ROLLA, Mo. -- Missouri S&T will begin its third season under the directon of head coach
Tyler Fenwick by facing the same school it played in his first game as the head of the Miners -- Chadron State. The Miners and Eagles will face off at Allgood-Bailey Stadium with the kickoff slated for 6:30 p.m.
Missouri S&T -- picked sixth in the Great Lakes Valley Conference in the coaches' pre-season rankings -- brings back five starters on offense, but is looking to replace much of a defensive unit that has instrumental in its success in recent seasons.
It will face an Eagle team that has knocked off the Miners in the season opener in each of the last two years. Last September, Chadron State held off S&T's second half rally efforts to post a 42-25 win on its home turf. The Eagles beat S&T in double overtime thriller when they squared off in Rolla two seasons ago.
Chadron State, picked to finish third in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference this season, also returns five starters on each side of the ball.
ABOUT THE MINERS: The Miners head into the 2015 campaign looking to rebound from a 4-7 mark a year ago and will do so with an offensive unit that hopes to benefit from the experience it gained a season ago.
Leading the way is quarterback
Lamar Wilkes (Maryland Heights, Mo./Pattonville), who accounted for over 1,000 yards of total offense in his freshman campaign. The Miners also return two of their top running backs in
Scott Hendricks (Kechi, Kan./Maize) (370 yards rushing in 2014) and
Chris Kennard (Plano, Texas/Parish Episcopal), as well as their 2013 rushing leader,
Zenel Hudson (Bayshore, N.Y./Milford Academy), who missed much of last season with an injury.
In addition, the Miners also return wideout
Spencer Elrod (Lancaster, Calif./Eastside), who averaged over 19 yards per reception a year ago and also had 21.7 yards on kickoff returns which included one brought back for a touchdown.
The Miners' offensive line also returns three players with starting experience, headed by center
Adam Echele (Wildwood, Mo./Lafayette) and guard
Aaron Fritts (Butler, Mo./Butler).
On defense, the Miners are replacing nine starters from last season's squad, but are hopeful that the newcomers to the lineup will mold into a unit on a par with the S&T defenses of recent years. Last year's team gave up an average of just 378.3 yards per game.
The two returning starters are defensive tackle
Josip Juric (West Des Moines, Iowa/Dowling Catholic) -- an honorable mention All-GLVC selection last season -- and linebacker
Dillon Bowman (St. Peters, Mo./Fort Zumwalt South), who finished fourth on the team with 59 tackles despite not making his first start until week five of the season.
ABOUT CHADRON STATE: The Eagles missed the NCAA Division II playoffs last season despite posting an 8-3 record, with one of the setbacks coming at the hands of eventual national champion Colorado State-Pueblo.
Chadron State is expected to have a redshirt freshman, TD Stein, under center tonight in its opener. The Eagles also figure to have two new starters on their offensive line and a new starter at running back, but Cody Paul is the Eagles' top returning runner with 540 yards and four touchdowns a year ago.
Paul is also a dangerous return man for Chadron State, averaging nearly 29 yards per kickoff return last season.
Kyle Vinich, who had 63 receptions for 899 yards and nine scores a year ago, also returns to the Chadron State offensive unit.
Defensively, the Eagles are headed by linebacker Dylan Furrier, who was in on 118 tackles with seven for a loss last year. Safety Ryan Wood, who had 84 tackles in 2014, also returns along with fellow safety Cole Montgomery, who led Chadron State with four interceptions last fall.
