POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. — The last NCAA Division I football team to take the field in 2022 made it worth the wait as Columbia coasted to a 38-3 victory over Marist Saturday night. The Lions have now won five consecutive season openers for the first time in program history.
 
Junior running back Joey Giorgi racked up 103 yards on 16 carries with a touchdown in his first collegiate action. Junior quarterback Joe Green completed 15-of-21 passes for 144 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the victory.
 
"Overall, we have to be pleased," Patricia and Shepard Alexander Head Coach of Football Al Bagnoli said. "There's so much unknown in that first game when you're trying to play young kids, but it's a good way to start the season. Offensively, we are fortunate to have some experience up front which allows us to be a pretty good run team. We've got enough experience at quarterback and you get some dynamic plays, so it allows you to be pretty good."
 
Columbia set the tone from the very first play of the game when Giorgi busted through a huge hole for a 12-yard run. The Lions marched into Marist territory four plays later and Green found Bryson Canty over the middle at the Red Foxes' 5. Canty made the grab and stepped over a falling defender for a 44-yard touchdown to give Columbia the lead just three minutes into the contest.
 
After the defense forced a three and out on the first Marist possession, the Lions were putting together another strong drive when Green was picked off at the goal line. However, the play was called back due to a roughing the passer penalty and the Columbia took advantage when Ty'son Edwards punched the ball in from the one yard deep to make it 14-0.
 
CJ Brown put an abrupt end to the next drive by the Red Foxes with his first of his career interception, hauling in a tipped ball to set up another score. This time Green connected with Marcus Libman for a 6-yard touchdown with 2:41 remaining the first quarter.
 
In the second quarter, Marist started moving the ball into Lions territory on a couple of occasions, however, Columbia came up with a pair of fourth down stops to keep momentum on its side. After the second turnover on downs, the Lions built a 70-yard scoring drive, capped by a three-yard touchdown rush from Giorgi out of a wildcat formation to make it 28-0.
 
Just before the half, Columbia forced another turnover on downs to give the Lions one more chance with the ball on its 31 with 44 seconds before intermission. The Lions made several positive plays to get into field goal range for Alex Felkins, who split the uprights from 53 yards out as time expired. The field goal was the longest in program history, breaking the old mark of 52 that was set in 1930 by Ralph Hewitt.
 
Bryan Bell-Anderson put the exclamation point on the victory, intercepting a pass on the opening pass of the half and returning it 44 yards for a touchdown.
 
The extra breathing room allowed Columbia to insert reserves to rest its starters for the bulk of the second half. Marist broke up the shutout with a 30-yard field goal with 1:10 left in regulation.
 
The Lions remain on the road to take on Georgetown in Washington, D.C. Saturday, September 24. Kickoff is slated for 12:30 p.m. and the contest can be seen on ESPN+.

Season and single-game tickets for home games are on sale now and can be purchased by visiting www.gocolumbialions.com/tickets or calling 888-LIONS-11.

For the latest on the Columbia football team, follow @CULionsFB on Twitter and Instagram, on Facebook and on the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.
 
POST GAME NOTES

• In addition to setting the record for longest field goal in program history, Alex Felkins becomes the first Ivy League kicker to make three field goals of 50 or more yards. The 53-yarder was also a Tenney Stadium record.
• Bell-Anderson's pick-six was the first interception returned for a touchdown since 2013 (Brian East vs. Yale).
• The margin of victory was the biggest for Columbia in a season-opener since a 44-0 win over Fordham in 1972.
• Columbia debuted their new Navy blue helmets with the block "C" on one side and numbers on the other
• The Lions improved to 6-0 all-time against Marist.