LORETTO, Pa.—Sophomore Mike Roussos totaled 149 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns including a 56-yard punt return score, sophomore Ryan Young ran for a 65-yard touchdown, and the Lions took advantage of a superb special teams performance as Columbia scored 24 unanswered points to claim a 31-14 season-opening football victory over Saint Francis, Pa. Saturday at DeGol Field.
 
With the victory, Columbia won its third straight season opener and extended its school-record non-conference win streak to eight consecutive games.
 
After a wild, back-and-forth first quarter which saw the Lions battle back from two early seven-point deficits, Columbia closed out the game by scoring 24 unanswered points and did not yield a single point over the contest's final 55 minutes. In the second half, Columbia's defense limited the Red Flash to just 70 yards and four first downs. Columbia's special teams also played a key role as Roussos returned a punt 56-yards for a touchdown, first-year placekicker Alex Felkins contributed a 50-yard field goal and punter Drew Schmid placed four punts inside the SFU 20-yard line.
 
"I liked the resiliency and the execution in some areas from our players, especially in the kicking game," Columbia Patricia and Shepard Alexander Head Coach of Football Al Bagnoli said. "We also showed tremendous depth. We played lots of kid on both sides of the ball. We had four or five running backs touch the ball, we played multiple quarterbacks, seven or eight wide receivers, we played a ton of players in the secondary. We wanted to develop depth. It was our first game and we knew we weren't going to be in game shape and it was hot out there. We're going to need all of those people to come in. Our players acquitted themselves."
 
"It was a gratifying victory on the road against a good opponent that already had three games under its belt."
 
Saint Francis, Pa. (2-2) took an early lead when Gio Vonne Sanders intercepted a Columbia pass and returned it 48 yards down the sideline to the Lion seven-yard line. The Red Flash scored on the next play when Avery Milner ran seven yards for a touchdown and 7-0 lead just one minute into the game.
 
Columbia tied the game at 7-7 three minutes later when Ryan Young took a handoff, hit a hole and accelerated past the SFU defense for a career-long 65-yard touchdown run. Young rushed for a career-high 98 yards on only nine carries (10.8 yards per carry).
 
On the ensuing possession, the Red Flash went up 14-7 as quarterback Jason Brown hit 6-foot-8 receiver EJ Jenkins for a 74-yard touchdown pass. The game was only five minutes old and Columbia trailed again.
 
But the Lions came back again and closed out the first quarter tied at 14-14. Taking advantage of favorable field position following a 26-yard punt, the Lions drove 39 yards in six plays and scored on sophomore Ty Lenhart's four-yard touchdown run. The Lions used a 19-yard run by Lenhart and two Lenhart passes to senior Josh Wainwright to set up the score.
 
"We obviously didn't start off the way we scripted it, with the early turnover and they scored on their first play," Bagnoli said. "We dug ourselves a hole. I told our team yesterday that there would be some adversity. You've just got to stay in there and keep fighting, don't force things, things will work out."
 
"Eventually we took over the game. We had some first-game challenges and we had to get used to the speed of the game. It's something you can't simulate in practice."
 
From then on, it was all Columbia as the Lions took a 21-14 lead into halftime. Columbia went up 21-14 when Roussos scored on a one-yard touchdown dive after the Lions drove 80 yards in five plays. The score was set up when Lenhart found senior wide receiver Ronald Smith for a key 61-yard pass. Smith was tackled at the one-yard line.
 
Columbia took control in the second half as its defense put the clamps down and forced five three-and-out possessions.
 
The Lions pushed their lead to 24-14 when Felkins converted a 50-yard field goal with 1:10 left in the third quarter. The 50-yard field goal tied for the third-longest field goal in school history and longest ever for a first-year
 
Roussos provided the exclamation point in the fourth quarter when he fielded a punt, headed toward the sideline and weaved in-and-out through the SFU defense for the score. With the touchdown, Roussos became the first player at Columbia since Austin Knowlin in 2008 to score on a punt return in consecutive games.
 
Columbia outgained Saint Francis 336-272 in total offense and outrushed the Red Flash 157-71 yards. Roussos registered 149 all-purpose yards (77 on kickoff returns, 66 on punt returns, quarterbacks Josh Bean and Lenhart combined to complete 16 of 32 passes for 179 yards, Young rushed for a career-high 98 yards on nine carries, Smith finished with four catches for 80 yards and Wainwright caught four passes for 48 yards. On defense, Columbia finished with four sacks for 26 yards as sophomore linebacker Cam Dillon led the Lions with 10 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and one sack. Senior defensive back Ben McKeighan added seven tackles and junior Ben Mathiasmeier added five tackles.
 
Columbia is back in action when it hosts Georgetown for its home opener and Lou Little Cup game on Saturday, Sept. 28. Kickoff at Robert K. Kraft Field at Lawrence A. Wien Stadium.