#11 Brayden Munroe and several other Owls receivers lined up before the play, Oct. 22, 2026. Photo by Jackson Louneoubonh
A quick 14-0 start for Liberty in the first quarter turned out to be all it needed on the way to a 34-6 rout over Kennesaw State on Thursday at Walens Family Field at Fifth Third Stadium.
The Flames were led by a relentless run game, finishing with 215 yards and getting 10 different backs in the box score.
“I feel like defense was on the field way too long,” Owls coach Jerry Mack said. “They just got wore down, to be honest with you.”
LU went on a lengthy drive to get itself going on offense, moving 85 yards down the field on 11 plays. The Flames got in the end zone on a 1-yard run by Kam Davis.
After trading punts, LU found the end zone again when quarterback Deshawn Purdie hit a wide open Jaylon Coleman down the field for a 56-yard score in the final minute of the opening quarter.
Offenses on both sides were stagnant in the second quarter until KSU began moving the ball for the first time of the night on its last drive of the half.
The Owls used the hurry-up offense to march from their own 15-yard line to the edge of the Flames’ red zone before Boogie Woods III was stuffed on third-and-one.
KSU elected to take the field goal from Daniel Kinney instead of going for it on fourth down and trying to extend the drive.
“I wanted points,” Mack said. “At the end of the day, those guys put the ball all the way down the field, and we didn’t really feel good about some things. We had some guys that were a little banged up down the stretch, and at the end of the day, I want to try to get as many points for our football team as possible.”
In the second half, Owls backup quarterback Landon Varnes got significant playing time after Rickie Collins struggled mightily to start the third quarter, throwing interceptions on back to back drives.
Varnes finished with 111 yards and completed nine of his 15 passes.
“Thought Landon did a good job at executing,” Mack said. “He made some plays down the stretch. Was really proud of how he came in the game and gave us a little spark there at the very end.”
Following Collins’ second interception, LU extended its lead on a 9-yard run from Coleman for his second touchdown of the night.
The Flames scored once more on a 2-yard rush from Terron Kellman late in the fourth quarter.
With the loss, KSU falls to 1-6 on the year and 0-3 in Conference USA play, still in search of its first win since the week one shutout over West Georgia.
“Executional offense was some of the worst I’ve probably ever seen in my coaching career (Thursday),” Mack said. “Overall, just not a really good performance on no side of the ball.”
