CLINTON, S.C. – The Presbyterian College football team dropped its Saturday Senior Day home finale against the visiting Liberty Flames, falling short as the Flames took a road win, 28-7.
The loss moves PC to 5-4 on the year and 2-2 in the Big South. The Blue Hose will head to Ole Miss next for a Saturday game in Oxford, Miss. at noon Eastern on the SEC Network. Liberty improves to 6-3, 2-0 in the Big South and hosts Monmouth next week at 3:30 p.m.
The Flames did most of their damage in the first half, leading 21-0 at halftime with a 16:58 to 13:02 time of possession advantage at the break. Turnovers helped doom the Blue Hose as sophomore quarterback Heys McMath (Savannah, Ga.) threw a career-high four picks.
Liberty's Josh Woodrum went 15-for-22 through the air for 214 yards and two passing touchdowns to go along with another first-quarter touchdown on the ground.
PC's lone score came in the fourth quarter when junior wide receiver Jordan Hallums (Mauldin, S.C.) took a handoff and ran in a score from five yards out. Blake Roberts (Cumming, Ga.) paced PC on the ground with 70 yards on nine carries. Darrell Bridges (Rossville, Ga.) made his first appearance since an injury against Western Carolina on October 4, rushing a team-high 10 times for 37 yards. Senior receiver Tobi Antigha (Tampa, Fla.) caught a team-best seven receptions for 67 yards.
PC nearly match Liberty on the ground, 161 to 153, and finished with 323 yards of offense to Liberty's 375.
Defensively, Ed Britt (Greensboro, N.C.) and Isaiah Lynn (Fort Lawn, S.C.) made eight tackles apiece and Cory White (Anderson, S.C.) chipped in seven. Wesley Scott led Liberty with 10 tackles while Jacob Hagen intercepted two passes to go along with five tackles.
Liberty used a 49-yard pass to Darrin Patterson on the game's first play from scrimmage to set up a two-yard Woodrum rushing touchdown—a drive that included a short fourth-down conversion at the 10-yard line—as Liberty led 7-0 after three and a half minutes.
Liberty safety Gary Sampson picked off a Blue Hose pass to start a new Flames drive at their own 47. Liberty worked its way to the 11-yard line with a new set of downs, but the Blue Hose defense stiffened and forced a 27-yard field goal miss.
After stalled drives from each side, the Flames assembled a 12-play, 80-yard drive that ended with a 29-yard pass down the middle to Gabe Henderson for a 14-0 lead midway through the second quarter. The series took 6:55 off of the clock, nearly half of the period.
PC maneuvered into Liberty territory but turned the ball over on downs. Liberty capitalized immediately as Woodrum found Darrin Peterson streaking down the field for a 70-yard touchdown. The play gave the Flames a 21-0 lead shortly before the halftime break.
Liberty's D.J. Abnar rushed for 43 yards in the first half. The junior tailback finished with a game-high 25 carries for 83 yards and a touchdown.
Liberty botched an onside kick to start the second half and gave the Blue Hose solid starting position, but an interception handed the ball back to the Flames. The Blue Hose held the visitors to three-and-out, however, to regain possession.
Another interception ended a promising drive that saw the Blue Hose travel 55 yards into the Liberty end. PC forced a turnover on downs, but the Flames were able to burn 6:01 going just 38 yards.
The Blue Hose broke through early in the fourth quarter. Tobi Antigha (Tampa, Fla.) caught a 30-yard pass on the first play of the drive and the team continued to work its way down the field. Bridges and Demarcus Rouse (North Augusta, S.C.) pounded away at the Liberty defense, with Bridges picking up two first downs before a Rouse rush put PC five yards away from paydirt. McMath handed off to Hallums on an end-around and the junior receiver ran untouched into the end zone for a PC touchdown. The score, a result of a 12-play, 87-yard drive, cut the Liberty lead to 21-7 with 6:10 to go.
The Blue Hose made their way past midfield on their next offensive drive, but Jacob Hagen picked off a pass and took it back to the PC 17. The Flames eventually scored on a short Abnar rush to ice the result, 28-7.
PC finishes its home schedule with a 4-2 record at Bailey Memorial Stadium, matching 2011 for the most home wins in a Division I season.
