Liberty Flames Erase Halftime Deficit, Beat Coastal Carolina 34-17

Liberty erased a seven-point halftime deficit to beat Coastal Carolina 34-17 at Brooks Stadium, outscoring the Chanticleers 24-0 over the final two quarters. The Flames finished with 485 total yards, powered by 263 rushing yards and 222 through the air, while Coastal Carolina managed 292 total yards.

Lead photo: Liberty quarterback Deshawn Purdie prepares to pass against Coastal Carolina. Photo: Jackson Reid.

Liberty opened the scoring on a 29-yard Chase Reeves field goal, and Coastal Carolina answered with a 41-yard field goal from Nico Cavanillas Alti to tie the game at 3-3. Liberty then took a 10-3 lead on a 58-yard touchdown pass from Deshawn Purdie to Makai Jackson. Coastal Carolina responded in the second quarter with a 24-yard touchdown pass from Deuce Bailey to Colton Hinton that tied the score at 10-10, and Bailey's 39-yard touchdown pass to Tristian Gardner with 24 seconds left in the half put the Chanticleers ahead 17-10 at the break. Liberty tied the game in the third quarter when Purdie found Jackson again, this time from 33 yards, and Reeves added a 24-yard field goal to put the Flames in front 20-17. In the fourth quarter, Ethan Vasko scored on an 8-yard run, and with 1:02 remaining Vasko threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Kam Davis to complete the scoring.

Purdie completed 11 of 16 passes for 216 yards and two touchdowns. Jackson caught five passes for 149 yards and both of Purdie's touchdown throws, including the 58-yard score. Davis led all rushers with 18 carries for 166 yards, including a 56-yard run, and also caught two passes for seven yards and a touchdown. Peyton Jones added 66 yards on 14 carries. Vasko contributed both through the air and on the ground, completing his only pass attempt for a touchdown and scoring on his lone carry.

Liberty's defense forced two interceptions off Bailey, one apiece by Elijah Hopkins and Jeremiah Vessel, and recorded four sacks, with Jeffrey Hairston Jr., Brenton Williams, Markus Clark and Kennedi Bailey each getting one. Ronald Moore Jr. led Liberty with eight total tackles. For Coastal Carolina, Bailey finished 17 of 34 for 213 yards with two touchdowns and the two interceptions, while Gardner caught four passes for 86 yards and a score. Marcellius Pulliam paced the Chanticleers with 12 tackles.

Liberty held the ball for 32 minutes, 41 seconds compared to 27:19 for Coastal Carolina and converted 4 of 9 third downs and its lone fourth-down attempt. The Flames lost two fumbles, while Coastal Carolina's two turnovers came on Bailey's interceptions. Reeves went 2 for 2 on field goals for Liberty, and Cavanillas Alti made his only field-goal attempt for Coastal Carolina.

Correction, September 25, 2026: Deuce Bailey completed 17 of 34 passes. An earlier version incorrectly assigned Coastal Carolina’s 35 team pass attempts to Bailey.