Football Drops Game To Liberty, 27-23

MUNCIE, Ind. - The Ball State football team dropped its first game of the season Saturday evening as the Cardinals suffered a 27-23 defeat to visiting Liberty at Scheumann Stadium. The Cardinals rallied from a 14-3 first half deficit to take a second half lead before Liberty scored the go ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter.

"You have to make plays if you want to win," head coach Stan Parrish said. "We dug ourselves in a big hole but we made a great comeback. We made a couple of good plays late, drove it down but could not get it done at the end. Liberty is a good football team, I tried to tell everyone that this week. Their team could certainly compete in the Mid-American Conference."

Ball State (1-1) passed for 193 yards in the loss with freshman quarterback Keith Wenning (Coldwater, Ohio/Coldwater) coming on in relief and going 13-of-18 for 129 yards and a touchdown in his first substantial work. The Cardinals gained more yards through the air (193) than on the ground (145) for the first time in nine games, dating back to last season's contest at Temple (10/10/09).

Liberty (2-0) opened the scoring early after Ball State's initial three-and-out possession. The Flames drove 79 yards on 11 plays to take a 7-0 lead. Liberty quarterback Mike Brown completed a 21-yard touchdown pass to Chris Summers for the first score of the game. The drive was highlighted by a big third down conversion as Brown completed a 34-yard pass to Ervin Garner to keep the drive alive.

Ball State answered back on the ensuing possession as it drove 64 yards in nine plays, capped by an Ian McGarvey (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove) 28-yard field goal to narrow the gap to 7-3. The drive was highlighted by a Kelly Page (Sunnyvale, Texas/Mesquite) 21-yard pass to tight end Zane Fakes (Plainfield, Ind./Plainfield) and a 26-yard rush by MiQuale Lewis (Fort Wayne, Ind./Snider).

Liberty extended its lead to 14-3 with its second possession of the contest. The Flames drove 69 yards for their second touchdown. Running back SirChauncey Holloway found the end zone as he ran in from four yards out to send Liberty into the locker room with an 11-point lead.

Ball State came out of the locker room in the second half and quickly narrowed the gap to 14-10, courtesy of its defense. On the first play from scrimmage in the second half, Brown's pass was intercepted by cornerback Charlie Todd (Bear, Del./Howard) and returned 36 yards for a touchdown. The interception was the second of Todd's career and the Cardinals' first interception returned for a touchdown since Trey Lewis (11/25/08 vs. Western Michigan).

The Cardinals kept the momentum on the ensuing possession as the defense held the Flames to a field goal attempt. Matt Bevins lined up for a 50-yard field goal but safety Sean Baker (Canfield, Ohio/Canfield) rose up and blocked the kick. Jason Pinkston (Cleveland, Ohio/Glenville) grabbed the loose ball and returned it 22 yards into Liberty territory. The blocked field goal was the Cardinals' first since Todd accomplished the feat against Temple (10/10/09).

Ball State quickly turned the miscue into points behind the arm of Wenning. He connected twice on the drive with Aaron Mershman (Bowling Green, Ohio/Bowling Green), including a 15 yard touchdown pass to give BSU its first lead of the night at 17-14.

Liberty came right back on the next possession and retook the lead as it answered with a big play of its own. On its third play of the drive, Brown completed a 65-yard pass to Summers for his second touchdown pass of the game to go in front 21-17.

The Cardinals continued the see-saw affair as Eric Williams (Indianapolis, Ind./Warren Central) returned the following kickoff 43 yards and took advantage of a Liberty personal foul to start the drive at the 27-yard line in Liberty territory. Sykes moved the ball into the red zone as he ran 22 yards to set up a first-and-goal. The Liberty defense held and forced a 22-yard field goal by McGarvey to pull the Cardinals within one at 21-20.

Ball State saw its defense stiffen on the next possession as Baker stepped in front a Brown pass for his 11^th career interception. The Cardinals drove into the red zone and took their second lead of the evening as McGarvey hit a 21-yard field goal to take a 23-21 lead. The field goal was McGarvey's third of the night, tying his single-game record.

Liberty answered the call and took the lead back late in the fourth quarter. The Flames drove 74 yards for their fourth touchdown of the evening. Brown capped the drive as he ran in from one yard out to take a 27-23 lead with 4:55 remaining in regulation.

Ball State got the ball with 4:47 left in the fourth quarter needing a touchdown to take home the victory. The Cardinals drove into Liberty's territory as Williams ran for 18 yards. BSU had a touchdown opportunity in the final minute, but Wenning's pass into the end zone fell incomplete. The Cardinals last chance came on a fourth-and-two from the 26-yard line but Wenning was sacked by Asa Chapman to end the threat and turn the ball over on downs.

Baker paced the Cardinals' defense as he notched 4.5 tackles, two interceptions and blocked a field goal. He has now tallied 12 interceptions during his career and the game was his third multiple-interception contest of his career.

Brown led Liberty to victory as he tallied 363 total yards of offense and three touchdowns. He connected on 24-of-38 for 267 yards through the air while running for 87 yards on 18 carries. Summers posted 146 yards receiving on 11 catches and two touchdowns.

Ball State returns to action Saturday afternoon when it travels to Big Ten foe Purdue. Kickoff is set for noon in West Lafayette, Ind.

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Team Stats

Keith Wenning

Kelly Page

Briggs Orsbon

Eric Williams

Players Mentioned

Sean Baker

Zane Fakes

MiQuale Lewis

Trey Lewis

Ian McGarvey

Aaron Mershman

Kelly Page

Jason Pinkston

Charlie Todd

Keith Wenning

Eric Williams

Players Mentioned

Sean Baker

Zane Fakes

MiQuale Lewis

Trey Lewis

Ian McGarvey

Aaron Mershman

Kelly Page

Jason Pinkston

Charlie Todd

Keith Wenning

Eric Williams