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University of Massachusets Athletics
University of Massachusetts
3-8 , 0-0
Liberty
11-0 , 7-0
Massachusetts Football Falls At #25 Liberty
November 18, 2023 | Football
Campiotti caught a career-high two touchdowns.
LYNCHBURG, Va. – The University of Massachusetts football team fell 49-25 to #25 Liberty on Saturday afternoon at Williams Stadium (16,860).
Redshirt senior tight end Gino Campiotti recorded a career-best two touchdown receptions on the day, while Kaidon Salter had four touchdowns for Liberty (11-0).
Massachusetts quarterback Taisun Phommachanh threw for 239 yards on 22-for-38 passing with one touchdown, while Ahmad Haston completed all three of his passes for 54 yards with a touchdown. Campiotti tallied five catches for 85-yards, including a 30-yard touchdown catch from Haston. Mark Pope led the way in receiving yards with 90 on six catches. Kay'Ron Lynch-Adams rushed for 92 yards, including a 23-yard touchdown run, on 17 carries.
For the UMass defense, five Minutemen led the way with a team-high six tackles, as Te'Rai Powell had six solo takedowns. JB Brown and Louce Julien had one tackle for loss each, while Jordan Mahoney and Gerrell Johnson combined for a TFL. Johnson came up with his first career interception and forced a fumble.
How It Happened
Liberty scored on the first drive of the game on a Kaidon Salter one-yard rushing touchdown. Massachusetts was putting together a drive in response, but after making a third down grab, George Johnson III was stripped of the ball. The Flames recovered and converted that turnover into another touchdown for a 14-0 lead midway through the first quarter.
A 60-yard rush by Quinton Colley capped a two-play, 69-yard drive for the Flames to make it a 21-0 game to complete the first. Liberty went 93-yards on 12 plays to extend its lead to 28-0 at the 8:48 mark of the second quarter. Taisun Phommachanh completed a 14-yard pass to Anthony Simpson to begin UMass' drive, before a 17-yard run up the middle by Kay'Ron Lynch-Adams gave the Minutemen a first down on Liberty's 40-yard line. Phommachanh connected with Johnson III for a 17-yard reception to move the chains. A 23-yard rush into the endzone by Lynch-Adams with a made PAT attempt by Cameron Carson put UMass on the board, 28-7.
The Flames added to their score with another rushing touchdown from Salter with a little over four minutes left in the first half. Phommachanh completed a 25-yard pass to Greg Desrosiers, Jr., at the start of the drive and found Simpson for a 15-yard completion for a first down. Lynch-Adams rushed for 14-yards, before a two-yard run put UMass in field goal position. Carson kicked the ball through the uprights from 35-yards out with 45 seconds remaining to make it a 28-10 contest. Liberty started its drive at the 39 second mark that came to a halt on an interception by Gerrell Johnson.
The third quarter saw Liberty score on a 62-yard interception return and tacked on another seven points in the fourth quarter. A drive starting at 14:20 for UMass included a 43-yard reception by Mark Pope on a 3rd-and-3 from the Massachusetts 32-yard line. On a 2nd-and-12 from the Liberty 27, Phommachanh completed a 27-yard pass to Gino Campiotti for his second receiving touchdown of the season. A successful two-point conversion brought the score to 49-18. Campiotti recorded his second touchdown of the day for a 30-yard reception with 56 seconds left, making it a 49-25 game.
Notes
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Billy Wooden and Josh Atwood served as the Massachusetts captains for the 11th consecutive game, while quarterback Taisun Phommachanh was a captain for the fifth game in a row.
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Kay'Ron Lynch-Adams posted his 10th rushing touchdown of the season to set the season-best mark in Massachusetts' FBS era, passing Marquis Young (9 rushing TDs in 2017 and 2018).
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Lynch-Adams added 92 yards to his rushing total for the season to close the gap on the top rushing season in the FBS Era (yards):
1,138 – Ellis Merriweather (2018)
1,106 – Kay'Ron Lynch-Adams (2023) -
Anthony Simpson totaled 48 yards receiving on the day to move his season total to 685, which moved him to ninth in UMass' FBS era (seventh among wide receivers):
1,698 – Andy Isabella (2018)
1,319 – Tajae Sharpe (2015)
1,281 – Tajae Sharpe (2014)
1,020 – Andy Isabella (2017)
808 – Adam Breneman (2016/TE)
801 – Andy Isabella (2016)
764 – Adam Breneman (2017/TE)
680 – Tajae Sharpe (2013)
685 – Anthony Simpson (2023)
642 – Jean Sifrin (2014/TE) -
Gerell Johnson recorded his first career interception in his 39th career game.
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Gino Campiotti caught two touchdown passes on the day, marking his second and third of the season/of his career (he also has three rushing touchdowns and a passing touchdown in his two seasons at UMass).
Next Up
Massachusetts closes out the season at noon on Saturday, November 25, for a Senior Day rivalry matchup against Connecticut at McGuirk Alumni Stadium (ESPN+). For tickets, click here.
Team Stats
MAS 0, LIB 7
LIB - Salter,Kaidon 1 yd run (Brown,Nick kick), 10 plays, 75 yards, TOP 04:13
MAS 0, LIB 14
LIB - Henderson,Austin 13 yd pass from Salter,Kaidon (Brown,Nick kick) 4 plays, 40 yards, TOP 01:41
MAS 0, LIB 21
LIB - Cooley,Quinton 60 yd run (Brown,Nick kick), 2 plays, 69 yards, TOP 00:48
MAS 0, LIB 28
LIB - Lucas,Billy 4 yd run (Brown,Nick kick), 12 plays, 93 yards, TOP 05:30
MAS 7, LIB 28
MAS - Adams,Kay'Ron 23 yd run (Carson,Cameron kick), 5 plays, 71 yards, TOP 01:52
MAS 7, LIB 35
LIB - Salter,Kaidon 12 yd run (Brown,Nick kick), 6 plays, 75 yards, TOP 02:22
MAS 10, LIB 35
MAS - Carson,Cameron 35 yd field goal 11 plays, 58 yards, TOP 03:32
MAS 10, LIB 42
LIB - Hodge,Preston 62 yd interception (Brown,Nick kick)
MAS 10, LIB 49
LIB - Henderson,Austin 5 yd pass from Salter,Kaidon (Beck,Brayden kick) 8 plays, 70 yards, TOP 04:51
MAS 18, LIB 49
MAS - Campiotti,Gino 27 yd pass from Phommachanh,Taisun (Desrosiers,Gregory pass) 5 plays, 75 yards, TOP 02:04
MAS 25, LIB 49
MAS - Campiotti,Gino 30 yd pass from Haston,Ahmad (Carson,Cameron kick) 3 plays, 54 yards, TOP 01:12
