Post by Sly Fox on Sept 19, 2005 7:40:25 GMT -5
Nothing seems to be working, and Flames want to know why
By Chris Lang
Lynchburg News & Advance
September 19, 2005
Liberty University’s football team has no offensive identity. That could easily qualify as the “duh!” statement of the year, considering it’s been 132 minutes since LU put a point on the board.
Since Zac Kolegue hit a 27-yard field goal with 12:23 left against Division II Concord Sept. 3, the Flames have been outscored 101-0, leaving the offense confused and frustrated.
LU coach Ken Karcher has tried to shake things up. He’s played three quarterbacks, even weaving the three in and out on a play-by-play basis in Saturday night’s 42-0 loss to Youngstown State.
He’s tried handing the ball to two different running backs, but aside from Marcus Hamilton’s 138-yard showing against Concord, the combination of Hamilton and Rajive Otah has fallen flat.
He’s even shuffled the offensive line, this week moving senior left guard Kevin Inge to left tackle and starting Britt Stone at guard, a move necessitated by the struggles of starting left tackle Stephen Sene.
Nothing has worked.
“You ask yourself, what? Why?” Hamilton said. “What can I do better? Why are we not scoring? It’s just baffling right now.”
At the heart of the problem is LU’s inability to finish drives. Against Connecticut, the Flames drove inside the Huskies’ 30 on their second drive, thanks to the “slash” abilities of freshman quarterback Zach Terrell.
Terrell lined up in the backfield and at slot receiver and was part of one of LU’s biggest plays of the season, catching a 41-yard pass from QB Brock Farrel. That drive fell flat when the Flames couldn’t finish and turned the ball over on a failed fake field goal attempt.
Against Youngstown State, the Flames drove from their own 5 to inside the YSU 45 on their first drive. But again, the drive stalled and LU had to punt. The Flames wouldn’t get inside the 20 until late in the fourth quarter when they were already down by six touchdowns.
“I’m frustrated, and I want to do something, but I almost don’t know what to do,” Farrel said. “Something obviously has to change.”
The “slash” experiment with Terrell will only take the Flames so far, especially now that opponents will have film of two games in which Terrell has lined up in multiple positions.
The running game has to evolve, though it’s hard to tell how much blame for the last two games can be placed on the running backs’ shoulders. LU was down 38-0 at halftime at UConn and 28-0 Saturday night, so it’s not like the Flames could use a ball-control offense to get back in either game.
Karcher eventually will have to decide on a one- or two-quarterback rotation, because he admits that using three QBs isn’t ideal.
There’s a lot of work for the coaching staff to do before the Flames battle ranked I-AA foe William & Mary next Saturday at Zable Stadium.
Farrel’s sentiments Saturday echoed what he said after the 59-0 loss at UConn. The Flames can only think about the 42-0 loss to YSU for so long. Then, it’s time to prepare for the Tribe.
“That’s the beautiful thing about football,” he said. “You get another chance.”
By Chris Lang
Lynchburg News & Advance
September 19, 2005
Liberty University’s football team has no offensive identity. That could easily qualify as the “duh!” statement of the year, considering it’s been 132 minutes since LU put a point on the board.
Since Zac Kolegue hit a 27-yard field goal with 12:23 left against Division II Concord Sept. 3, the Flames have been outscored 101-0, leaving the offense confused and frustrated.
LU coach Ken Karcher has tried to shake things up. He’s played three quarterbacks, even weaving the three in and out on a play-by-play basis in Saturday night’s 42-0 loss to Youngstown State.
He’s tried handing the ball to two different running backs, but aside from Marcus Hamilton’s 138-yard showing against Concord, the combination of Hamilton and Rajive Otah has fallen flat.
He’s even shuffled the offensive line, this week moving senior left guard Kevin Inge to left tackle and starting Britt Stone at guard, a move necessitated by the struggles of starting left tackle Stephen Sene.
Nothing has worked.
“You ask yourself, what? Why?” Hamilton said. “What can I do better? Why are we not scoring? It’s just baffling right now.”
At the heart of the problem is LU’s inability to finish drives. Against Connecticut, the Flames drove inside the Huskies’ 30 on their second drive, thanks to the “slash” abilities of freshman quarterback Zach Terrell.
Terrell lined up in the backfield and at slot receiver and was part of one of LU’s biggest plays of the season, catching a 41-yard pass from QB Brock Farrel. That drive fell flat when the Flames couldn’t finish and turned the ball over on a failed fake field goal attempt.
Against Youngstown State, the Flames drove from their own 5 to inside the YSU 45 on their first drive. But again, the drive stalled and LU had to punt. The Flames wouldn’t get inside the 20 until late in the fourth quarter when they were already down by six touchdowns.
“I’m frustrated, and I want to do something, but I almost don’t know what to do,” Farrel said. “Something obviously has to change.”
The “slash” experiment with Terrell will only take the Flames so far, especially now that opponents will have film of two games in which Terrell has lined up in multiple positions.
The running game has to evolve, though it’s hard to tell how much blame for the last two games can be placed on the running backs’ shoulders. LU was down 38-0 at halftime at UConn and 28-0 Saturday night, so it’s not like the Flames could use a ball-control offense to get back in either game.
Karcher eventually will have to decide on a one- or two-quarterback rotation, because he admits that using three QBs isn’t ideal.
There’s a lot of work for the coaching staff to do before the Flames battle ranked I-AA foe William & Mary next Saturday at Zable Stadium.
Farrel’s sentiments Saturday echoed what he said after the 59-0 loss at UConn. The Flames can only think about the 42-0 loss to YSU for so long. Then, it’s time to prepare for the Tribe.
“That’s the beautiful thing about football,” he said. “You get another chance.”
www.newsadvance.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=LNA%2FMGArticle%2FLNA_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031785143458&path=!sports
