LEXINGTON, Va. - Liberty University rolled to a 73-34 win over VMI Saturday afternoon in Lynchburg and closed out its 2007 home football schedule with a perfect 6-0 mark. The Flames took advantage of five VMI turnovers, converting four that led to touchdowns and also used big special teams play to score or set up three other touchdowns. The Keydets still manage to score 34 points and roll up almost 400 yards of total offense as sophomore fullback Howard Abegesah produced his fifth 100-yard game of the season with 120 yards on 25 carries.

LU junior running back Rashad Jennings ran for three touchdowns while rushing for 77 yards on 17 carries, and junior back Zach Terrell led the Flames in rushing with 83 yards and a touchdown. Through the air, junior quarterback Brock Smith completed 11 of 14 passes for 246 yards and three touchdowns, two which were directed to junior receiver Dominic Bolden.

Sophomore slotback Tim Maypray had 209 all-purpose yards for the Keydets surpassing the 200-yard mark for the fourth time this season and also caught two passes for 59 yards including a 33-yard strike from sophomore quarterback Kyle Hughes, marking the seventh time over the last five games the pair has connected on touchdown passes. Hughes also tossed a touchdown pass for the seventh straight game.

The Flames jumped to a 28-0 first quarter lead as a 78-yard opening kickoff return by Dominic Bolden to the VMI 11 set the tone for Liberty special teams play all afternoon. But the Keydet defense stiffened and the Flames had to settle for a 26-yard field goal from Noah Greenbaum to take a 3-0 lead with 13:26 left in the first quarter.

The Flames added first quarter touchdowns on a 6-yard pass from Smith to Brandon Turner (8:26), a 52-yard bomb from Smith to Bolden (6:07), and a Smith 9-yard QB draw play (3:12).

The Keydets got on the board capitalizing on a fumble recovery by senior end Tommy Lloyd at the LU 24 and five plays later Abegesah rocketed to the endzone on a 14-yard burst of the middle with 12:11 to go in the second quarter. The extra point was blocked and the score remained 24-6.

Liberty pushed its lead to 38-6 midway in the second quarter on a 7-yard TD run by Jennings followed by a Smith to Bolden 14-yard TD pass that was set up by a fumble recovery.

Hughes and Maypray connected on their 33-yard TD pass at the 3:55 mark of the second quarter to cut the deficit to 38-14, but the buzz was quickly silenced when Bolden raced 83 yards to the endzone on the ensuing kickoff.

The Keydets responded with 14 points over the last :45 seconds of the first half to pull within 45-28 at the break. Maypray took an option pitch 11 yards to the endzone at the :45 mark, and sophomore safety Bryant Youngblood took a fumble by Zach Terrell 87 yards to the endzone with 2.7 seconds left in the half. It was the second longest fumble return in Big South history and the first by a Keydet since Robert Mason in 2002.

A pivotal turn in the game came on VMI's opening drive of the second half. The Keydets took the kickoff and moved from their own 21 to the Liberty 38 before a Hughes fumble was recovered by linebacker Brandon Duke. The Flames pounded out 64 yards in seven plays using three straight completions to Brandon Turner covering 50 yards to set up a 4-yard TD run by Jennings to push the Liberty lead to 52-28. It would be the first of four unanswered second half touchdowns by the Flames with the scores set up by a pair of VMI fumbles, an interception, and a punt return for a touchdown.

The Keydets closed out the scoring with an 8-yard touchdown run by Joey Robinson at the 2:30 mark of the fourth quarter.

Defensively, Youngblood led the Keydet tackle charts with nine tackles including seven solo stops, and also forced two fumbles to compliment his 87-yard fumble return for a touchdown.

VMI (2-8, 0-4) returns home next Saturday to face The Citadel in Lexington in “The Military Classic of the South.” Kickoff will be at noon and the game will be televised nationally on CSTV.

HEAD COACH JIM REID - “It was a long afternoon. We could not move the ball with any consistency. We did move the ball in chunks of yardage and then all of a sudden we had a fumble, or an offside, or an interception. On defense, we just couldn't seem to match their speed, especially to the outside. It was pretty much of a problem all day. In the second half we moved the ball on our first drive methodically down the field and then all of a sudden, we had that fumble, and it hurt us and we just seemed to lose a little bit of steam there. But we never did quit ? we were playing right to the very end. We had a fumble return for a touchdown and that was exciting. It was almost like feast or famine on every snap. We either did something well on offense or we really got hammered. On defense, we either held them at the line of scrimmage or they moved for a huge gain. I felt bad for the players, and bad for us as a staff, and I feel bad for our alumni. But we just can't get discouraged. We laid the plan out early and we are going to keep these guys red-shirted. I just got finished telling a reporter that in the first spring we had 26 scholarships in our program. This spring, if everyone stays and no one has left yet, we should have 45 in spring practice. Now we are at least beginning to look like a Division I-AA program numbers wise, and we just have to keep working, stay focused, and we can't forget what happened to us today and we need it to motivate us to be better.”