St. Lawrence University senior captain Mike Lefflbine threw for 255 yards and two touchdowns on 23-of-36 passing, while Maurice Irby scored three times on the ground as the Saints football squad opened 2014 with a dominating 45-14 victory over Coast Guard in New London, CT.

The Saints (1-0) scored 17 points in the fourth quarter to pull away from the Bears (0-1), who turned the ball over on four consecutive drives in the second half to letthe game get away. St. Lawrence outgained Coast Guard 458-141 in total offense and 27-9 in first downs. The visitors were 9-of-18 on third down (50%) and 2-for-2 on fourth down and were a perfect 7-for-7 on red zone scoring tries.

"It's a great way to start the season. Our team played extremely hard and were able to overcome some early mistakes," said St. Lawrence head coach Mark Raymond, whose team's 45 points is the most in his career at St. Lawrence and the most for the program since a 49-42 win over Susquehanna on November 1, 2008. "I am very proud of their effort."

Captain Evan Lapice, James Holley-Grisham and Leondre Simmon all had interceptions for the Saints, while the Bears' defense was anchored by Joe Rizzard's game-high 10 tackles. St. Lawrence's secondary held Coast Guard to only 67 yards passing, with Bryan Popp leading the home team with 41 yards on three catches. Offensively, 10 different St. Lawrence players caught passes from Lefflbine and Zane Fish, who finished 3-for-3 with a touchdown. Mitch Gallagher had a career-high 104 yards on seven catches, while Sean Richardson, Matt Gardiner and John Maye all caught their first collegiate touchdowns.

St. Lawrence was also sharp on special teams, as Andrew Carvalho connected with a 26-yard field goal and was a perfect 6-for-6 on extra points, while Brodie Corless averaged nearly 40 yards per punt and connected with a career-long 65 yards.

The Saints opened the scoring late in the first quarter, as Lefflbine and Irby chipped away at the Bears defense before a key 21-yard reception to Sam Anderson set them up at the 3-yard line. Irby scored from one yard out on 3rd-and-goal to put his team on top, giving St. Lawrence a 7-0 lead after the first quarter.

With the defense continuing to shut down Coast Guard, St. Lawrence went back to work and marched 67 yards in 16 plays to take a 14-0 lead. Gallagher was key in the passing game on the drive with three catches of 11 yards or more, with Irby pushing the pile from the 3-yard line to double the lead to 14-0.

Coast Guard would take advantage of a miscue by Lapice on a fumbled punt on his own 16-yard line, as Popp scored on a reverse rush from the Saints' 16 to make it a 14-6 game. Tyler Henning's point after made it 14-7 with 5:31 left in the half, but St. Lawrence would respond in style with a touchdown drive to cap the scoring at 21-7. It was the Lefflbine-to-Gallagher connection again that set up the touchdown, as a 3rd-and-9 completion went for 39 into the red zone. From there, Lefflbine would find Gardiner from 11 yards out for the touchdown.

The Bears would open the second half scoring early in the third on a 1-yard touchdown run by quarterback Jake Wawrzyniak that capped a 6-play, 45-yard drive to pull the home team within seven at 21-14. However, St. Lawrence would pull away from there, as an interception by Simmon led to Irby's third touchdown from 2-yards out to cap the quarter's scoring at 28-14.

Lapice intercepted Wawrzyniak to set up Carvalho's field goal only 58 seconds into the fourth quarter, and a fumble on the kickoff by the Bears gave the Saints possession at their opponent's 26-yard line. Lefflbine would find the rookie Richardson for a 12-yard strike to push the advantage to 38-14.

Fish would cap the scoring at 45-14 after Holley-Grisham's interception on the ensuing Coast Guard drive. The graduate student found Maye for a 5-yard touchdown after solid rushing by Paul Wonka, who closed with a career and game-high 80 yards.

St. Lawrence will return to Canton, NY to host Norwich University next weekend at Leckonby Stadium in the 2014 home opener. Kickoff between the Saints and Cadets is scheduled for 1:00pm.