Post by Sly Fox on Aug 6, 2005 8:50:58 GMT -5
Here's the word from your favorite fishwrap in the Greater Lynchburg Metroplex:
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LU striving for 'national credibility'
By Chris Lang
Lynchburg News & Advance
August 6, 2005
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They’re right there. Second paragraph. Page 40 of Liberty University’s football media guide:
“Build a foundation.”
Those are the three words that have come to define Ken Karcher’s first five years as the Flames’ head football coach.
It’s a process that has taken longer than the ultra-competitive Karcher may have liked.
Along the way, the Flames have taken their lumps, going 20-34 while suffering several ugly defeats (two 63-0 losses in 2001 stand out).
Still, members of the athletics administration saw enough groundwork laid in the football program - the four-game win streaks at the end of each of the last two seasons didn’t hurt - to give Karcher a five-year contract extension last December.
Now, Karcher and his players agree, it’s time to take the next step. The foundation, they say, has been built. Now, real progress must begin.
LU, which opens practice this morning on the field behind the Hancock Athletic Center, will get plenty of opportunities this season to show how far it has come as a program.
With games against traditional Division I-AA powers Youngstown State and William & Mary on the slate for the second straight year, Liberty will have the opportunity to prove itself.
“Whether they are a true Youngstown State team or not, they still carry the name,” Karcher said. “If we start beating a Youngstown State or a William & Mary, we’re going to start having national credibility. That’s one of those steps that we need to take. … For our team to talk about playoffs, we need to beat a team like that.”
Senior cornerback C.J. Moore has been around enough close calls, including a tight home loss to fourth-ranked Appalachian State two years ago and a close loss in Youngstown, Ohio last fall.
He recognizes that while opportunities are nice, it’s what the Flames make of them that matter.
“We need to beat some real good I-AA teams,” Moore said. “There have been a lot of games that have slipped away, ones that could have given us that national recognition that coach Karcher is always telling us about. We have to not just come close. We have to beat those teams.”
Here are some things to watch during the next month as the Flames begin preparation for the Sept. 3 season opener against Concord (W.Va.) at Williams Stadium:
• Will the passing game improve? Here’s a telling stat from the 2004 season: Flames quarterbacks threw just seven touchdown passes and tossed 14 interceptions.
Brock Farrel, who threw six of those TD passes, is back for his senior season. He started Liberty’s last five games and the Flames won four of those, but Farrel’s numbers were hardly spectacular. He threw for 609 yards in six games and completed 49.5 percent of his passes. The team’s leading receiver, Lauren Williams, had just 29 catches.
In short, Karcher asked Farrel to manage games last season and give the Flames opportunities to win, which he did.
This season, more is expected of Farrel, who spent time in Lynchburg during the summer working out with his receivers in preparation for his first full season as starting quarterback.
“(I wanted to see improvement) in just the timing, and the comfort level with the receivers,” Farrel said. “You see with good passing games, especially with teams like the (Indianapolis) Colts, the ball is in the air while receivers are still running routes. I just wanted to get comfortable with the receivers, so they were on the same page with me.”
• New blood on the line. Even with two preseason all-Big South players returning to the offensive line - Markus Ferguson and Kevin Inge - all eyes will be on 6-foot-6, 320-pound junior Steven Sene, a transfer from Dodge City (Kan.) Community College who started his playing career at South Carolina. He’ll get a hard look as Liberty’s starting left tackle.
• Will the summer’s work pay off? Karcher estimated that close to 80 percent of the team spent some time in Lynchburg in June and July working on strength and conditioning, more than at any other time during his tenure at LU.
“We’ve paid the price,” Moore said. “Hopefully, we’ll have a chance to win every game that we’re in.”
By Chris Lang
Lynchburg News & Advance
August 6, 2005
Advertisement
Click Here.
They’re right there. Second paragraph. Page 40 of Liberty University’s football media guide:
“Build a foundation.”
Those are the three words that have come to define Ken Karcher’s first five years as the Flames’ head football coach.
It’s a process that has taken longer than the ultra-competitive Karcher may have liked.
Along the way, the Flames have taken their lumps, going 20-34 while suffering several ugly defeats (two 63-0 losses in 2001 stand out).
Still, members of the athletics administration saw enough groundwork laid in the football program - the four-game win streaks at the end of each of the last two seasons didn’t hurt - to give Karcher a five-year contract extension last December.
Now, Karcher and his players agree, it’s time to take the next step. The foundation, they say, has been built. Now, real progress must begin.
LU, which opens practice this morning on the field behind the Hancock Athletic Center, will get plenty of opportunities this season to show how far it has come as a program.
With games against traditional Division I-AA powers Youngstown State and William & Mary on the slate for the second straight year, Liberty will have the opportunity to prove itself.
“Whether they are a true Youngstown State team or not, they still carry the name,” Karcher said. “If we start beating a Youngstown State or a William & Mary, we’re going to start having national credibility. That’s one of those steps that we need to take. … For our team to talk about playoffs, we need to beat a team like that.”
Senior cornerback C.J. Moore has been around enough close calls, including a tight home loss to fourth-ranked Appalachian State two years ago and a close loss in Youngstown, Ohio last fall.
He recognizes that while opportunities are nice, it’s what the Flames make of them that matter.
“We need to beat some real good I-AA teams,” Moore said. “There have been a lot of games that have slipped away, ones that could have given us that national recognition that coach Karcher is always telling us about. We have to not just come close. We have to beat those teams.”
Here are some things to watch during the next month as the Flames begin preparation for the Sept. 3 season opener against Concord (W.Va.) at Williams Stadium:
• Will the passing game improve? Here’s a telling stat from the 2004 season: Flames quarterbacks threw just seven touchdown passes and tossed 14 interceptions.
Brock Farrel, who threw six of those TD passes, is back for his senior season. He started Liberty’s last five games and the Flames won four of those, but Farrel’s numbers were hardly spectacular. He threw for 609 yards in six games and completed 49.5 percent of his passes. The team’s leading receiver, Lauren Williams, had just 29 catches.
In short, Karcher asked Farrel to manage games last season and give the Flames opportunities to win, which he did.
This season, more is expected of Farrel, who spent time in Lynchburg during the summer working out with his receivers in preparation for his first full season as starting quarterback.
“(I wanted to see improvement) in just the timing, and the comfort level with the receivers,” Farrel said. “You see with good passing games, especially with teams like the (Indianapolis) Colts, the ball is in the air while receivers are still running routes. I just wanted to get comfortable with the receivers, so they were on the same page with me.”
• New blood on the line. Even with two preseason all-Big South players returning to the offensive line - Markus Ferguson and Kevin Inge - all eyes will be on 6-foot-6, 320-pound junior Steven Sene, a transfer from Dodge City (Kan.) Community College who started his playing career at South Carolina. He’ll get a hard look as Liberty’s starting left tackle.
• Will the summer’s work pay off? Karcher estimated that close to 80 percent of the team spent some time in Lynchburg in June and July working on strength and conditioning, more than at any other time during his tenure at LU.
“We’ve paid the price,” Moore said. “Hopefully, we’ll have a chance to win every game that we’re in.”
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