Liberty Opens 2025 with Fourth Quarter Burst in Win over Maine

LYNCHBURG, Va. – Since coming to the Mountain in 2023, Liberty Head Coach Jamey Chadwell has stressed the importance of strong play in the fourth quarter.
     
That effort was on full display in a 28-7 season-opening win over Maine on a sun-drenched day at Williams Stadium.
     
Despite being in control defensively for most of the game, the Flames needed the final 15 minutes to get their offense flowing. Liberty scored three of its four touchdowns during the last quarter.
     
Last year, Liberty outscored its opponents 124-69 during the final quarter. Today, Liberty scored 21 consecutive points and outgained the visiting Black Bears, 133 to 77, during the final 15 minutes of the game.
     
Overall, Liberty held a 391 to 316 advantage in total offensive yards with an almost completely balanced offensive attack (194 rushing yards and 197 passing yards).
     
Coastal Carolina transfer quarterback Ethan Vasko picked up his first win under center for the Flames. The redshirt junior completed 19-of-33 pass attempts for 197 yards and threw three touchdowns. He also led Liberty’s rushing attack with 13 carries for 63 yards and one score
     
Georgia Tech transfer Evan Dickens made the most of his Flames debut on his birthday. He had 10 carries for 34 yards and scored on a 24-yard sideline pass play to start Liberty’s scoring spurt during the fourth quarter.
     
Reese Smith was Vasko’s top target in the game, finishing the afternoon contest with six receptions on six targets for 46 yards, including Liberty’s first score of the game. The redshirt senior caught a nine-yard touchdown pass just seven seconds before halftime to allow Liberty to enter the locker room tied at 7-7.
     
After giving up a lengthy touchdown run in the second quarter (77-yard run by running back Sincere Baines), Liberty’s defense held Maine in check and kept them off the scoreboard.
     
Liberty finished the game with two turnovers caused, including a CJ Bazile, Jr., sack and fumble recovery to set up Smith’s late second quarter score.
     
Bazile and linebacker Aidan Vaughan tied for team-high tackling honors (six tackles), while Amarian Williams had the other turnover gained with his fourth career interception.

 

The Flames’ win today:

• Is the Flames’ sixth straight season-opening triumph and ninth in the last 10 years, boosting Liberty’s record in season openers to 28-25 all-time.
• Gives Liberty a program-record six-year streak of winning season openers, breaking the current record of winning five straight season-opening games (2004-08).
• Gives Liberty a win in its home opener for the sixth straight year and 12th out of the last 13. It pushes Liberty’s record in home openers to 32-6 at the Division I level and 7-1 at the FBS level.
• Keeps the home team undefeated in the Liberty-Maine football series, giving the Flames a 2-1 series advantage.
• Makes Liberty 10-0 vs. FCS opponents since joining the FBS ranks in 2018.
• Marks Liberty’s third straight victory over a CAA opponent, making the Flames 6-24 versus the league all-time.
• Gives Liberty a 38-7 record at Williams Stadium since joining the FBS in 2018.

 
Box Score Highlights:
Final Score: 28-7
Liberty (1-0, 0-0 CUSA)
Maine (0-1, 0-0 CAA)
Location: Williams Stadium (Lynchburg, Va.)
Attendance: 20,337
 
Play-By-Play Breakdown:
First Quarter

• Both teams went on extended drives on their first possessions of the game, but neither team could add points to the scoreboard during the first 15 minutes of play.
• The Flames’ 18-play, 47-yard drive chewed up over eight minutes of game clock (8:38), but an offensive pass interference call moved Liberty out of the red zone. Three plays later, Jay Billingsley missed his first field goal attempt as a Flames, as the Gardner-Webb transfer pushed a 37-yard attempt wide right.
• Maine’s 11-play, 42-yard drive got deep into Flames territory. The Black Bears elected to go for it on a fourth-and-three play from the Liberty 31-yard line. Nebraska transfer cornerback Damon Harmon was able to get behind the line of scrimmage to sack Maine’s quarterback and hand the ball back to the offense.

Second Quarter

• The Black Bears were the first team to find the end zone in the game, getting a 77-yard rushing touchdown by Sincere Baines at the 13:58 mark to give the visitors a 7-0 lead.
• The game’s first turnover allowed the Flames to knot the score just before halftime. CJ Bazile, Jr., sacked Maine quarterback Carter Peevey and the Joker recovered the loose ball. Vasko connected on his next three pass attempts, including a nine-yard strike to the end zone to Reese Smith, tying the game at 7-7 with seven seconds left in the half.  

Third Quarter

• Neither team could add points to the scoreboard during the third quarter, despite the two teams combining to tally 173 yards of total offense.

Fourth Quarter

• The Flames took their first lead of the 2025 season on a 24-yard touchdown pass play to Georgia Tech transfer Evan Dickens. The running back took a swing pass to the sidelines from Vasko and beat two defenders to the end zone, giving Liberty a 14-7 edge at the 10:24 mark.
• The Flames capped the fourth-quarter push with a pair of scores during the game’s final five minutes. Donte Lee, Jr., caught a 16-yard pass play from Vasko with 4:33 left to play, while the quarterback called his own number on a 13-yard scoring run at the 2:38 mark.

 
What’s Next:
Liberty will open Conference USA play against the defending conference champions next weekend. The Flames will travel to Jacksonville, Ala., to face off against the Jax State Gamecocks. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. CT/12 p.m. ET at Burgess-Snow Field at AmFirst Stadium.
     
Since the two teams joined Conference USA in 2023, the visiting team has won both series meetings. Liberty knocked off Jax State, 31-13, in Jacksonville in 2023, while the Gamecocks handled the Flames a 31-21 setback in Lynchburg in 2024.
 
Date: Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025
Location: Jacksonville, Ala. (Burgess-Snow Field at AmFirst Stadium)
TV: CBS Sports Network
Radio: LFSN Radio (Flagship Station: The Journey 88.3 FM Lynchburg)
Kickoff: 12:00 p.m. (EST)