DES MOINES, Iowa – Missouri S&T was unable to slow down Drake's passing game Saturday afternoon and suffered its first loss of the season as a result, as the Bulldogs defeated the Miners 52-12 on a hot afternoon at Drake Stadium.

Drake got its passing game going beginning with the opening possession of the game, as following a third down completion to Devin Cates to keep its drive going, Grant Kraemer connected with Drew Lauer for a 58-yard scoring pass to get the Bulldogs (1-1) on the scoreboard.

The Miners (2-1) went three-and-out on their opening possession and after a 49-yard punt by Jonathan Banowetz (O'Fallon, MO/Fort Zumwalt North) that put Drake at its own 35-yard line, Kraemer hit Mitch McFarlane for a 65-yard touchdown pass to give the Bulldogs a 14-0 lead with only 3:32 elapsed.

Drake extended its lead early in the second quarter after the Miners missed a chance to get the Bulldogs off the field on third down, as Kraemer escaped the S&T rush and completed a pass to Steven Doran to the Miner seven-yard line.  Two plays later, Kraemer hit Cates on a six-yard touchdown pass.

S&T got its first points of the afternoon following that drive, as a 13-yard completion from Tyler Swart (Dickinson, TX/Dickinson) to Aaron Moya (Canutillo, TX/Canutillo) got it into Drake territory and moments later, Swart connected with Justin Vaughn (Houston, TX/George Bush) for 33 yards to set up a three-yard touchdown run by Moya.

However, Kraemer and the Bulldogs continued to add to their lead, as the Drake quarterback misfired only two of his 16 pass attempts and ended the day with 359 yards and six touchdowns.  He would throw another touchdown pass to Cates before halftime one play after a 72-yard completion to Lauer, then threw scoring passes to Doran and McFarlane in the early stages of the second half.

The Miners' second touchdown came as time expired when Roderick Chapman (Los Angeles, CA/Jefferson) returned a punt 82 yards for a score.  The return – the third scoring return in Chapman's S&T career – marks the 14^th consecutive year in which the Miners have scored a touchdown on a return, extending a school record in the process.

S&T was held to 175 yards of total offense in the contest to Drake's 465; the Bulldogs finished with just 13 net rushing yards on the afternoon as the Miners recorded six quarterback sacks.  Swart threw for 116 yards on the day, while Brennan Simms (Punta Gorda, FL/Charlotte) and Luke Hertzler (St. Louis, MO/Parkway North) – seeing his first game action at S&T – combined to go eight-of-12 for 37 yards.

Braxton Graham (Seneca, MO/Seneca) had six receptions for 61 yards and Vaughn caught five for 51, but the S&T running game was held to a net 22 yards.

Bryce Stevenson (Pearland, TX/Dawson) and Bo Brooks (Canutillo, TX/Canutillo) had seven tackles apiece for the Miners, while Chapman had an interception to go along with his punt return for the touchdown.

The Miners continue their four-game stretch away from home next Saturday when they take on Tuskegee in a 1 p.m. contest in Tuskegee, Ala.