Liberty rolls past Kennesaw State 34-6 behind two Jaylon Coleman touchdowns

The Liberty Flames improved to 6-1 on Thursday night with a 34-6 win over Kennesaw State at Walens Family Field at Fifth Third Stadium in Kennesaw, Georgia. The Owls fell to 1-6.

Liberty went up 14-0 in the first quarter and never let Kennesaw State closer than 11 points. The Owls scored only on field goals of 37 and 28 yards by Daniel Kinney.

Coleman's big night

Jaylon Coleman scored twice. His 56-yard catch from Deshawn Purdie with 53 seconds left in the first quarter made it 14-0. He added a 9-yard touchdown run with 1:37 left in the third for a 24-3 lead. He finished with four catches for 64 yards and five carries for 22 yards.

Kam Davis opened the scoring with a 1-yard run in the first quarter and finished with 59 yards on nine carries. Terron Kellman put the game away with a 2-yard touchdown run with 5:26 to play, capping an 11-play, 70-yard drive that took 7:19.

Purdie went 10-of-19 for 176 yards and a touchdown. Jaylen Henderson went 2-of-2 for 11 yards. Jamari Person led the Flames with four catches for 72 yards.

Ground game and field goals

Liberty ran for 215 yards on 41 carries, 5.2 yards per rush, and finished with 402 total yards to Kennesaw State's 297. The Flames held the ball for 37:05 and did not turn it over.

Chase Reeves was 2-of-2 on field goals, hitting from 30 yards in the third quarter and 49 yards early in the fourth, and made all four extra points.

Defense takes the ball away

The Flames intercepted Rickie Collins twice, with Ashton McShane and Derrell Farrar each recording a pick. Kennesaw State also turned the ball over on downs twice. The Owls were 6-of-17 on third down and ran for just 62 yards, 2.3 per carry.

Kam Cullins had a sack, and Brenton Williams had 0.5 sacks and two tackles for loss. Jayden Davis led Liberty with nine tackles. Baron Hopson had 12 tackles for Kennesaw State.

Kennesaw State threw for 235 yards, but Collins managed only 124 on 15-of-26 passing. Landon Varnes went 9-of-15 for 111 yards.

Liberty was flagged 12 times for 85 yards, compared with four penalties for 32 yards for the Owls.

Next up

Liberty returns home to face Florida International on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026, at 3:30 p.m. ET.