Box Score ROLLA, Mo. – There's nothing like getting a season off to a dazzling start in front of a home crowd, which is exactly what Missouri S&T's football team did Saturday night.

The Miners scored early and often in the first half against Oklahoma Panhandle State, rolling to a 31-0 lead by the intermission of an eventual 55-14 victory over the Aggies, posting their highest point total in a season opener in the 118-yard history of the program in the process.

S&T wasted little time in getting on the scoreboard, completing a 58-yard opening drive in just 1:59 – the second-fastest opening score to a season in school history – with a 16-yard scoring run from Curterris Golden (Chicago, Ill./John Hope).

Adam Peden (Bloomington, Ill./Bloomington) kicked a 43-yard field goal, which hit both the upright and crossbar along the way, to extend the lead to 10-0 later in the opening period, before the Miners used some big plays to break the game open in the second quarter.

First, Leon Moody (St. Louis, Mo./DeSmet Jesuit HS) got behind the Aggie secondary to haul in a 32-yard touchdown pass from Josh Firm (Lancaster, Calif./Quartz Hill).  Redshirt freshman Scott Hendricks (Kechi, Kan./Maize HS) followed by taking care of an entire 63-yard scoring drive by himself, opening with runs of 14 and 31 yards and concluding it on his fifth straight carry with a nine-yard touchdown run.

After the Miner defense forced a three-and-out, Carlton Westbrook (Centralia, Ill./Centralia) hauled in a punt near the OPSU sideline, got away from a pair of initial tacklers and ran right up the middle of the field for a 58-yard return for a touchdown to make it 31-0 before the midway point of the quarter.

The Miners outgained the Aggies 252-56 in the opening half, including a 164-25 margin in the second quarter alone.

S&T added to its lead in the third quarter as Firm threw scoring passes of 28 yards to Smook Thomas (Quincy, Fla./East Gadsden) and 14 yards to Isaiah Culver (Lancaster, Calif./Quartz Hill) before the Aggies broke the shutout on a 27-yard scoring pass from Caleb Holbrook to Nick Collins.

Miner reserve quarterback Reed Brown (Rogers, Ark./Heritage HS) also threw a touchdown pass of 10 yards to Marc-Alan Tucker (Raytown, Mo./Raytown South HS) and Peden kicked a 27-yard field goal around the Aggies' other touchdown of the night, which came on a three-yard run by Justin Billiot.

The Miners finished the night with 495 yards of total offense, as Firm completed 11-of-22 passes for 188 yards and Brown was good on eight of his nine throws for 90 yards.  Ten different receivers caught passes for the Miners – led by Culver's six receptions – while Hendricks ran for 111 yards on 16 carries in his first game at S&T.

S&T had four turnovers in the game played in soggy conditions as a result of the remants of Hurricane Issac, but the Miner defense forced four turnovers as well and sacked OPSU's quarterbacks on five occasions.

The Miners have a short week ahead of them, as they will play on the road for the first time Thursday night against Arkansas Tech in Russellville, Ark.; the Wonder Boys held off Bacone 16-14 in their season opener Saturday night.