ROLLA, Mo. – Missouri S&T's drive to finish the 2013 season with a winning record continues Saturday at Allgood-Bailey Stadium, as the Miners play the first of two home games to complete the season against McKendree in Great Lakes Valley Conference play. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.

Saturday's game is also Rolla Youth Football Day at Missouri S&T, as players from those teams will be admitted free if the come to the game wearing their uniform jersey. The Rolla Raiders and Rolla Patriots will play on the field during the latter portion of the halftime break.

The Miners have won three of their last four games to bring a 4-5 overall record and 3-2 GLVC mark into the contest; a victory will get S&T to the .500 mark for the first time in Tyler Fenwick's first season as head coach. But to get there, the Miners will have to deal with an improving McKendree team that is fresh off a 51-16 pasting of Quincy last week.

McKendree – who is also under the direction of a first-year head coach in Mike Babcock -- has featured a balanced offensive attack led by sophomore quarterback Isaac Fisher. The Bearcats have thrown the ball 260 times this season, with Fisher completing 60 percent of his throws for 1,607 yards and 13 touchdowns, while running it 278 times for an average of 135.1 yards per game.

Dewayne Gatti leads the GLVC in receptions per game as he has 53 catches for 718 yards and six touchdowns. Cameron James has caught 25 passes and also has two of the Bearcats' four kick returns this season, as McKendree ranks second in NCAA Division II with an average of 19.9 yards per punt return.

The Bearcats have shown vulnerability on defense, ranking last in the conference in passing yards allowed per game at 305.6 out of 461.5 overall a contest.

Missouri S&T is coming off its best defensive performance of the season in a 24-6 win at William Jewell, holding the Cardinals to 202 yards of total offense and 12 first downs as WJC ran plays from S&T territory on just three of its 15 possessions in the game.

Linebacker Chris Emesih (Houston, Texas/Westfield), this week's GLVC "Defensive Player of the Week", leads the Miners with 77 tackles on the season while Chris Horn (Tulsa, Okla./Booker T. Washington), a past award winner from the GLVC this year, has 51 tackles. Mark Hopkins (Chicago, Ill./Whitney Young) has a team-high four interceptions and Dan Mauszycki (Gardner, Kan./Gardner-Edgerton HS) has recorded team highs in sacks with six and tackles for a loss with 13.

The Miners enter Saturday's contest ranked ninth nationally in pass efficiency defense as they have allowed their conference foes to complete just 47.8 percent of their passes since league play started in early October.

Offensively, the Miners posted 462 yards in the win at William Jewell, as redshirt freshman Peter Simpson (St. Louis, Mo./Lindbergh) completed 16-of-31 passes for a career high 224 yards and two touchdowns. One of the scoring passes went to Melvin Stovall (Los Angeles, Calif./Lancaster), who leads the Miners with 54 receptions for 561 yards and is one catch away from tying the S&T single season record for receptions by a first year player in the program.

Also following Saturday's game, Missouri S&T's intramural department will hold a field goal kicking contest for an opportunity to win prizes courtesy of the S&T Bookstore. Organizations must have ten eligible intramural athletes on their rosters for the event and at least ten of the members must be present at the game prior to the end of the first quarter. The sign-in table for the contest will be located by the concession stand at the stadium.

Game Notes: Miners vs. McKendree

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