 72-yard run to open the second half, things got better for the UD offense. The Blue Hens scored back-to-back touchdowns to cut Liberty’s lead down to 35-24 with under six minutes to play in the third quarter. The two scores came on receptions by tight end Elijah Sessoms and junior Donovan Lewis, which were their first career touchdown receptions.

The Flames answered the scores with a pair of touchdown receptions from Donte Lee Jr. and Jacob Jenkins in the final minutes of the third quarter. The catches put the score out of reach of a fourth quarter comeback as Liberty started the final frame ahead by 25 points.

The Flames ended the game with their season high for total yards (561 yards) and rushing yards (282 yards). Conversely, it was Delaware’s worst defensive game of the year, allowing a season high rushing total and season-high total yardage.

Dickens ended with a record-setting day, rushing for a career high 217 yards and four touchdowns.

The Blue Hens have four games remaining on their schedule. Three of those games are against fellow CUSA members, including next week’s game against Louisiana Tech. That game will be on November 8 at Tubby Raymond Field.