ROLLA, Mo. – Two teams that started their Great Lakes Valley Conference slates on the winning side of the ledger last week square off Saturday night, as Missouri S&T plays host to Saint Joseph's College on Miner Hall of Fame Night at Allgood-Bailey Stadium.
The Miners got its first victory of the season last week with a strong defensive effort, knocking off Truman State 10-7 in Kirksville. S&T scored the eventual game-winning touchdown on a quarterback sneak by
Tyler Swart (Dickinson, Texas/Dickinson) in the final seconds of the third quarter, then the Miner defense got a pair of fourth quarter stops to hold off the Bulldogs while the offense held the ball for nearly 13 minutes of the final period.
Meanwhile, Saint Joseph's had a fine showing of its own on the defensive side of the ball last week, holding William Jewell to 283 total yards as it pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 34-9 home victory. The Pumas enter Saturday's contest with a 2-1 overall record.
ABOUT THE MINERS: Missouri S&T rallied for its first win of the season Saturday, taking a 10-7 decision at Truman State to open GLVC play with a win for the first time since 2012.
Tyler Swart (Dickinson, Texas/Dickinson)'s one-yard touchdown run just before the end of the third quarter put the Miners ahead for good, as the S&T defense held the Bulldogs to just 33 yards of total offense after the lead was taken.
Quarterback
Lamar Wilkes (Maryland Heights, Mo./Pattonville) completed 14-of-27 passes at Truman for 109 yards and added 50 more on the ground, while
Dalton Major (Bourbonnais, Ill./Bishop McNamara) also ran for 50 yards that included several key ones on two time consuming drives in the fourth quarter.
Wilkes leads the Miners with 104 rushing yards and has thrown for 433 on the season; the top S&T targets have been
Spencer Elrod (Lancaster, Calif./Eastside) and
Braxton Graham (Seneca, Mo./Seneca) with 11 catches apiece.
S&T's defense held Truman to 287 yards in last week's game and just 187 after the Bulldogs scored near the end of the first quarter. For the season, the Miners have allowed an average of 404.7 yards per game. Linebacker
Austin Truvillion (Kansas City, Mo./Park Hill), who was named Monday as the GLVC's defensive "Player of the Week", was in on 15 tackles in the win; he leads the Miners with 29 stops on the season and is tied for the team lead with 4.5 tackles for lost yardage.
Linebacker
Landon Compton (Lamar, Mo./Lamar) has made 23 tackles on the season and
Nate Brown (Webb City, Mo./Webb City) has been in on 22 stops, while
Rob Cidlik (Eureka, Mo./Eureka), who has 19 tackles, has a team-high two quarterback sacks. Safeties
Albert Yemitan (Houston, Texas/Western Illinois Univ.) and
Isaiah Hardy (San Jose, Calif./Sobrato) have an interception apeice for S&T, who has forced four more turnovers than its opponents through three weeks of the season.
ABOUT SAINT JOSEPH'S: The Pumas bounced back from a 19-0 loss at Alderson-Broaddus by knocking off William Jewell 34-9 Saturday. After the Cardinals had closed to within 13-9 late in the third quarter, the Pumas rattled off touchdowns on three straight fourth quarter possessions to pull away.
Quarterback Wade Burtron has completed 65.2 percent of his throws (54-of-83) for 494 yards and two touchdowns on the season, with Jose Esquivel leading the receiving corps with 15 catches for 165 yards. EJ Woody has caught 10 passes on the season, while Addison Dillinger has hauled in eight.
Braxton Shelton, who rushed for 107 yards in last week's win, has rushed for 189 yards to lead Saint Joseph's in that department. The Pumas are running for 122.7 yards a game.
Saint Joseph's boasts the GLVC"s top defense through three weeks of the season, allowing just 296 yards and 12.7 points a game. Linebacker Joel Wimbley leads the SJC unit with 32 tackles, while Jessie Pourch has 27 tackles and is second in the league with three interceptions.
