Saturday, September 12
Lynchburg, Va.
12:00 PM ET
Liberty University
1-1 , 0-0
24
vs
23
Gardner-Webb
0-3 , 0-0
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gardner-Webb | 6 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 23 |
| Liberty | 14 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 24 |
Liberty Opens Home Slate with Win over Gardner-Webb
9/12/2026 6:01:00 PM | Football
LYNCHBURG, Va. - Liberty scored on two of its first three offensive plays of the game and then needed a fourth-quarter touchdown to secure a 24-23 win over Gardner-Webb Saturday afternoon at Williams Stadium.
The game was moved up from a scheduled 6 p.m. kickoff due to the threat of inclement weather this evening.
With the victory, Liberty moves to 1-1 on the season and gives head coach Jamey Chadwell his 125th career coaching victory. The loss is the third in a row for Gardner-Webb to open 2026.
Following a 65-yard touchdown pass to Makai Jackson and a 20-yard rushing touchdown by Jaylon Coleman, Liberty was up 14-3 at the 8:48 mark of the first quarter.
However, the Gardner-Webb defense kept the Flames in check until they made a quarterback shift early in the fourth quarter.
Back-up quarterback Jaylen Henderson was given the offensive reins to start the fourth quarter, a 15-minute period that saw Liberty rack up 110 of its 379 total offensive yards on the day.
Nearly half of the yards came on the game's most significant play, as Henderson rolled out of the pocket and found Darius Copeland deep down the field wide open for a 54-yard touchdown play.
The West Virginia transfer's first touchdown pass as a Flame and Copeland's first career touchdown put the Flames up for good with 2:34 left to play in the contest.
Henderson completed 2-of-4 passing attempts for 64 yards. Starter Deshawn Purdie finished the day 6-of-17 for 122 yards and a touchdown, while getting sacked four times.
Liberty more than doubled its rushing yards in its second game of the 2026 season, finishing the day with 193 yards on 45 carries (4.3 yards per carry).
Peyton Jones led eight different rushers for the Flames, carrying the ball 13 times for 76 yards, while Kam Davis followed with 10 carries for 67 yards.
Liberty had three players finish the game with two receptions each (Jackson, Zeke Wimbush and Bryce Randolph). Jackson led the group with 69 receiving yards.
Jiquavious Marshall finished the game with a career-high seven tackles. One of his two pass breakups in the game came during Gardner-Webb's final drive as Liberty batted down three straight pass attempts from Runnin' Bulldogs quarterback Cole Pennington.
The Flames' win today:
Box Score Highlights:
Final Score: 24-23 (Liberty)
Liberty (1-1, 0-0 CUSA)
Gardner-Webb (0-3, 0-0 OVC)
Location: Williams Stadium (Harrisonburg, Va.)
Attendance: 15,708
Play-By-Play Breakdown:
First Quarter
What's Next:
Liberty closes out a two-game non-conference homestand next Saturday, when the Flames welcome Ball State to Williams Stadium during Family Weekend/College for a Weekend. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET.
The Flames will meet the Cardinals for the second time in program history and the first since Liberty made the move to the FBS level.
Liberty defeated Ball State, 27-23, in Muncie, Ind., on September 11, 2010, accounting for one of the Flames' five wins over an FBS team while still competing at the FCS level (joining Eastern Michigan/1989; Appalachian State/2014; Georgia State/2015; Baylor/2017).
Date: Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026
Location: Lynchburg, Va. (Williams Stadium)
TV: ESPN+
Radio: LFSN Radio (Flagship Station: The Journey 88.3 FM Lynchburg)
Kickoff: 4:00 p.m. (EST)
The game was moved up from a scheduled 6 p.m. kickoff due to the threat of inclement weather this evening.
With the victory, Liberty moves to 1-1 on the season and gives head coach Jamey Chadwell his 125th career coaching victory. The loss is the third in a row for Gardner-Webb to open 2026.
Following a 65-yard touchdown pass to Makai Jackson and a 20-yard rushing touchdown by Jaylon Coleman, Liberty was up 14-3 at the 8:48 mark of the first quarter.
However, the Gardner-Webb defense kept the Flames in check until they made a quarterback shift early in the fourth quarter.
Back-up quarterback Jaylen Henderson was given the offensive reins to start the fourth quarter, a 15-minute period that saw Liberty rack up 110 of its 379 total offensive yards on the day.
Nearly half of the yards came on the game's most significant play, as Henderson rolled out of the pocket and found Darius Copeland deep down the field wide open for a 54-yard touchdown play.
The West Virginia transfer's first touchdown pass as a Flame and Copeland's first career touchdown put the Flames up for good with 2:34 left to play in the contest.
Henderson completed 2-of-4 passing attempts for 64 yards. Starter Deshawn Purdie finished the day 6-of-17 for 122 yards and a touchdown, while getting sacked four times.
Liberty more than doubled its rushing yards in its second game of the 2026 season, finishing the day with 193 yards on 45 carries (4.3 yards per carry).
Peyton Jones led eight different rushers for the Flames, carrying the ball 13 times for 76 yards, while Kam Davis followed with 10 carries for 67 yards.
Liberty had three players finish the game with two receptions each (Jackson, Zeke Wimbush and Bryce Randolph). Jackson led the group with 69 receiving yards.
Jiquavious Marshall finished the game with a career-high seven tackles. One of his two pass breakups in the game came during Gardner-Webb's final drive as Liberty batted down three straight pass attempts from Runnin' Bulldogs quarterback Cole Pennington.
The Flames' win today:
- Gives the Flames a win in their home opener for the seventh straight year and 13th out of the last 14. It pushed Liberty's record in home openers to 32-6 at the Division I level and 8-1 at the FBS level.
- Makes the Flames 16-9-1 all-time against Gardner-Webb, giving Liberty wins in four straight meetings and 12 out of the last 13.
- Makes the Flames 11-0 against FCS opponents since joining the FBS ranks in 2018.
- Pushes the Flames' home winning streak against North Carolina opponents to 15 games.
- Keeps the Flames from starting a season at 0-2 for the first time since 2019.
- Enables the Flames to avoid their longest losing streak (six games) since the 2005 squad dropped 10 consecutive contests to end the season.
- Represents career win No. 125 for Jamey Chadwell and marks the third different team he has coached to victory over Gardner-Webb.
Box Score Highlights:
Final Score: 24-23 (Liberty)
Liberty (1-1, 0-0 CUSA)
Gardner-Webb (0-3, 0-0 OVC)
Location: Williams Stadium (Harrisonburg, Va.)
Attendance: 15,708
Play-By-Play Breakdown:
First Quarter
- Gardner-Webb won the coin toss and elected to receive to start the game. The Runnin' Bulldogs drove to the Liberty 24-yard line, but their eight-play, 56-yard drive stalled, and they were forced to settle for a 41-yard Tyler Simpson field goal at the 11:54 mark.
- The Flames scored on two of their first three offensive possessions of the game. Liberty got its first touchdown on a 65-yard pass play from Deshawn Purdie to Makai Jackson, where Jackson caught the ball at the 45-yard line, regained his balance on the sideline pass, and sprinted to the end zone at 11:07.
- Following a Brenton Williams sack and Lorenzo Payne fumble recovery, Jaylon Coleman took a pitch out to the left side and ran 20 yards for a touchdown, giving Liberty the quick 14-3 lead with 8:48 left in the quarter.
- Gardner-Webb nearly mirrored the opening drive, getting this time to the Liberty 18-yard line on an eight-play, 57-yard drive before settling for a 35-yard field goal from Simpson to keep the visitors within eight, 14-6, at 5:12.
- Turnovers on back-to-back plays allowed Gardner-Webb to pull within one, 14-13, at 9:11. Liberty's Jayden Davis intercepted a pass from Gardner-Webb quarterback Cole Pennington to give the Flames the ball.
- However, on the game's next play, Purdie and wide receiver Bryce Randolph mishandled a handoff and Runnin' Bulldogs defensive back Sabin McLauglin scooped up the loose ball and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown.
- Each team scored before the halftime intermission, giving the visitors a 20-17 edge at the break. GWU's Randy Young found a hole on the left side of the line and scored on a 65-yard touchdown run at 5:44, while Chase Reeves hit a 30-yard field goal for the Flames as time expired.
- The Runnin' Bulldogs pushed their lead back to six points, 23-17, late in the third quarter. Gardner-Webb pieced together its longest drive of the day (13 plays; 70 yards), where the Flames came up with a red zone stop and forced the visitors to settle for a 27-yard field goal by Simpson at the 2:34 mark.
- After taking over as quarterback at the beginning of the quarter, Henderson made his first touchdown pass at Liberty a memorable one. The sixth-year player rolled to his left and threw an off-balance 54-yard strike to Copeland to put the Flames up by one with 2:34 left to play in the contest.
- Pennington started the following drive with a 19-yard completion, but the redshirt senior's attempt to rally for the visitors was stopped when the Flames broke up his next three pass attempts to end the game.
What's Next:
Liberty closes out a two-game non-conference homestand next Saturday, when the Flames welcome Ball State to Williams Stadium during Family Weekend/College for a Weekend. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET.
The Flames will meet the Cardinals for the second time in program history and the first since Liberty made the move to the FBS level.
Liberty defeated Ball State, 27-23, in Muncie, Ind., on September 11, 2010, accounting for one of the Flames' five wins over an FBS team while still competing at the FCS level (joining Eastern Michigan/1989; Appalachian State/2014; Georgia State/2015; Baylor/2017).
Date: Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026
Location: Lynchburg, Va. (Williams Stadium)
TV: ESPN+
Radio: LFSN Radio (Flagship Station: The Journey 88.3 FM Lynchburg)
Kickoff: 4:00 p.m. (EST)
Players Mentioned
RB
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WR
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S
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RB
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QB
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WR
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RB
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CB
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DL
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QB
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WR
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K/P
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JK
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TE
/ FootballTeam Stats
GWU
LU
Total Yards
304
379
Pass Yards
186
186
Rushing Yards
118
193
Penalty Yards
27
96
1st Downs
23
18
3rd Downs
5
2
4th Downs
0
0
TOP
30:52
29:08
1st Quarter
GWU 3, LU 0
GWU - Simpson,Tyler 41 yd field goal 8 plays, 56 yards, TOP 03:02
GWU 3, LU 7
LU - Jackson,Makai 65 yd pass from Purdie,Deshawn (Reeves,Chase kick) 2 plays, 70 yards, TOP 00:40
GWU 3, LU 14
LU - Coleman,Jaylon 20 yd run (Reeves,Chase kick), 1 plays, 20 yards, TOP 00:07
GWU 6, LU 14
GWU - Simpson,Tyler 35 yd field goal 8 plays, 57 yards, TOP 03:36
2nd Quarter
GWU 13, LU 14
GWU - McLaughlin,Sabin 35 yd fumble recovery (Simpson,Tyler kick)
GWU 20, LU 14
GWU - Young,Randy 65 yd run (Bontekoe,Andrew kick), 3 plays, 71 yards, TOP 01:24
GWU 20, LU 17
LU - Reeves,Chase 30 yd field goal 9 plays, 68 yards, TOP 01:28
3rd Quarter
GWU 23, LU 17
GWU - Simpson,Tyler 27 yd field goal 13 plays, 70 yards, TOP 06:34
4th Quarter
GWU 23, LU 24
LU - Copeland,Darius 54 yd pass from Henderson,Jaylen (Reeves,Chase kick) 5 plays, 68 yards, TOP 02:39
Game Leaders
CMP
6
TD
1
YDS
122
INT
0
CMP
2
TD
1
YDS
64
INT
0
Thursday, September 17
Thursday, September 17
Thursday, September 17
Thursday, September 17