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UTEP Miners

UTEP Miners
Kelly Akharaiyi
42
Winner Liberty LIB 12-0 , 8-0
28
UTEP TEP 3-9 , 2-6
Winner
Liberty LIB
12-0 , 8-0
42
Final
28
UTEP TEP
3-9 , 2-6
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
LIB Liberty 21 7 7 7 42
TEP UTEP 7 0 0 21 28

Game Recap: Football |

Undefeated #22 Liberty Beats UTEP, 42-28, Saturday Afternoon

GAME BOOK | POSTGAME NOTES

EL PASO, Texas – No. 22 Liberty (12-0, 8-0 Conference USA) rushed for 441 yards and five touchdowns on its way to a 42-28 victory over UTEP (3-9, 2-6 CUSA) on "Senior Day". 
 
Overall, the Flames outgained the Miners 469 yards of total offense to 271, and 24-13 on first downs. UTEP forced three turnovers, but it wasn't enough against an efficient Liberty squad which finished 5-for-11 on third-down conversions, including 2-of-4 on fourth-downs. The Flames averaged 7.1 yards on 62 attempts. 
 
Kelly Akharaiyi highlighted the day for UTEP after he posted a school-record fourth consecutive 100+ yard receiving game. The redshirt junior tallied 109 yards on five receptions. Akharaiyi also became only the ninth Miner in school history to gain over 1,000 receiving yards in a season after finishing his second year with 1,033 yards on 48 receptions (21.5 avg.) and seven touchdown receptions. It's third consecutive year a Dana Dimel offense produced a 1,000-yard receiver. 
 
Tyrice Knight had a game-high 15 tackles – his 19th career double-figure game. Knight also ends his final season at UTEP with 140 tackles, the most by a Miner since 1995. Knight also concludes his time in the 915 with 391 tackles, ranked ninth on the program's all-time list. Knight's 217 career solo stops rank 10th.
 
Kevin Hurly led the Miners during a 21-7 fourth quarter in which he rushed for a two-yard touchdown, while on the next possession finding Marcus Vinson on a three-yard score with 17 seconds remaining in the game. It was Vinson's first career touchdown. 
 
"We knew what the challenge was going to be with Liberty – such a good football team. They're really good offensively with what they do. It starts with their quarterback who's just a tremendous player and creates so many issues," UTEP Head Coach Dana Dimel said. "We got our chances; we got three turnovers today which I was really proud of the defense. I thought after we got the speed of the game and tried the make those adjustments against what they can do. The things we didn't do well defensively is third downs. We let them off the hook and you have to be flawless against them on third downs. The things that they do to control the ball and when they were running the ball the way they were, it makes it hard for us."
 
Quinton Cooley paced Liberty with 83 yards on 13 carries with three touchdowns. Aaron Bedgood rushed for 82 yards on four carries and dual-threat quarterback Kaidon Salter rushed for 76 yards. Billy Lucas gained 69 yards and scored a touchdown, while James Jointer, Jr. tallied 47 yards and a rushing TD. 
 
Liberty jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead after a 75-yard, seven-play drive that was capped by a CJ Daniels six-yard TD reception from Salter. The Flames took only 3:23 off the clock. Bedgood used a 39-yard dash to the UTEP 9 to get Liberty into scoring position.
 
UTEP answered with a quick score of their own on a three-play, 75-yard drive. Kelly Akharaiyi hauled in a 64-yard catch to the Liberty 8. Deion Hankins capped the drive with an eight-yard run into the endzone. For Hankins, it was his 23rd career rushing touchdown, now ranking tied sixth on the program's top-10 list. Hankins finished with a team-high 812 yards rushing in 2023. 
 
It wasn't long before the Flames snatched the lead back for good, 14-7, on a Lucas five-yard touchdown rush at the 4:56 mark of the first. Liberty went 75 yards on 11 plays. 
 
Liberty got out to a 21-7 advantage after a Cooley 42-yard rushing score. The Flames went 65 yards on six plays, taking only 2:03 off the clock. 
 
Following a UTEP punt, Liberty got the ball back at its own 25. The defense forced a turnover as Torey Richardson forced Elijah Smoot to fumble and Josiah Allen recovered at the Liberty 25. However the Flames defense held the Miners, holding them on a fourth-and-6 play. 
 
Cooley gave Liberty a 35-7 edge on a pair of touchdown rushes. The first came during the second at the 5:51 mark after a one-yard rush while his three-yard run into the end zone at the 5:42 mark of the third put the Flames up 28 points. 
 
UTEP's Mike Franklin, who had been battling injuries, scored from two yards out to make the count 35-14 with 13:30 left in the game. It was his third rushing score in his first season as a Miner. 
 
Jointer banged the final nail in the coffin on a 26-yard run to pay dirt to make the score 42-14.
 
The Liberty defense tallied three sacks, while the Flames' defense had six players with five tackles a piece. 
 
James Neal matched his career best with 10 tackles after opening the '23 season with 10 at Jax State. KD Johnson (eight) and Torey Richardson (seven) finished with career highs in tackles, while Maurice Westmoreland added to his CUSA-most 7.5 sacks. 
 
UP NEXT
The 2024 season. 
 
 
Help Support UTEP student-athletes by making a gift to the Miner Athletic Club. Visit https://givingto.utep.edu/mac today!
 
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For complete coverage of UTEP Football, be sure to follow the Miners on social media at @UTEPFB (Twitter/Instagram/Facebook) or visit the official home of UTEP Athletics at UTEPMiners.com.  
 
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