Men’s Football St Joseph Red Flash beats the Columbia Lions 13-9 after a 72-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter that put the nail coffin on the game.
Saint Francis went up 13-3 when quarterback Zack Drayer found Kamron Lewis for a 72-yard touchdown pass. Lewis tipped the ball in the air, then caught it cleanly and proceeded to accelerate past the Columbia defense for the score.
Lions cut the deficit to 13-9 late in the fourth quarter when quarterback Skyler Mornhinweg found wide receiver Cameron Dunn for a 3-yard touchdown pass. That was as close as the Lions came as Saint Francis fielded the ensuing onside kick and closed out the game.
Red Flash running back Marcus Bagley had an impressive 220-yard rushing performance. Their running game absolutely tortured the Lions defense all day long. The running game and turnovers is what cost the Lions the game of their season opener. Lions had a great 26-yard run by running back Chris Schroer putting them in a great possession to the goal line. The following play, they fumble the ball as the Red Flash recovered the ball.
For Saint Francis, Bagley finished with 220 yards rushing on 33 carries, 146 of which came in the first half. Drayer completed 11 of 23 passes for 124 yards and a 72-yard touchdown. Leaeno led the Red Flash with 10 tackles. For Columbia, Mornhinweg completed 15 of 32 passes for 112 yards