Army jumps out to 24-0 lead, finishes off Liberty 31-16 for fourth win in a row

Army and Liberty played the ultimate game of tag on Saturday.

Army was tasked with chasing down the ever-elusive Malik Willis, a top quarterback prospect for the 2022 NFL Draft. The defense managed to catch him for five sacks and hurried him or chased him out of the pocket enough to prompt many of his 22 incompletions.

Liberty coach Hugh Freeze felt the pressure, too. He realized Army is tops in the nation for ball possession and that would limit the Flames’ opportunities to score. So that’s why he went against the book and had the Flames run fourth down-and-long yardage plays near midfield four times in the first half, and they all failed.

The ensuing short fields allowed Army to produce an opening field goal and three subsequent touchdowns for a 24-0 halftime lead. The Black Knights tacked on a touchdown to open the third quarter and withstood the heroic efforts of Willis for a 31-16 victory at Williams Stadium in Lynchburg, Virginia.

Army (8-3) has won four in a row and has two weeks off ahead of its rivalry showdown with Navy on Dec. 11. Liberty (7-5) finished its regular season with three consecutive setbacks. Both teams are bowl-bound and should hear about their respective postseason matchups this week.

For Army, the win streak is about maintaining a pledge made after a 70-56 loss to Wake Forest to, in essence, start the season over.

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“We’re going to do what we came to do, which is win,’’ said junior fullback Jakobi Buchanan. “To come out here and just get it done, it feels great.’’

Buchanan was the workhorse, posting career-highs with 22 carries and three touchdowns. He ran untouched for a 19-yard score early in the second quarter. He tacked on 1-yard scores in the second and third quarters, the latter for a 31-3 lead. It was the fourth time he has posted a multiple-TD game and the third time this season. Buchanan rushed for 80 yards and extended his career-long streak of no negative-yardage plays to 233, though he came mighty close on his final carry of the day.

Senior quarterback Christian Anderson responded well to his least-accurate throwing effort against Massachusetts with a 3-for-4 afternoon. He found Braheam Murphy for a 34-yard score in the first quarter, the receiver’s third touchdown among five receptions this season. “I came off the fake, I saw him wide open and I just tried to put it on him. He made a great play and a great catch,’’ Anderson said. He also hit Tyrell Robinson for a 50-yard reception to the Liberty 3, setting up Buchanan’s second score.

“The guys did a great job getting touchdowns,’’ said Army coach Jeff Monken, “and getting that lead was the difference in the game.’’

Bo-Nicolas Paul and Jabari Moore posted interceptions. Arik Smith and Nolan Cockrill were credited with 1.5 sacks apiece and Leo Lowin and Jaylen Jacobs each had one. Moore led with nine tackles and Smith added seven. Senior Zach Harding hit four punts inside the opponent 20-yard line, including one downed at the Liberty 1 by Fabrice Voyne, and averaged 47.5 yards.

Liberty turned the ball over on downs near midfield on its first four possessions. Willis overthrew Kevin Shaa on a deep route from the Army 49. Punter Max Morgan floated a pass on a fake attempt that Nicolas-Paul was able to step in front for an interception. Willis was flushed on a blitz that allowed Smith to make a sack for a 16-yard loss. Willis could not complete a jump pass to Joshua Mack. Army scored following all four failed Liberty drives for the 24-0 lead.

“You have to go for some (conversions) against this team because of the way they eat the clock up,’’ Freeze said at halftime.

When the video review is made on Sunday at West Point, it’s hard to guess whether the Army defense can manage to laugh about the numerous missed tackle attempts on Willis or just nod in praise of his escape maneuvers.

“That’s a very talented quarterback … I can’t say enough about that,’’ Smith said. “He had very good lateral movement. You think you have him dead to rights and then he’s off to some other place.’’

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Willis did manage to complete 24 of his 46 attempts for 305 yards but the pressures and hurries had a positive effect.

“One hundred percent,’’ Smith said. “When the quarterback’s on the move, they’re definitely most likely not going to be accurate. I think that showed a little bit today. It was good to have a pass rush.’’

Willis was also undone by about a half-dozen drops by his receivers. Willis split two defenders and delivered a 14-yard scoring pass to Noah Frith with 4:35 left in the third. Willis looked for a receiver before tucking the ball for a 7-yard sprint up the middle to pull the Flames within 31-16 headed into the fourth.

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Willis drove the Flames from their 1-yard line to the Army 25 only to follow with four incompletions – Moore broke up one play, receivers dropped two at or in the end zone and the quarterback was inaccurate on a fourth-down play. Willis threw the pick to Moore on his final play and while the teams talked trash and tussled on the sideline Willis threw a punch to the back of the head of Nicolas-Paul but it was not flagged.

kmcmillan@th-record.com

Twitter: @KenMcMillanTHR

This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Army defeats Liberty University 31-16 for fourth straight win