Senior quarterback Will Lederman was named St. Lawrence's MVP, helping lead the St. Lawrence University football team to a season-opening 19-3 win over Norwich on Friday night to keep the Hoffman Cup in the North Country.

The win marked the fifth-straight Hoffman Cup win for the Saints, and moved their record to 1-0 on the season, while the Cadets fell to 0-1.

Lederman passed for 144 yards on nine completions, including a 41-yard pass, and one touchdown. He also ran for 16 yards and added a second touchdown on the ground.

James Gescheidle finished with 58 rushing yards, while Nicholas Huhtala caught five passes for 51 yards and a touchdown and Shea Goodwin caught two passes for 64 yards. Defensively, both Shemmy Bridges and Savino Morelli closed the game with nine tackles. Bridges finished with two tackles for the loss of seven, including a sack for the loss of six. Ethan Metro finished with seven tackles. Metro and Anthony Ferro each picked up a sack for the loss of seven.

Norwich put the first points on the scoreboard with a 28-yard field goal from Zack Zegarra with 2:48 to play in the first quarter.

Lederman took the lead for the Saints with a five-yard touchdown run. Clayton Fogler's kick was good, for the 7-3 lead early in the second.

Later in the second quarter, Lederman connected with Huhtala on an eight-yard pass for the touchdown, capping a 70-yard drive. Fogler's second kick was good for the 14-3 advantage.

With 5:18 to play in the third, Morelli capitalized on the edge of the end zone for the two-point safety.

Fogler finished off the scoring with a 39-yard field goal, for the 19-3 final.



Cadets' quarterback Aidan Sullivan finished with 110 yards on 12 completions, while Ben Weers finished with three catches for 30 yards. Ben Primich led the Cadets with 15 tackles, earning himself Norwich's MVP honors, while John Dixner, Marcello Missuraca and Maddox Reed each recorded one sack.

The Saints finished with a 13-10 edge in first downs and finished with a 251-173 spread in total offense. SLU also recorded three sacks for the loss of 20 yards. Norwich converted on 2-of-4 fourth down opportunities.

St. Lawrence will travel to St. John Fisher for their first Empire 8 crossover game of the season next Saturday, September 13. Kickoff is scheduled for 12 p.m.