By: John Kean, Sports Information Director
FORT WAYNE, Ind. – A fast start by Saint Francis (Ind.) put Missouri S&T in a hole immediately and the Cougars, ranked seventh in the NAIA ranks, went on to post a 41-14 win over the Miners Saturday afternoon.
The Cougars scored on their first three possessions of the afternoon to build a 21-0 lead in the first 11 minutes. S&T nearly forced a turnover on USF's first trip down the field, forcing a fumble deep in Miner territory, but the Cougars got on the loose ball and eventually scored on Bo Frye's eight-yard run at the 11:32 mark.
USF extended its lead on a 14-yard scoring pass from Shaine Tierney to Kyle Peabody and on a one-yard run by Taylor Vieck to give it the early 21-point lead.
Saint Francis scored again midway through the second quarter on a two-yard run by Frye; S&T's Chris Horn (Tulsa, Okla./Booker T. Washington) blocked the extra point to keep the score at 27-0. The Miners stopped two other Cougar drives later in the quarter with interceptions by Lonnell Jones (Kansas City, Mo./Ruskin) and Edwin Scott (Alpadena, Calif./LaSalle).
S&T's best scoring chance came after the interception by Jones when it started at the Cougars' 15-yard line, but a sack on third down led to a long field goal attempt by the Miners that came up short.
After Saint Francis got another touchdown run from Vieck in the third quarter, the Miners had another good scoring chance that came up empty. Reserve quarterback Matt Elliott (Fort Wayne, Ind./Snider) appeared to have scored on a 14-yard run, but the play was called back due to a holding penalty and the drive ended with another missed field goal.
The Miners got on the scoreboard 57 seconds into the fourth quarter when Anthony Moore (Hazelwood, Mo./McCluer) scored his first career touchdown for S&T on a one-yard run. That scoring drive was set up by a 35-yard punt return by Smook Thomas (Quincy, Fla./East Gadsden) that gave S&T the ball at the USF 36-yard line.
S&T also scored in the latter moments when Elliott threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Joe Pepple (Kansas City, Mo./Archbishop O'Hara).
The Cougars held a 478-202 advantage in yardage Saturday. S&T finished with 75 on the ground, led by Anthony Moore (Hazelwood, Mo./McCluer)'s 46, while Steve Watson (Berkeley, Ill./Walther Lutheran) and Elliott combined to complete 15-of-30 passes for 127 yards.
Tierney threw for 180 yards in a balanced Cougar attack. Saint Francis won for the 60th time in its last 61 home games.
Missouri S&T, now 2-6 on the season, will close its home schedule next Saturday when it hosts Urbana in a 1 p.m. game at Allgood-Bailey Stadium. Next Saturday will be Fort Leonard Wood Appreciation Day at S&T.
