Box Score

ROLLA, Mo. – Missouri S&T decided to have quite a celebration Saturday when playing its 1,000^th football game, putting up its best offensive performance in nearly three years to blast South Dakota School of Mines 60-6 on Homecoming at Allgood-Bailey Stadium.

The Miners cut through the winless Hardrockers by scoring touchdowns on each of their first four possessions and adding a defensive score along the way  to build a 34-0 lead less than 20 minutes into the game.  S&T finished the first half with a 40-0 lead and cruised through the second half as it finished with a season-best 572 yards of total offense, the most since putting up 666 in a Nov. 8, 2008 win over Southwest Baptist.

S&T got the ball to open the game and needed just four plays to cover 66 yards to get on the scoreboard.  The drive ended with a 35-yard touchdown pass from Josh Firm (Lancaster, Calif./Quartz Hill) to Kevin Dillon (Plano, Texas/Plano East) after only 95 seconds had elapsed.

The scoring pass was the first of four for Firm on the afternoon – which he threw to four different receivers – and he also had a touchdown on the ground as well.

His second scoring pass covered 31 yards to Curterris Golden (Chicago, Ill./John Hope), who carried a defender into the end zone after making the catch to increase the lead to 14-0.  Less than two minutes later, the defense got in on the scoring as Hilton Dawson (Compton, Calif./) picked off a Nick Russell pass and returned it 38 yards for a touchdown to make it 20-0.

Firm got his touchdown run on a fourth and goal play early in the second quarter, as he rolled to his right and took off for the end zone for the score.   After the Miner defense got a three-and-out, Firm connected with Smook Thomas (Quincy, Fla./East Gadsden), who darted through the Hardrocker defense for a 55-yard scoring play that put the Miners up 34-0 with 10:34 left in the first half.

Golden got his second touchdown of the afternoon just before halftime on a three-yard run to give S&T its 40-point halftime advantage.

Firm fired his last touchdown pass of the game on the first play after S&T's Joe Ridpath (Shelbina, Mo./South Shelby) recovered a fumble on a pass to Joseph Hyman (Los Angeles, Calif./Palisades), as he took it along the sideline for 28 yards to the end zone.

Ryan Taylor (Indianapolis, Ind./Pike) scored on a 46-yard run early in the fourth quarter to increase the lead to 54-0 before the Hardrockers broke up the shutout with 8:37 to play, as Russell threw a 15-yard scoring pass to Marshall Davis.  Mike Wilson (Valrico, Fla./King) completed the scoring with an eight-yard touchdown run with just under two minutes remaining.

Firm had his best day as a Miner, completing 16-of-25 passes for a career-high 348 yards and the four scores.  Thomas and Hyman caught four passes apiece, Thomas for 101 yards and Hyman for 96.  Nine different receivers caught passes for the Miners on the afternoon.

S&T also had 175 yards on the ground as a team – the third straight week that the Miners have been over the 100-yard mark in the rushing department – as Golden led the way with 77 yards on 14 carries.

The Miner defense held South Dakota Mines to 289 yards of total offense, recorded five quarterback sacks and forced three turnovers.  Chris Emesih (Houston, Texas/Westfield) and Dawan Ferguson (St. Louis, Mo./Riverview Gardens) had six tackles apiece for S&T, who had 15 plays defensively for lost yardage.

S&T, who improved to 3-3 with the victory, will face Kentucky Wesleyan next Saturday in a 1 p.m. game in Owensboro, Ky.