Box Score LIBERTY, Mo. – After spotting William Jewell an early lead, Missouri S&T's defense took control of matters by holding the Cardinals off the scoreboard for the balance of the afternoon, helping lead the Miners to a 24-6 Great Lakes Valley Conference victory at Greene Stadium.

The Cardinals got on the scoreboard first after Nick Messer returned an interception to the Miners' one-yard line, setting up a touchdown run by Glen Whitney 3:47 into the contest.  But from that point forward, William Jewell managed only two drives that got past midfield for the rest of the afternoon as it finished with just 202 yards of total offense and 12 first downs.

S&T had two early turnovers and a missed field goal in the opening quarter, but with the wind at its back to begin the second period, put together a 53-yard scoring drive to take the lead for good.

After quarterback Peter Simpson (St. Louis, Mo./Lindbergh) completed a third down pass to Leon Moody (St. Louis, Mo./DeSmet Jesuit HS) for a first down, he connected with Melvin Stovall (Los Angeles, Calif./Lancaster) for 34 yards to the Cardinals' five-yard line.  On the next play, Zenel Hudson (Bayshore, N.Y./Milford Academy) went into the end zone untouched and the Miners went in front with Adam Peden (Bloomington, Ill./Bloomington)'s extra point.

The Miners extended their lead before the half ended on a fourth down play, as they elected to go for it on fourth-and-four from the WJC 35-yard line.  After calling a timeout with 1:13 to go, Stovall ran past cornerback Quinlin Riser and hauled in a Simpson pass just inside the goal line to give the Miners a 14-6 lead that they would take to the break.

S&T would then score on its opening possession of the second half, driving from its own 38 to the Cardinals' two with six straight running plays, including a 33-yard run by Hudson and a 17-yard scamper by Simpson.  But on fourth down, S&T went to the air and Simpson connected with fullback Rob Cidlik (Eureka, Mo./Eureka) for a two-yard scoring catch, the first reception in the career of the redshirt freshman.

Meanwhile, the S&T defense continued to hold the Cardinals in check, thwarting a scoring opportunity late in the third quarter when a fourth down pass fell incomplete in the end zone and later in the contest, ending another drive with an interception by Mark Hopkins (Chicago, Ill./Whitney Young).

Despite five turnovers, the Miner offense still racked up 238 yards on the ground and 462 overall on the afternoon.  DeSoto Dickson (Florissant, Mo./Trinity Catholic) ran for a career high 93 yards and Hudson finished with 77, while Simpson completed 16-of-31 passes for a career-best 224 yards and the two scores.

Stovall had his third 100-yard receiving day of the season as he finished with 113 yards on five receptions.

Defensively, the Miners got 10 tackles from linebacker Chris Emesih (Houston, Texas/Westfield) and seven from Chris Horn (Tulsa, Okla./Booker T. Washington), while recording nine tackles behind the line of scrimmage.  Eddie Rascon (Canutillo, Texas/Canutillo) and Andrew Masters (Kearney, Mo./Kearney) had quarterback sacks for S&T.

The win improved the Miners to 4-5 overall and 3-2 in the GLVC, while the Cardinals dropped to 2-7 and 1-4 in conference play.

Missouri S&T will play its final two games of the year at home, with McKendree visiting Allgood-Bailey Stadium next Saturday for a 1 p.m. contest.