ROLLA, Mo. – Two teams that have resided at or near the top of the Great Lakes Valley Conference since it began sponsoring football meet up Saturday looking to keep their goal of a winning season alive, as Missouri S&T hosts Indianapolis in a 1 p.m. contest at Allgood-Bailey Stadium.
Saturday will be Military Appreciation Day and all military personnel – active or retired – will be admitted free along with their immediate family members with a military I.D. card. In addition, with Saturday's match being the final home game of the 2016 season for the Miners, S&T's seniors will also be honored prior to the contest.
Both teams enter Saturday's game with similar records -- 4-5 overall, 3-3 in the GLVC – with the winner having a chance to play next week for the opportunity to finish above the .500 mark.
UIndy has won its last two contests, including a 34-12 home victory last week over William Jewell. Meanwhile, the Miners are looking to rebound from back-to-back defeats, the latest a 45-22 loss last week to 25th-ranked Southwest Baptist in Bolivar, Mo.
ABOUT THE MINERS: Missouri S&T dropped its second game in succession last Saturday at 25th-ranked Southwest Baptist, as the Bearcats used two scoring runs to break free from the Miners. The Miners trailed by just a point midway through the second quarter before SBU scored twice before the halftime intermission.
Later, after S&T had drawn closer in the third quarter, the Bearcats got a pair of touchdown passes from TJ Edwards to extend the lead to its eventual final margin.
Despite being held to just 77 all-purpose yards at SBU,
Braxton Graham (Seneca, MO/Seneca) still ranks fourth in the GLVC with 1,371 all-purpose yards and has a league-high 57 catches entering the weekend. Graham has had help on the offensive side from
Ray Mullen (Palm Springs, CA/Palm Springs) with 30 catches and four touchdowns and running back
Charles Bournes (Chicago, IL/Morgan Park), who had a scoring catch last week and leads S&T in rushing with 457 yards this season.
Quarterback
Tyler Swart (Dickinson, TX/Dickinson) has completed 58.6 percent of his passes for 1,896 yards and 18 touchdowns, while
Lamar Wilkes (Maryland Heights, MO/Pattonville) also had a scoring pass last week.
Landon Compton (Lamar, MO/Lamar), who along with
Austin Truvillion (Kansas City, MO/Park Hill) had 13 tackles apiece at SBU, leads S&T with 73 stops on the year. Truvillion has been in on 61 tackles, while
Bo Brooks (Canutillo, TX/Canutillo) has made 50 stops from his safety position.
The Miners have made 29 sacks defensively on the season, led by the five recorded by
Andrew Masters (Kearney, MO/Kearney).
Bret Curtis (Lombard, IL/Glenbard South) leads the Miners with 13.5 tackles for a loss, while Compton has made 10 tackles behind the line of scrimmage.
ABOUT INDIANAPOLIS: The Greyhounds, who had won the four previous GLVC football titles, are seeking to finish the 2016 season on a high note after opening the year at 2-5. UIndy has wins over Lincoln and WIlliam Jewell in the last two weeks and can reach the .500 mark for the first time this season with a win Saturday.
Thanks to a 215-yard night on the ground – including a season-best 157 from Andrew Walker -- UIndy was able to dispatch William Jewell 34-12. Walker, who scored two fourth quarter touchdowns to help the Greyhounds break away from the Cardinals, leads the team in rushing with 593 yards on the year for a team that has produced most of its offense through the air.
UIndy ranks third in the GLVC with an average of 245.6 passing yards per game, with quarterback Bryce Stancombe coming off a game where he threw for 172 yards and two scores. Stancombe, who took over the starting duties on Oct. 15, has thrown for 729 yards and six touchdowns.
Malik Higgins leads the Greyhounds with 53 catches for 879 yards and six scores, while Garrett Willis has 48 receptions for 650 yards. Higgins is fifth in the GLVC in receptions and Willis ranks seventh.
UIndy's defense, which ranks third in the GLVC with an average of 339.3 yards allowed a game, is led by linebackers Rob Dury with 107 tackles and Derrick Bryant with 102, while cornerback Korey Rogan leads the GLVC with six interceptions.
