ROLLA, Mo. – Missouri S&T's football will finally get the opportunity to play in front of its home crowd this weekend – and play in front of it for the first time on the new artificial surface at Allgood-Bailey Stadium – when it plays host to Truman State in the Great Lakes Valley Conference opener for both teams Saturday at 6:30 p.m.

The Miners come into Saturday's game seeking their first win of the 2013 campaign after opening on the road against two teams that received votes in that week's AFCA national poll for NCAA Division II.  The opponent this week, Truman State, received votes in the pre-season but has not been listed since dropping its opener at Drake in overtime.

Missouri S&T got off to a great start last week at Midwestern State, scoring twice in the first 3:15 of play to take an early 14-0 lead.  Spencer Elrod (Lancaster, Calif./), named Monday as the GLVC's special teams "Player of the Week", returned the opening kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown, then following a blocked punt by Harold Edwards, Jr., Melvin Stovall (Los Angeles, Calif./Lancaster) caught a 24-yard scoring pass from Kason Key (Owasso, Okla./Owasso).

Zenel Hudson (Bayshore, N.Y./Milford Academy) gave S&T one more lead in the game with a two-yard touchdown run before the Mustangs closed the first half with 17 straight points to take a lead they would not relinquish.

Stovall had his second straight 100-yard receiving game for the Miners last week, hauling in nine passes for 139 yards.  He leads the GLVC in receiving yardage with 266 yards on 19 receptions, the second-most in the GLVC; he is ranked among the top ten nationally in both categories. 

Leon Moody (St. Louis, Mo./DeSmet Jesuit HS) has 10 catches for 107 yards and Nick Taylor (Wichita, Kan./Southeast HS) has caught eight passes for 97 yards and a touchdown.   Elrod, who is fourth on the team in receptions with four, is averaging nearly 26 yards per kickoff return and 190.5 all-purpose yards per game, the 21^st-best mark in NCAA Division II.

Quarterback Kason Key (Owasso, Okla./Owasso), who threw for 248 yards in the game at Midwestern State, has completed 51.1 percent of his throws on the year for 628 yards and four touchdowns.   The Miners' leading rusher is Zenel Hudson (Bayshore, N.Y./Milford Academy) with 105 yards on 31 carries and two touchdowns.

Linebackers Nick Kruse (Cuba, Mo./Cuba HS) and Rob Cidlik (Eureka, Mo./Eureka) lead the Miners in tackles with 16 and 15, respectively, while defensive tackle Jacob Nutt (Pacific, Mo./Pacific) recorded two of the Miners' three sacks in last week's game.  Cornerback Will Brown (Hazelwood, Mo./Hazelwood West) has S&T's lone interception in the first two weeks of the season.

Truman State edged Langston, a top-25 team in the NAIA ranks, 17-12 last week for its first win of the year.  The Bulldogs got 124 yards on the ground from Garrett White and another 80 from quarterback Devonte Black as they recorded 222 rushing yards in the victory.

White has rushed for 213 yards on the year, good for third in the GLVC, to lead a rushing attack that ranks third in the conference.  Black has completed 61.2 percent of his passes for 277 yards and a touchdown, with tight end Chico Orlando leading the receivers with nine catches for 86 yards.

The Bulldogs have scored just 24 points in the first two games, but have given up only 25.  Safety Austin Zoda has a team-high 18 tackles, while linebacker Matthew Bell and defensive end Nic Abbate have 14 tackles apiece.  Defensive end Devin Gillespie has two sacks and 3.5 tackles for a loss.

Saturday's game marks the first meeting between the Miners and Bulldogs – who have played 76 times since 1909 – in Rolla since 2007.

Game Notes: Miners vs. Truman State
Live Video
Live Audio
Live Stats