LYNCHBURG, Va. – A back-and-forth affair took place the first two quarters at Williams Stadium Saturday between Virginia Tech and Liberty, with the Hokies owning a 17-17 lead.
Tech struck first, scoring on an eight-play, 80-yard drive that finished with a two-yard rushing touchdown by running back Jalen Holston at the seven-minute mark of the first quarter.
Liberty followed with an eight-play drive of its own, going 89 yards and scoring on a 15-yard rush.
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To start the second quarter, the Hokies got down to the red zone and faced a fourth-and-6 and pulled a fake field goal, as holder Peter Moore got up and did the option, pitching it to kicker John Love, who gained 11 yards for the first down.
The trick play set up Holston to score his second touchdown of the day, a five-yard rush with a dive into the end zone. The play was reviewed to see if his knee or elbow was short of the end zone, but the play was confirmed it indeed was a touchdown to make it 14-7.
Love would later make a 23-yard field goal and then the Flames took the ensuing kickoff to the house (97 yards) to cut their deficit to three, 17-14. Liberty would later hit a 47-yard field goal right before half.
Quarterback Grant Wells is 10-of-14 for 137 yards in the air and Holston has 13 rushes for 43 yards, while fellow running back Keshawn King has nine carries for a team-high 47 yards. Linebacker Dax Hollifield owns a team-high 4 tackles and linebacker Keli Lawson has the team's lone sack.
Tech is outgaining Liberty on offense 231-198 and both teams were perfect in the red zone with scoring on 4-of-4 chances combined. The Hokies are owning a significant time of possession advantage, 22:32-9:37.