The Western New England Golden Bears recorded 28 points in the second half to defeat the St. Lawrence University football team 42-21 in non-conference action on Saturday afternoon in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Daniel Lawther passed 21-for-39 for 244 yards and two touchdowns, while Cole Salyards tallied three catches for 68 yards and a touchdown and Oskar Baldwin scored on one of his three catches on the afternoon. Saints backup quarterback Will Lederman also got in on the action leading the ground game with 38 rushing yards and one touchdown.

Grady Harrington led the Saints' defense with eight tackles and two pass breakups, while Joseph O'Neil tallied seven tackles and Nicholas Giardina recorded an interception.

The Golden Bears made quick work of their first drive, but the Saints were able to put that to an abrupt end, as Cam Winder was left for the loss of eight yards and a fumble, which was recovered by Ryan Surhoff to put the Saints in control early in the first quarter. But with just about three minutes to play in the first, Conrad Swanson broke through the Saints' defense and ran for 79 yards to put Western New England on the scoreboard. Andrew Havens kick was good for the 7-0 lead.

A 16-yard pass to Baldwin and a 19-yard catch by Shane Clarke put the Saints in the red zone, and on a fourth and goal trick play Lawther connected with Baldwin for a Saints touchdown. Clayton Fogler's kick was good to make it a tie game 7-7.

With 6:37 to play in the second quarter, Tyler Millerick found Tyler Borwhat for a 39-yard touchdown, giving the Bears a 14-7 advantage.

The Saints responded well with a huge first-down play on their next drive, as Lawther connected with Salyards for 38 yards. Will Lederman finished off the drive with an 11-yard touchdown run and Fogler's second kick was good to tie the game up once again.

Just before the clock would expire on the second quarter, Lawther found Salyards with a 23-yard pass, and Fogler's third kick was good for the 21-14 lead at halftime.

After the break and a short punt from the Saints, the Golden Bears capitalized on a good field position to knot the game once more 21-21, with Borwhat's second touchdown of the game. Just about a minute later, the Golden Bears defense capitalized on a Saints' fumble and regained control of the game with a fourth touchdown drive and a 28-21 lead.

On the Bears first drive of the fourth, Nicholas Giardina picked off a pass from Millerick, as the Saints started their drive at their own 33-yard line. However, the Bears defense forced a turnover on downs with 11 minutes remaining in the fourth, WNE quickly found the end zone and Havens fifth kick of the day was good for the 35-21 lead. Western New England tallied one more touchdown and PAT for the 42-21 final.

Swanson passed 12-for-19 for 100 yards and rushed for 113 to lead the Bears offense, while Borwhat made six catches for 83 yards. Jake Chiasson tallied 15 tackles, one sack and 2.5 tackles for the loss of eight yards, while JJ Josefik broke up two passes and Brandon Myers recorded three quarterback hurries.

Both teams recorded 20 first downs and the Bears finished with 415 yards of total offense to the Saints 334 and converted on 7-of-10 third-down opportunities. St. Lawrence converted on 5-of-8 fourth-down chances.

With the loss, the Saints fell to 1-2 on the season, while Western New England improved to 2-1.

St. Lawrence will return to Leckonby Stadium to host Castleton next Saturday, September 23 for Laurentian Weekend. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.