Flames pushed to overtime, down FIU 31-24 behind Bodnar's big hit (2024)

When regulation wasn't enough to determine a winner between Liberty and Florida International on Tuesday night, Jamey Chadwell didn't see a lack of confidence on his sideline after the Flames squandered a 14-point fourth-quarter lead.

Instead, he saw a renewed focus before the overtime period, he said. And then he saw his team win the game in a matter of seven plays.

After Kaidon Salter capped off a four-play overtime drive with a 9-yard touchdown, Liberty defensive back Christian Bodnar called game on the Panthers' third offensive play.

The safety came flying in on a blitz and slammed into FIU quarterback Keyone Jenkins, sending the ball onto the turf and then into the grasp of linebacker Jerome Jolly. A brief review confirmed it, and Liberty (5-0, 3-0 CUSA) escaped the midweek thriller with a 31-24 overtime victory.

"We got into overtime," Chadwell said, "and nobody on that sideline had any doubt. They knew they were going to win.

"I think the other sideline was hoping. We were knowing. There's a big difference in that."

The game was sent into overtime when Liberty left the door open after building a 24-10 lead early in the fourth quarter. FIU threw for 95 yards in the fourth, and added two rushing touchdowns to draw even with less than 2 minutes to go.

A crucial three-and-out for negative yards, which included two Salter incompletions and burned 57 seconds off the clock, gave FIU (2-4, 1-1) the ball back with 5:26. The Panthers scored the game-tying touchdown on that drive.

"We messed up and we didn't give [running back Quinton Cooley] the ball," Chadwell said. "So that's not wise."

Cooley was effective for much of the night for Liberty. The bruising back toted the ball 29 times for 174 yards and two touchdowns.

"Feel fresh," he said after the game. "It ain't beat me up."

His first touchdown of the night tied the game at 10 after the teams traded first-quarter field goals and then FIU benefitted from a forced fumble by Liberty.

Panthers running back Lexington Joseph carried the ball from Liberty's 17-yard-line down inside the 5 on the first play of the second quarter when cornerback Dexter Ricks punched the ball out of his arms. Receiver Dean Patterson fell on the loose ball in the end zone to give FIU a 10-3 lead.

The Flames erased that with Cooley's first score on the ensuing drive, one in which he carried the ball nine times for 48 yards. His workload increased because of a late injury to Billy Lucas, Chadwell said.

Cooley's first touchdown was the start of 21 unanswered points for the Flames. They scored in the closing seconds of the first half on a dynamic run by Salter, shedding tacklers and bulldozing a Panthers tackler at the goal line to get in.

Salter completed 9 of 16 passing attempts for 125 yards, but had his best day on the ground this season with 60 yards and two touchdowns on 12 rushing attempts. He also eclipsed 5,000 passing yards for his career Tuesday night.

Both teams were scoreless during the third quarter, but Cooley punched it in for a second time with 10:43 remaining in the fourth to push Liberty's lead to 24-10.

Then the Panthers crept back.

Jenkins engineered back-to-back scoring drives around the backwards three-and-out for Liberty. He connected with Eric Rivers for a 40-yard gain on the first drive, and Kejon Owens punched it in from 3 yards out. On the next Panthers' drive, Jenkins added a rushing score of his own to tie it at 24.

Liberty got to midfield on its final drive that started with 1:32 remaining, but was forced to punt with 27 seconds left.

In overtime, the Panthers won the toss and chose to send out their defense first. Chadwell sent out his offense with one thing in mind.

"We made our decision in overtime that we were gonna ride or die with [Cooley]," he said.

Cooley took a handoff for the first three plays of overtime, and had the ball in his gut on the fourth before Salter took the option himself for the 9-yard score to go ahead 31-24.

It was a crisp drive that showed a renewed focus.

"Looked like we were a juggernaut," Chadwell said.

The defense was even quicker getting off the field. On 3rd and 3, the Flames took away Jenkins' first option, giving Bodnar enough time to get home on a blitz.

He made the hit, Jolly made the scoop and Liberty found another way to win a game.

"We got grit," Bodnar said. "Anytime we face any sort of adversity, we're always gonna play through it."

A redshirt freshman from Brandon, Florida, Bodnar got the start in the absence of Brylan Green, who remained in concussion protocol. He had seven tackles and the strip-sack of Jenkins to win the game.

"If one man is down it's the next man up," Bodnar said. "It's a mindset; we've got a good group of men in that room and a great defense."

Jahmar Brown also pitched in on the defensive effort— which held FIU to 99 rushing yards on 34 attempts— with three tackles for a loss.

"He was huge," Chadwell said. "That put them in some challenging situations early."

Tuesday's overtime was a little extra football for a Liberty team that will now begin its second two-plus-week layoff in a 32-day span. Chadwell worried about how his team would handle the 17-day layoff going into Tuesday, and there's now another 15 days before they play at Kennesaw State.

"I was worried about the time off, 'Would we be rusty in timing and some of those things?'" he said. "But we overcame it. Listen, we'll take it right now."