Liberty Football: A Coming of Age

Anticipation, excitement, and highexpectationsfilledeveryone'sheartas the 1989LibertyUniversityfootballteamburstontothesceneinearlySeptember. The sense of a new era in football pervaded Liberty U. as a new stadium was completed;anationallyrecognizedcoachwasinstalled,accompanied bynational media exposure; and anexperienced 8-3squad was returning, seemingly primed foranoutstanding yearandperhaps thenational playoffs.

The Flames opened up theyear convincingly with easy wins over Edinboro andMorehead Stateontheirway tothebeststarteveratLU,6-0.Then,nationally rankedJMUcametoLynchburg onlytobedropped fromtherankingsbyLU.The followingweek,nationallyrankedEasternIllinoiswasambushed byLiberty'slast minute heroics. Thenew Kardiac Kids then upset touted Division I-AEastern Michiganinanunforgettable contest and then opened Willard May Stadium with aneasy Homecoming victory over Towson State. Butthelast four games produced aneasywin forKutztown University sandwiched between lossesatCentralFlorida,thenYoungstownStateand the bitter lasthome game lossagainst a powerful Southwest MissouriStatesquad.

All-American candidates Paul Johnson, quarterback,and Eric Green,tight end,ledan explosive offense while ail-American candidate Donald Smith,cornerback,anchored ahard-hittingdefense. Undoubtedly,thisyear'ssquad delivered onthose earlyexpectationsdespitefallingpainfullyshort of theplayoffsandanyhopes ofaDivision 1-AAnationalchampionship. However,theFlames would finishtheyearat 7-3under newcoach Sam Rutigli- providing LU fansonCandlers Mountainand throughout thewhole country withanoutstanding yearchockedfullofmemoriesand stamped withthe sealthatLibertyfootballwas for real.

Paul Jimenez