ROLLA, Mo. – Missouri S&T and Truman State, long-time rivals from their days in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association, renew acquaintances Saturday as Great Lakes Valley Conference foes when the teams face off in a 1 p.m. contest in Kirksville, Mo.

The Miners and Bulldogs come into Saturday's contest with modest winning streaks, as the Miners have won their last two games and Truman State, co-leaders in the GLVC with Indianapolis, has won its last three outings. Both teams won their own Homecoming games a week ago, as the Miners rallied for a 14-13 win over a Saint Joseph's squad that was tied with Truman and UIndy atop the standings when the day began, while the Bulldogs were holding off McKendree for a 28-21 victory.

S&T reserve quarterback Peter Simpson (St. Louis, Mo./Lindbergh), who had to enter the game late in the first half after an injury to starter Reed Brown (Rogers, Ark./Heritage HS), threw a 38-yard touchdown pass to Nick Taylor (Wichita, Kan./Southeast HS) with 8:22 remaining to complete a comeback from a 13-point halftime deficit. Following the go-ahead touchdown, the Miner defense intercepted four Puma passes over the final 6:37 of the contest to wrap up the win.

Simpson completed 12-of-19 passes in relief for 177 yards and two Miner receivers finished with over 100 yards in receptions, as Melvin Stovall (Los Angeles, Calif./Lancaster) caught eight balls for exactly 100 yards and Taylor finished with seven catches for 101.

The Miner defense, meanwhile, held Saint Joseph's to 279 total yards and 168 yards on the ground – and just 106 after a 62-yard run on the first play from scrimmage – both marks well below the Pumas' season averages. Linebacker Chris Emesih (Houston, Texas/Westfield) leads S&T with 55 tackles heading into play this weekend, while Mark Hopkins (Chicago, Ill./Whitney Young), who had one of the four interceptions, has a team-high three.

Truman State was without its top rusher, Garrett White, for Saturday's game, but reserve back Aaron Hartfield ran for a career-high 101 yards to help push the Bulldogs to the victory over McKendree. White is third in the GLVC in rushing with 533 yards and five touchdowns, with an average of 5.7 yards per carry on the season.

Quarterback Conrad Schottel has completed 118-of-191 passes (61.8 percent) for 1,281 yards and 10 touchdowns, with seven of the scoring tosses going to top wideout Dallas Grier (32 receptions, three touchdowns) and tight end Chico Orlando (four touchdown receptions). The Bulldogs have been very stingy with the football as well, committing only eight turnovers over their first seven games.

Free safety Austin Zoda leads the Bulldog defense in tackles with 52.

Saturday's game marks the first meeting between the Miners and Bulldogs since S&T pulled out a thrilling 39-38 double overtime win at Stokes Stadium on the final day of the 2008 season.

Game Notes: Miners vs. Truman State

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