ROLLA, Mo. – With just two weeks remaining in the 2014 season, Missouri S&T's football team will get to remain at home for the balance of it as it hosts Great Lakes Valley Conference leader Indianapolis Saturday at Allgood-Bailey Stadium. Kickoff is at 1 p.m.
The Miners come into Saturday's contest looking to snap a three-game losing streak against a Greyhound team – one that is ranked in the top 25 this week by both the American Football Coaches Association and D2Football.com – seeking to claim its third straight outright GLVC title.
Indianapolis is ranked 16
th in the D2Football.com poll and moved into the AFCA's top 25 this week in the final spot after surviving a contest last Thursday with Saint Joseph's that went four overtimes. The Greyhounds won that game 36-33 on Scott Miller's 35-yard field goal after tying the game in the final minute of regulation time to extend the contest.
Entering play this weekend, the Greyhounds have the GLVC's top offensive and defensive units in terms of yardage. They are averaging 438.4 yards per game with a balanced attack and also lead the league in scoring at 35 points a game, while allowing just 292 yards a contest.
Quarterback Connor Barthel has the seventh-best completion percentage in NCAA Division II at 68.5 percent, as he has thrown for 2,106 yards and 20 touchdowns on the year. After throwing the game-tying touchdown pass to Logan Young with 59 seconds to go in regulation time, he ran for two touchdowns in overtime.
The Greyhound rushing attack is averaging 204.4 yards per game behind the running of Matt Ripp, who is fifth in the GLVC with 871 yards. Meanwhile, wide receiver Reece Horn is second in the conference with 58 receptions for 916 yards and leads the GLVC with 12 touchdowns, while Young has caught 26 passes for 312 yards.
On the defensive side, linebacker Rob Dury has made the second-most tackles in the GLVC with 104, while fellow linebacker Jake Grossnickle has 63 stops. Koby Orris has three of the Greyhounds' six interceptions this season, including one in the win last week.
Missouri S&T will look to slow down the UIndy offense with a unit that is allowing just 374.2 yards per game, while leading the conference in quarterback sacks with 40 and sitting tied for the league lead with 11 interceptions. The Miners held Quincy to 261 yards of total offense Saturday, the third time this year that S&T has kept an opposing team under 300 yards of offense.
Defensive end
Daleroy Davey (Kansas City, Kan./Turner) has 11.5 sacks on the year to rank sixth in the nation and third in the GLVC, while making a team-high total of 16.5 tackles behind the line of scrimmage. Linebacker
Zach Melber (St. Louis, Mo./Oakville), the Miners' leading tackler on the year with 57, has made 15.5 stops for a loss, while defensive linemen
Dan Mauszycki (Gardner, Kan./Gardner-Edgerton HS) and
Jacob Nutt (Pacific, Mo./Pacific) have also recorded double figures for tackles for a loss, where S&T ranks third in the nation.
Nick Kruse (Cuba, Mo./Cuba HS) and
Dawan Ferguson (St. Louis, Mo./Riverview Gardens) have made 52 tackles apiece, while cornerback
Will Brown (Hazelwood, Mo./Hazelwood West) is tied for the league lead with four interceptions.
S&T quarterbacks
Lamar Wilkes (Maryland Heights, Mo./Pattonville) and
Peter Simpson (St. Louis, Mo./Lindbergh) combined to complete 16-of-28 passes in last week's game, with Simpson accounting for both Miner touchdowns with a one-yard scoring run and a 19-yard pass to
Leon Moody (St. Louis, Mo./DeSmet Jesuit HS).
Melvin Stovall (Los Angeles, Calif./Lancaster) leads the Miners with 45 catches for 803 yards and seven touchdowns, while Moody has 34 receptions for 416 yards and four scores.
Scott Hendricks (Kechi, Kan./Maize HS) continues to head the Miner running attack with 301 yards, while
Charles Bournes (Chicago, Ill./Morgan Park) has rushed for 299 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
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