Box Score RENSSELAER, Ind. – Saint Joseph's has been a thorn in the side of Missouri S&T's football team in past seasons, but the Miners dispatched the Pumas for the third straight time Saturday afternoon by a count of 41-22 to keep themselves squarely in the picture for an NCAA playoff berth.

The Miners scored touchdowns on three straight possessions in the opening half to build a 21-3 lead, then held the Pumas – who scored a touchdown on the final play of the first half – off the scoreboard for much of the second half to improve to 9-1 overall and a final mark of 7-1 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference.

The victory assures S&T of at least sole possession of second place in the conference standings and it would claim a share of the GLVC's first football championship should league leader Indianapolis lose next Saturday at Urbana.

After being forced to punt on their opening possession of the game, the Miners ripped off touchdowns each of the next three times it got the ball to build the early advantage.

S&T got the ball after stopping the Pumas on a fourth-and-one at the three-yard line on their first trip down the field and proceeded to drive 97 yards for its first score.  Curterris Golden (Chicago, Ill./John Hope) broke off a 43-yard run to put the Miners in Puma territory, then Josh Firm (Lancaster, Calif./Quartz Hill) completed a four-yard to Clay Kinman (Carthage, Mo./Carthage) on fourth-and-two to keep the possession alive.  On the next play, Firm connected with Joseph Hyman (Los Angeles, Calif./Palisades) for a 30-yard touchdown pass to put S&T in front.

Dan Mauszycki (Gardner, Kan./Gardner-Edgerton HS) picked off a pass on the Pumas' next possession and ran it back to the Saint Joseph's' 39, setting up a drive that concluded with a five-yard touchdown run by Golden to make it 14-0 late in the first quarter.

Gavin Voss' 34-yard field goal in the early stages of the second period put the Pumas on the scoreboard, but the Miners answered right back with a 84-yard drive to get into the end zone again.  A pass interference penalty on a third-and-seven gave the Miners the ball at the Pumas' two-yard line and Golden finished that drive as well with a one-yard scoring run.

Saint Joseph's crossed the goal line for the first time on the final play of the half, when Billy VandeMerkt threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Joey BIshoff to make it 21-10 at the break.  The Pumas got the ball to start the second half and threatened to cut into the lead again, but Sean Martin (South Holland, Ill./Seton Academy) picked off a VandeMerkt pass at the three-yard line to halt that drive.

S&T added onto its advantage with a 25-yard field goal from David Druse (Coal City, Ill./Coal City HS) with just over three minutes left in the third quarter, then got a 35-yard touchdown pass from Firm to Hyman right before the end of the quarter to give itself a 21-point lead.  Druse added a 31-yard field goal five minutes into the final quarter to make it 34-10.

The Pumas did reach the end zone two more times in the final seven minutes of play as VandeMerkt threw two scoring passes around the Miners' final score of the day, which came on a 14-yard pass from Reed Brown (Rogers, Ark./Heritage HS) to Nick Taylor (Wichita, Kan./Southeast HS).

Missouri S&T finished the afternoon with 445 yards of total offense, including 173 on the ground as Golden ran for 128 yards, his third straight game with over 100 yards rushing.  Firm completed 17-of-27 passes for 204 yards and the two touchdown throws to Hyman.  Smook Thomas (Quincy, Fla./East Gadsden), who entered the game ranked eighth nationally in receptions with 72, finished with 12 catches for 114 yards as he continues to close in on the S&T single-season reception mark.

The Pumas (5-5, 4-3 GLVC) did most of their damage through the air, as VandeMerkt threw for 270 yards (of the 362 total for Saint Joseph's) on 25-of-35 passing.

Mark Hopkins (Chicago, Ill./Whitney Young) and Josip Juric (West Des Moines, Iowa/Dowling HS) led the Miners in tackles with seven apiece, while the defense as a whole – ranked third nationally in turnover margin -- forced four turnovers while the offense did not have a turnover in the contest.

The previous Miner teams to win at least nine games were the undefeated squads of 1914 (9-0) and 1980 (10-0); S&T can tie the school record for wins in a season in its final regular seaon contest, a non-conference game next Saturday in Rapid City, S.D., against South Dakota School of Mines.  Kickoff will be at 2 p.m. (Central time).

NCAA Division II Super Region Four Results (Saturday, Nov. 3):
1. Ashland (10-0) def. Tiffin 49-21
2. Colorado State-Pueblo (10-0) def. New Mexico Highlands 31-17
3. Chadron State (8-2) def. Fort Lewis 45-20
4. Indianapolis (8-2) def. Delta State 33-18
5. West Texas A&M (8-2) lost to Midwestern State 52-48
6. Saginaw Valley State (7-3) lost to Northern Michigan 33-28
7. Missouri S&T (9-1) def. Saint Joseph's 41-22
8. Midwestern State (8-1) def. West Texas A&M 52-48
9. Grand Valley State (8-2) def. Wayne State, Mich. 35-13
10. New Mexico Highlands (7-3) lost to Colorado State-Pueblo 31-17