ROLLA, Mo. – Coming off a disappointing performance last week at McKendree, Missouri S&T jumps right back into the fire Saturday when it faces one of NCAA Division II's most explosive offenses in Southwest Baptist in a 1 p.m. contest in Bolivar, Mo.
The Bearcats, who are 7-1 on the season and returned to the American Football Coaches Association's rankings in a tie for 25
th this week, were also second in the initial NCAA Division II Super Region Four rankings that were released Monday. SBU has done this on the strength of an offense that is averaging a league-high 503.5 yards and 40.1 points per game this season.
Sophomore quarterback T.J. Edwards has been the ringleader of the SBU attack, completing 65.3 percent of his passes (175-of-268) for 2,244 yards and 24 touchdowns. Edwards has accounted for 32 of SBU's 43 offensive touchdowns this season.
On Saturday in the Bearcats' 61-37 win at Saint Joseph's, Edwards connected on 26-of-43 passes for 330 yards and four touchdowns, while also running for another 96 and three scores to earn his third GLVC player of the week honor this season.
Edwards' key receivers have been Kendrick Payne with 44 receptions for 717 yards and seven scores, Cassian Foreman with 33 receptions for 600 yards and five touchdowns and Scottie Wilson, who has caught 32 balls for 368 yards and six scores. Not to be outdone, the Bearcats also have the GLVC's leading rusher in Bubba Jenkins, who is fifth in NCAA Division II in rushing yards with 1,146 and nine touchdowns.
Jenkins had 200 yards rushing in the win at Saint Joseph's and has gone over 100 yards in all seven of the Bearcat victories this year.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Bearcats are paced in tackles by linebacker Shaun Hutchinson with 72 on the season, while fellow linebacker Brycen Gagnon has been in on 53 stops. SBU's defense has allowed 415.8 yards per game – including 245 a game through the air – and just over 27 points a contest, but have nine interceptions as a team and have recorded 71 tackles for a loss, led by the 19 posted by defensive end Via Manuma.
While SBU enters the game as the top-ranked scoring team in the GLVC, the Miners come in at number two with their average of 34.8 points a contest. However, Missouri S&T is also coming off a game where it scored fewer than 10 points for the first time in nearly three seasons in a 40-7 loss to McKendree last week.
The Miners were held to 255 yards of total offense by McKendree, but is still averaging 368.5 per game for the season. Quarterback
Tyler Swart (Dickinson, TX/Dickinson), who accounted for Missouri S&T's only touchdown of the game on a one-yard run in the third quarter, has completed 58.2 percent of his passes for 1,750 yards and 16 touchdowns on the year.
Braxton Graham (Seneca, MO/Seneca) is tied for second in the GLVC with his 49 receptions and ranks second in yards with 829 on the year; he is also third in all-purpose yards with 1,294 on the season. Despite being held under 100 yards receiving for the first time in five games, Graham still ended up with 139 all-purpose yards in Saturday's contest.
Ray Mullen (Palm Springs, CA/Palm Springs) has also caught 27 balls for S&T for 377 yards and four touchdowns, while
Charles Bournes (Chicago, IL/Morgan Park) leads the ground game with 422 yards and three touchdowns; he is currently ranked eighth in the GLVC in rushing.
Defensively, linebacker
Landon Compton (Lamar, MO/Lamar) leads Missouri S&T with 60 tackles, while
Austin Truvillion (Kansas City, MO/Park Hill) has been in on 48 stops and
Bo Brooks (Canutillo, TX/Canutillo) and
Mickey Sarner (Murrieta, CA/Murrieta Valley) have 41 apiece. The Miners have 28 sacks as a team – led by
Andrew Masters (Kearney, MO/Kearney)' five – while making 73 tackles behind the line of scrimmage.
Bret Curtis (Lombard, IL/Glenbard South) has a team-high 11.5 tackles for a loss, while
Jeremi Ross (Valencia, CA/Hollywood) has two of the Miners' 10 pass interceptions.
