LYNCHBURG, Va. - The #16 Liberty Flames took advantage of eight VMI turnovers and defeated the Keydets 54-14 in VMI's Big South season finale, played Saturday evening before a crowd of 15,208 at Williams Stadium in Lynchburg.

The eight turnovers were a season-high for the Keydets, as the six fumbles and two interceptions led to 30 Liberty points. VMI's Byron Allen and Trae Watkins had career-high tackle numbers for VMI in the loss, as Allen had 17 stops while Watkins had 11. The 17 stops were the most in a single game by a player in the Big South this season. The Keydets also outgained Liberty in total yards, 335-334. 

The Keydet offense got off to an excellent start, as Kyle Hughes galloped 26 yards on the first play from scrimmage. Two plays later, Hughes found Mario Scott down the visitor sideline for a 48-yard touchdown pass. The reception was the longest of Scott's career, and just 1:17 into the game, VMI held a 7-0 lead. However, that advantage was short-lived.

On the kickoff following the score, Liberty's Aaron Hewlett brought the ball all the way back for a touchdown. The score was the first kickoff return touchdown given up by VMI since last season's game with Ohio, and was the first such score for Liberty this season.

The first quarter continued to go back and forth, as the Keydets went 48 yards in just four plays and appeared to be poised to retake the lead. On a first down from the Liberty 13, Hughes tried a handoff to Howard Abegesah, but the ball popped up in the air. Liberty's Chris Rocco recovered, and the Flames took over at their own 17 just two minutes into the opening quarter.

Liberty then went 58 yards in 12 plays to get the ball inside the 10 yard line, but the home team committed three consecutive penalties to force a third-and-25. Quarterback Tommy Beecher found Chris Summers for 12 yards, setting up a 42-yard field goal by Matt Bevins that put the home team up 10-7 with 5:44 left in the opening period.

After a VMI punt, Liberty also had to kick it away. On that play, Stefawn Ross broke through the Liberty line for a punt block, which was VMI's first punt block on the road since Oct. 14, 2000, meaning that each of the last 12 VMI blocked punts had come at home. On the next VMI drive, Maypray fumbled on the LU 19 and the Flames recovered with 13:13 left in the first half.

After a Liberty punt, the Keydets took over at their own 32. Two plays later, Hughes' swing pass was high and bounced off the hands of Bryan Barnson. Liberty's Ian Childress snared the deflection and returned it 32 yards for a touchdown, putting the home team up 17-7.

The Keydets tried to battle back, but an eight play, 55-yard drive went for naught when T.J. Talley was stopped on 4th and 1 at the Liberty 4. A Flames' punt gave the ball back to VMI, but another fumble put the ball back in the hands of the home team with 2:54 left in the half. Liberty tacked on another touchdown, as Mike Brown scrambled in from three yards out to make the halftime score 24-7, LU.

The first half stats belied the 17-point Liberty lead, as the Keydets outgained the Flames 245-158 in the opening two quarters, while the margin on the ground was even larger, 182-66 for VMI. The four VMI turnovers were the difference, as the Keydets fumbled three times and were intercepted once.

Liberty quickly marched down and added to its lead to open the second half, tacking on a 38-yard field goal by Bevins at 8:52 to make it 27-7. The Keydets kept themselves in it, responding with a nine-play, 60-yard drive that took just 3:23. Maypray ran it in from one yard out, cutting the VMI deficit to 27-14. The run moved Maypray into second place on the all-time VMI career points scored list, with 222.

The score remained 27-14 after three quarters, but Liberty added a touchdown early in the final quarter to push its lead to 34-14. The Keydets had four turnovers the rest of the way, leading to 13 Liberty points. All told, the home team outscored the visitors 27-0 in the final quarter, accounting for the final margin.

Maypray and Scott accounted for VMI's touchdowns in the senior class' final Big South game, as Maypray gained 87 yards on the ground while Scott had 69 yards receiving.

VMI football returns to action next Saturday, as the Keydets travel to West Point, N.Y. to take on the Army Black Knights. Game time is set for noon.

Quotes - Head Coach Sparky Woods

"Liberty certainly took advantage of our mistakes and we made them. Eight turnovers is a lot...we may have set a record. I think Liberty has a really good football team, and the score indicates for the rest of our lives how much better they are than us, but I really anticipated a lot better football game than this. I don't know how good a game it could have been had we not turned the ball over so much. Liberty has a good team and they capitalized on all those mistakes and that's what you do. It's all about points and not about yardage. In this case, it was certainly about turnovers. I feel bad for VMI and feel bad for our players because I thought we would have had a much better ballgame. Statistically it looks close, except for all the touchdowns we gave away. We've got to somehow stop turning the ball over...We've got to play better."