Massachusetts Drops Overtime Heartbreaker To Liberty, 35-34

Don Brown Postgame Presser

AMHERST, Mass. – The University of Massachusetts football fell in overtime, 35-34, to Liberty University on Saturday afternoon at McGuirk Alumni Stadium (9,115).

With the score tied at 28-28 and time winding down in the fourth, Massachusetts put together a defensive stand to get the ball back at the 1:44 mark. The Minutemen then drove 65 yards in order to attempt a 43-yard field goal as time expired, but the potential game winner flashed just wide. In overtime, UMass got the ball first and scored on two plays but missed the point after try before Liberty scored and converted the PAT to secure the win.

Quarterbacks AJ Hairston and Ahmad Haston filled in for injured starter Taisun Phommachanh with Hairston completing 13-of-25 passes for 163 yards on the day, including a career-long pass of 32 yards. Haston ran for 62 yards on six carries. Both Hairston and Haston recorded their first career rushing touchdowns.

Also on the ground, Jalen John had a career-high 119 yards on 15 carries while registering his first career multi-touchdown game with two. CJ Hester added 51 yards on 10 carries and Brandon Campbell had eight attempts for 23 yards.

Jakobie Keeney-James hauled in six passes for the Minutemen, matching a career-high total, for 75 yards, followed by T.Y. Harding with three catches for 59 yards. Dominick Mazotti added 24 yards receiving on two catches and had an important two-point conversion grab with 7:08 left in the fourth quarter.

On defense, Gerrell Johnson tallied 10 total tackles for the second straight contest, marking the first time a Minuteman had had back-to-back 10-tackle games since Cole McCubrey in 2019 (12 at Rutgers on Aug. 30 and 11 vs. Southern Illinois on Sept. 7).

Christian LeBrun and Kofi Asare each had one sack for 10 yards and four yards, respectively, while Lake Ellis and Jerrod Cameron posted one tackle-for-loss apiece. Asare forced a fumble and had a fumble recovery for the first time in his career, while Te'Rai Powell came away with his second career interception.

How It Happened

The Minutemen started out with a 10-play, 77-yard scoring drive capped off by a Jalen John nine-yard touchdown run with 9:20 on the clock. The drive also featured a 17-yard rush from CJ Hester.

On Liberty's first drive of the game, the Flames were unable to move into Massachusetts' territory. A third-and-nine saw a 51-yard pass from Kaidon Salter that was negated by a holding penalty to repeat the third down from Liberty's own 26. Te'Rai Powell came up with the interception at the 50-yard line to start another UMass drive at 5:30 on the game clock.

The Flames continued their drive to begin the second quarter and were forced to punt on a fourth-and-six from the UMass 41, as it bounced out of bounds at UMass' 10-yard line. The next possession for Massachusetts was completed with a 22-yard field goal attempt from Jacob Lurie that was good to give the Minutemen a 10-0 lead. In the 13-play, 86 yard drive, Ahmad Haston recorded a 14-yard run, while T.Y. Harding caught a 32-yard pass from AJ Hairston.

Liberty got on the board to make it a three-point game with 5:01 on the clock. The Flames Quinton Cooley marked a 27 yard run up the middle on a first-and-10 from the UMass 38, before he added an 11-yard rush left into the endzone.

With a second-and-seven on UMass' next drive, Haston rushed to the left for 19 yards to move the Minuteman into Liberty's zone. A penalty on Liberty helped Massachusetts to a second-and-eight situation, as the Hairston threw a pass for 12 yards to Harding for the first down. The nine-play, 51-yard drive play was capped by a 43-yard field goal made by Lurie to push the Minutemen ahead 13-7.

UMass added another six points and Lurie punched the extra point through the uprights with 10 seconds left in the first half to take a 20-7 lead. John put together a 15-yard run, before Hairston ran in for a two-yard touchdown.

The Flames tacked on seven points of their own to start the third quarter to cut UMass' lead to six with an 11-play, 82-yard drive that took four minutes and 51 seconds off the clock. Liberty took a one-point lead at 21-20 to start the fourth quarter, as a six-yard rush from Cooley concluded a 12-play, 89-yard drive at the 13:09 mark.

Massachusetts reclaimed the lead on its next possession, marching down the field from its own 25-yard line. On a third-and 10 from the Liberty 30, a face mask penalty on the Flames, placed the Minutemen on the 10-yard line for a first-and-goal. Haston had a two-yard run for his first career rushing touchdown.

After Liberty began its drive at 7:08, Billy Lucas rushed for 34 yards into UMass territory. A false start on a third-and-two pushed the Flames back five yards, but a pass interference call on the Minutemen on a fourth down, gave Liberty the first down. Salter ran the ball for one yard for the touchdown, while the extra point from Colin Karhu was good to tie the game up at 28-28.

With three seconds remaining in the fourth, Lurie attempted a 43-yard field goal, that was no good to force the two teams into overtime.

Liberty won the toss and elected to defend first in the first overtime. John ran 23 yards to the two-yard line, before running up the middle for the touchdown, giving UMass a 34-28 lead.

The Flames started their drive with a five-yard rushing touchdown and a good extra point attempt that provided Liberty the 35-34 advantage.

Notes

Josh Atwood, Te'Rai Powell and Tyler Rudolph served as the Massachusetts captains.
Among the Salute to Service initiatives, there was a pregame F-15 flyover and World War II veterans Brigadier General Enoch "Woody" Woodhouse and Dick Jackson, a 1949 UMass grad, were honored.
Woodhouse was part of the famed Tuskegee Airmen and received the Congressional Gold Medal for distinguished achievements and contributions, from President George W. Bush in 2006.
A veteran from the U.S. Army 100th Infantry Division, Jackson received the highest civilian honor from France, the Legion of Honor, in recognition of assisting with the liberation of France from Germany in World War II.
Sophomore quarterback Ahmad Haston made his first career start.
Jalen John rushed for a nine-yard touchdown on the game's opening drive, marking his second touchdown of the season/of his career.
The John touchdown also marked the second time this season the Minutemen scored a touchdown on their opening possession (versus Central Connecticut State on Sept. 21).
With Liberty facing a third and 26, Te'Rai Powell snagged his second interception of the year at 5:30 of the first quarter.
With 10 seconds remaining in the second quarter, AJ Hairston had a two-yard rushing touchdown, marking the first rushing TD in his career
CJ Kolodziey posted a 71-yard punt late in the third quarter to match his career high (also had a 71-yard punt at Buffalo this season on Sept. 14).
Haston punched in a two-yard touchdown rush at 7:08 of the fourth quarter, marking his first career rushing touchdown.
Gerrell Johnson tallied 10 total tackles for the second time this season (at Mississippi State on Nov. 2).
Johnson became the first Minuteman since the 2019 season to register 10-plus tackles in back-to-back games, joining Cole McCubrey (12 at Rutgers on Aug. 30 and vs. Southern Illinois on Sept. 7).

Next Up
Massachusetts takes on Georgia next Saturday at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia, at 12:45 p.m. (SECN).

– UMassAthletics.com –

Scoreboard

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Team Stats

AJ Hairston

Players Mentioned

Kofi Asare

Josh Atwood

Jerrod Cameron

Brandon Campbell

Lake Ellis

AJ Hairston

T.Y. Harding

Ahmad Haston

CJ Hester

Jalen John

Gerrell Johnson

Jakobie Keeney-James

CJ Kolodziey

Christian LeBrun

Jacob Lurie

Dominick Mazotti

Taisun Phommachanh

Te'Rai Powell

Tyler Rudolph

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics