MONTICELLO, Ark. -- The Miner defense struggled to slow down Arkansas-Monticello for much of the night as the Boll Weevils handed Missouri S&T a 42-24 loss in its season opener Saturday.

Arkansas-Monticello ran up 634 yards on the Miners and was able to break the game open in the early stages of the fourth quarter by converting a pair of S&T turnovers into points after the Miners appeared on the verge of getting back into the contest.

The Miners broke on top in the contest after taking advantage of the first of four UAM turnovers in the opening half. Brian Gronewold (Peoria, Ariz./Ironwood) recovered a fumble by Andrel Johnson at the Miner 17, then S&T drove to the Boll Weevil seven-yard line before the drive stalled. Joe Drahos (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Washington) kicked a 24-yard field goal to give the MIners the lead.

UAM came right back on the ensuing possession to take a 7-3 lead. Quarterback Scott Buisson connected with Clarence Denmark on a 45-yard pass play to the two-yard line to set up the quarterback's one-yard scoring run.

S&T answered that score with its first touchdown of the night. Moments after Jason Schlueter (Lafayette, Ind./McCutcheon) hit Chad Shockley (St. James, Mo./John F. Hodge) for 16 yards on third-and-13, Schlueter connected with Jordan Beard (Rusk, Texas/Rusk) in the flat and the Miner receiver eluded a pair of tacklers to get loose for a 35-yard touchdown play.

The Miners got another turnover two plays into UAM's next possession but couldn't do anything with it, then the Boll Weevils got the lead back when Buisson escaped the Miner pass rush and hit Denmark for a 46-yard scoring pass to make it 14-10.

UAM threatened again on its next trip down the field as it got inside the S&T 10, but Gronewold knocked the ball free from Johnny Polite and R.J. Miller (Dana Point, Calif./Dana Hills) recovered it on the three.

But the Miners went three-and-out and a short punt gave the Boll Weevils a short field, which they took advantage of as Buisson connected with Scottie Garrison for a seven-yard touchdown pass with 4:16 left in the half.

UAM was able to extend its advantage to 28-10 when after getting the ball at midfield after a Miner punt early in the third quarter, Buisson completed three passes in a four-play drive that culminated in a 23-yard touchdown pass to Tim Harris.

The Miner offense had struggled for a period of time after the scoring pass to Beard, but late in the third quarter, Schlueter completed passes on third down to Mike Greaving (St. Louis, Mo./St. Mary's) for 14 yards and to Beard for 38 to get to the UAM six. Schlueter then tossed a four-yard scoring pass to Jake Drallmeier (Rolla, Mo./Rolla) with just over a minute to go in the quarter to get S&T back to within 11 at 28-17.

After getting a defensive stop to force a UAM punt, the Miners fumbled the ball on the return to set the Boll Weevils up at the S&T 30. Buisson threw a 29-yard scoring pass to Harris to get the lead back to 18, then an interception on the Miners' next possession led to another score when Johnson scored on a 14-yard run.

S&T added one more score when Schlueter threw his third scoring pass of the night, an eight-yard toss to Bryan Crider (Jefferson City, Mo./Helias).

The Miners finished with 309 yards of total offense, with Schlueter completing 20-of-36 passes for 246 yards in his debut at quarterback. Bryan Crider (Jefferson City, Mo./Helias) had six catches to lead S&T, while Shockley and Beard combined for 177 yards on eight receptions. David Shields (Florissant, Mo./Cardinal Ritter) led the MIners on the ground with 57 yards.

Buisson was 20-of-28 for 312 yards through the air and also added 91 yards on the ground for UAM (2-0); Polite finished the contest with 155 yards rushing on 19 carries.