The St. Lawrence University Football team built a 35-0 lead and led 42-7 in the third quarter and cruised to a 42-28 victory over Norwich University Saturday afternoon on Sabine Field at Haynes Family Stadium in Northfield, Vermont. The Saints (1-1) scored on a punt return, an interception return, three pass plays and a one-yard plunge by Mitch Gallagher.

The visiting team won in the St. Lawrence-Norwich series for the ninth consecutive year while the Saints continued a streak of six consecutive games won the week after a loss dating back to 2012.

"This was a very good road win for us," said Head Coach Mark Raymond. "We needed to get off to a fast start and we did. We played much more disciplined this week and made some big plays in the kicking game."

Gallagher was a key factor all day leading the Saints with eight receptions for 66 yards and a TD and also had five rushes for 12 yards and another TD.

James Holley-Grisham opened the scoring as he broke free on a 75-yard punt return for a TD in the first quarter and linebacker Jayson Leigh returned an interception for another score to start the third quarter as the Saints continued a streak of 25 consecutive games with at least one turnover.

On the first drive of the game, Norwich (0-2) was faced with a 3rd-and-12 and completed a pass before Holley-Grisham and Brendan Donahoe came up to make the stop for just a 10-yard gain forcing the Cadets to punt.

Holley-Grisham took the punt return and sped past the defense to the sideline before cutting back to the middle of the field making two defenders miss tackles and scampered for a 75-yard TD giving the Saints their first lead of the season with a quick 7-0 advantage.

Skyler Williamson intercepted another pass on the ensuing drive setting up the first St. Lawrence offensive score of the day. Senior Mike Lefflbine completed a 23-yard pass to Vincenzo Ferraro on teh second play of the drive for a TD and a 14-0 Saints lead.

After a quick three-and-out drive for the Cadets, Lefflbine directed another scoring drive that included a Jake Gnieser 32-yard run and was capped by an 8-yard TD pass from Lefflbine to Gallagher giving St. Lawrence a 21-0 lead with just 8:13 gone off the clock.

Early in the second quarter, Norwich put together a long drive that stalled at the St. Lawrence seven yard line and Leigh broke through the line to block the field goal attempt and keep the Cadets off the scoreboard.

The teams exchanged punts for the next several minutes before St. Lawrence added to its lead with less than two minutes left in the half. Lefflbine connected with Vincenzo Ferraro for a 23-yard gain and then hit sophomore Patrick Bryant on the next play for a 25-yard scoring pass giving the Saints a 28-0 lead as the teams went into the halftime intermission.

St. Lawrence opened the second half with a short drive and a punt but Leigh intercepted a pass on the second play of the Norwich drive and ran it back for a touchdown giving the Saints a commanding 35-0 lead.

The Cadets answered with a six-play scoring drive after the kickoff to avoid a shutout.

Lefflbine and the Saints offense returned to the field and drove 70 yards in 11 plays as Gallagher ran in from a yard out for the score. Gallagher had three first down plays on the drive with a pair of completions and a three-yard run setting up a first-and-goal situation.

Norwich put together a 70-yard drive of its own scoring on an eight-yard run and then pulled off an on-sides kick to give possession back to the Cadets. Avoiding a momentum shift, the Saints defense used a couple Norwich penalties and a sack by Alec Dietsch and Williamson to shut down the drive as the teams headed to the fourth quarter with the Saints leading 42-14.

Norwich scored to start the fourth quarter to trim the lead in half at 42-21 and added another TD with a 10-play, 75-yard drive on its next possession to further close the gap.

With 8:29 left in the game, Lefflbine and the offense put together a time consuming 9-play 32-yard drive that ended with a well-placed Brodie Corless punt to the six-yard line but only left Norwich with 2:44 on the clock and needing a pair of scores.

The defensive unit stepped up and prevented any threat of a further comeback as Owen Grey and Ugo Njeze combined on one sack and Chyron Brown-Wallace sack the Cadet quarterback on the next play forcing a punt as St. Lawrence kneeled on the ball to end the game.

Lefflbine finished with 18-for-26 passing and 177 yards with three TDs and no interceptions. Gallagher had 66 receiving yards, 12 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Dietsch led the defense with nine tackles.

The Saints return home to face Endicott College in the home opener at 1 pm Saturday, September 19.