LYNCHBURG, VA. – Kaiden Salter passed for 242 yards and two touchdowns, adding 48 more yards on the ground, helping Liberty defeat Campbell 41-24 in Saturday's season opener at Williams Stadium.
The preseason Conference USA favorite Flames (1-0) led 17-10 at the break, outscoring the visiting Fighting Camels (0-1) 24-14 in the second half for the 17-point win. The game was the head coaching debut of
Braxton Harris at Campbell.
Campbell led 10-7 after
Sincere Brown's 36-yard TD reception from
Chad Mascoe, Jr. with 11:33 on the clock in the second quarter.
After a short severe weather delay, Colin Karhu then knotted the game with a 25-yard field goal and Treon Sibley made it 17-10 Flames, breaking a tackle for a 70-yard touchdown reception from Salter with 1:04 on the clock.
Another Karhu field goal along with Salter's second passing score, plus a pair of Flame touchdowns wrapped around a
Mark Biggins punch-in TD gave Liberty its largest lead at 41-17. LU outgained Campbell 133-22 in the fourth quarter before
Allen Mitchell's two-yard touchdown run gave the game its final score.
Salter completed 16-of-23 passes for the Flames, including five completions to Sibley, who tallied 109 yards with a TD. Elijah Canion added three catches for 77 yards, while Quinton Cooley rushed for a game-high 110 yards and a touchdown, as Liberty rolled up 533 yards of total offense, including 279 on the ground.
Teylor Jackson posted seven tackles for the Flames, while A'Khori Jones picked up five stops, including 2.0 tackles for loss.
Campbell was led by Brown's five catches for a career-high 126 yards and a TD, while Biggins rushed eight times for 81 yards and a score. Mascoe, meanwhile, registered 180 yards with a touchdown on 10-of-17 passing.
Jojo Pace notched a game and career-high 14 tackles to lead the Campbell defense, one of three Camels with double digit tackles on the night.
Paul Hutson III also registered 11 stops with a sack, while
CJ Tillman piled in 10 stops and a forced fumble.
Next up, the Camels will head to No. 20 Western Carolina on September 7 before opening CAA play at Rhode Island on September 14. Campbell makes its home debut on September 21, hosting Stony Brook in the first of six dates at Barker-Lane Stadium.
Season, single game and mini-plan ticket options for the 2024 football season are available at
GoCamels.com/Tickets and by phone through the CU Athletics Ticket Office, at 1-877-GO-HUMPS.
Gallery: (8-31-2024) Campbell at Liberty
