ROLLA, Mo. – Missouri S&T will seek to continue a run of success it has had against Saint Joseph's – but more importantly, get its first win in Great Lakes Valley Conference play – when it heads to Rensselaer, Ind., Saturday to face the Pumas in a noon contest at Alumni Stadium.
The Miners have won six in a row from the Pumas, including last year's 39-27 win in Rolla, but are looking to get back on track as they have dropped two straight contests. S&T lost its conference opener 44-20 last Saturday to Truman State and are looking to even its record at 2-2 against a Saint Joseph's team that won two in a row since losing its opener.
The Pumas rallied for a 31-26 win at William Jewell to open GLVC play last week behind the arm of Phillip Kimble, who threw for 357 yards and four touchdowns in a wide-open affair against the Cardinals last Saturday.
ABOUT THE MINERS: A pair of big plays late in the first half swung the momentum of Saturday's contest with Truman State, as the Bulldogs beat Missouri S&T 44-20 in the conference opener for both teams.
After S&T had taken the lead on a 12-yard touchdown pass from
Tyler Swart (Dickinson, TX/Dickinson) to
Logan Armontrout (Centralia, MO/Centralia), the Bulldogs ran the ensuing kickoff back to the Miners' 15-yard line and scored on the next play to regain the lead. Then on the final play of the first half, Truman's Ben Chaney intercepted a throw to the end zone and ran it back 97 yards for a touchdown to give his team a 10-point lead at the break that S&T couldn't overcome.
Braxton Graham (Seneca, MO/Seneca) had another big game for the Miners, catching 12 passes for 136 yards and a pair of touchdowns; he enters play Saturday ranked fourth in the league with 17 receptions for 300 yards and three touchdowns. Graham is also third in all-purpose yards in the GLVC with 504 through the first three weeks of the season, just 22 in back of league leader Malik Higgins of Indianapolis.
Swart completed 24-of-40 passes for 267 yards and three scores Saturday and has completed 58.1 percent of his throws on the year for 651 yards and eight touchdowns.
Landon Compton (Lamar, MO/Lamar) leads the Miner defense with 30 tackles, including a team-high 5.5 for a loss and two sacks.
Bo Brooks (Canutillo, TX/Canutillo) has been in on 18 stops, while
Nate Brown (Webb City, MO/Webb City) and
Bret Curtis (Lombard, IL/Glenbard South) have 14 apiece; Brown has one of the Miners' three interceptions.
ABOUT SAINT JOSEPH'S: The Pumas opened up GLVC play with a road win at William Jewell, getting a pair of second half touchdown passes from Phillip Kimble to take the lead for good in a 31-26 win in Liberty, Mo. Kimble's 36-yard scoring toss to Latrell Giles moved the Pumas in front in the third quarter as Kimble completed passes to eight different receivers – four of them for scores.
Kimble has completed completed 57 percent of his throws for 753 yards and six touchdowns, with his top target being Tremel Glasper, who had 17 receptions for 149 yards Saturday and leads the GLVC with 25 catches for 367 yards and three touchdowns. The Pumas have scored seven of their 10 touchdowns this season through the air.
Martez Walker paces the running attack with 224 yards; he has carried the ball on over 54 percent of the Pumas' rushing plays this season.
The linebacker contingent has paced the Saint Joseph's defense, as Luke Teague heads the team with 35 tackles, including 16 in a win over Alderson Broaddus two weeks ago, while Chad Veccharella has been in on 25 stops and Austin Fleming on 24. Veccharella has six tackles for a loss, while Evan Gill, a defensive end, has three sacks. The Pumas have four interceptions as a team.
All three of Saint Joseph's games this season have been decided by a touchdown or less.
