Box Score LEBANON, Ill. – Missouri S&T displayed a suffocating defense Saturday night in its Great Lakes Valley Conference opener, holding McKendree to 162 yards of total offense to record its first shutout in nearly four seasons with a 31-0 victory over the Bearcats.

The Miners shut down the Bearcat offense, holding it to just 52 yards in the first half of play and forcing into a mode in which it attempted to pass on nearly every down in the second half.   As a result, the Miners picked off three passes and recorded six sacks of McKendree's quarterbacks.

After a scoreless first quarter, the Miners got on the scoreboard on the first play of the second period when Josh Firm (Lancaster, Calif./Quartz Hill) connected with Joseph Hyman (Los Angeles, Calif./Palisades) along the sideline at the 30-yard line, then Hyman broke free from the defender and took it into the end zone for a 51-yard touchdown reception.

Hyman scored again just over four minutes later, catching a 29-yard scoring pass on a fourth-and-22 play, making the catch in the back corner of the end zone.  The drive started after Albert Yemitan (Houston, Texas/Western Illinois Univ.) intercepted a David Bergschneider pass near midfield.

S&T extended its lead to 17-0 just before the end of the half, taking advantage of a punt that hit off the foot of a Bearcat player to take possession at McKendree's 34-yard line.  Adam Peden (Bloomington, Ill./Bloomington) kicked a 35-yard field goal with 48 seconds left in the half to give S&T its halftime advantage.

Hyman caught his third touchdown pass of the night on a two-yard reception early in the third quarter to extend the Miner lead to 24.

McKendree's first good scoring chance came after the Miner touchdown, as the Bearcats reached the Miner 13-yard line after a 43-yard pass from Isaak Fisher to Pat Doty.  However, the Miners got a sack of Fisher on third down, then forced an incompletion after a bad snap on the next play to take over possession on downs.

Later in the contest, the Bearcats (0-3, 0-1 GLVC) reached the S&T 18 but couldn't score and also got a possession that started at the Miners' 20-yard line after a fumble, but S&T also stopped that drive on downs as well.

Clay Kinman (Carthage, Mo./Carthage) caught a 30-yard scoring pass on another fourth down play late in the third quarter for the Miners' final scoring play of the evening.

Firm finished the night by completing 35 of his 49 passes for a career-high 352 yards and matched his career best with the four touchdown tosses.  Hyman and Smook Thomas (Quincy, Fla./East Gadsden) both had big nights in the receiving column, as Thomas caught 12 passes for 119 yards and Hyman finished with nine receptions for a career-best 140 yards and the three scores.

S&T's defense got the six sacks – two by Eddie Rascon (Canutillo, Texas/Canutillo) -- made 15 tackles behind the line of scrimmage and had interceptions from Yemitan, Will Brown (Hazelwood, Mo./Hazelwood West) and Naeem Forrester (Los Angeles, Calif./Venice) to record its first shutout since blanking Lincoln on Nov. 1, 2008.

The Miners, 3-0 on the season, will return home to face Kentucky Wesleyan in a 6:30 p.m. game on Military Appreciation Night next Saturday at Allgood-Bailey Stadium.