Oct. 28, 2000

Box Score

LYNCHBURG, Va. - Biff Parson completed 23 of 38 passes for 229 yards and three touchdowns as Liberty University shut out Samford 24-0 at Williams Stadium on Saturday.

After a scoreless first quarter, Liberty (3-5) struck through the air against an injury-riddled Bulldog secondary, as Parson found Lorenzo Dixon for a 21-yard strike to give Liberty a 7-0 lead at 13:13 in the second quarter. Samford (3-6) managed 100 yards of offense in the first half, but mistakes - including a blocked punt and seven penalties - allowed Liberty to hold Samford in check, marking the fourth consecutive scoreless first half for the Bulldogs. The loss is the fifth on the road this season for Samford, and marks the first time a Samford team has been shut out since Nov. 14, 1998, when Elon defeated the Bulldogs 36-0.

The Flames took a 10-0 halftime lead on a 42-yard field goal by Jay Kelly, but the bulk of Liberty's offensive output came after intermission. Parson led an efficient Liberty offense in the second half, adding two touchdown passes that capped a pair of two-play drives, the first a 6-yard strike to Gavin Kralik that was set up by a Bulldog fumble. The other was a 16-yard score to Trey Miller with 11:57 remaining in the game. The Flames finished the game with 286 yards of total offense.

Samford totaled 242 yards of total offense, led by senior fullback Kadell Wright's 85 yards rushing on 19 carries. Redshirt freshman Thomas Brown completed four of eight passes for 24 yards and rushed for 11 yards in his first career start for Samford, but left the game with an injury in the third quarter after attempting to make a tackle on a fumble by Aryvia Holmes. The Bulldog defense recorded a season-high four sacks of Parson, but Samford committed four turnovers for the second time this season and posted a season-high 103 yards of penalties.