QUINCY, Ill. – Despite outgaining Quincy by more than a two-to-one margin and having nearly twice of time of possession as the Hawks had Saturday afternoon, a pair of fourth quarter turnovers proved costly to Missouri S&T Saturday afternoon as it dropped its Great Lakes Valley Conference opener by the score of 31-28.

Leading 28-24 early in the fourth quarter, Quincy's Kenshawn Bragg picked off a pass and returned it 50 yards for what turned out to be the decisive score.  The Miners had two opportunities in the final five minutes to overcome the margin, but a fumble near the goal line ended one chance and a missed field goal with 20 seconds to play send S&T (2-3) to a loss in its conference opener for the first time since 2016.

Quincy (3-2, 1-0 GLVC) took the lead just 45 seconds into the game when on its third play from scrimmage, Tionne Harris completed a 37-yard scoring pass to Eugene Witherspoon – who had three Miner defenders around him.  S&T answered back later in the first quarter after a pass interference penalty extended the drive that ended with Payton McAlister's (Decatur, TX/Decatur) one-yard scoring run.

S&T missed a chance to grab the advantage on its next possession when Zach Glaess (Queen Creek, AZ/Queen Creek) pushed a 40-yard field goal wide, then the Hawks got a 40-yard field goal from Michael Klotz to take a 10-7 lead four minutes into the second quarter.

The Miners took their first lead in the game the next time they got the ball when Brennan Simms (Punta Gorda, FL/Charlotte) hit Breon Michel (Colorado Springs, CO/Vista Ridge) in the flat and after breaking a tackle, he raced to the end zone on a 59-yard scoring play.  S&T extended the lead just over five minutes later, as McAlister ran 47 yards to the Hawks' two-yard line on a fourth-and-two play to set up a Simms quarterback sneak – also on fourth down – from the one to make it 21-10.

S&T appeared ready to get the ball back with a chance to tack on points before halftime when it got the Hawks into a third-and-20, but a pass interference call against the Miners, followed by two runs by Taylor Temple to pick up first downs led to a second scoring connection between Harris and Witherspoon that covered 24 yards in the final minute of the first half to time the lead to four.

The Hawks took the lead back midway through the third quarter when Tremayne Lee broke through the line and scored on a 44-yard run, but S&T answered right back with two big pass plays to reach the end zone again.  Simms connected with tight end Ryan Langford (Phoenix, AZ/O'Connor) for a 26-yard pass to put the Miners at the Quincy 25, then Simms hit McAlister on the next play to cover the remaining yards to put S&T back in front.

S&T's defense was able to snuff out a Quincy pass play on a fourth-and-four early in the fourth quarter to get the ball back near midfield, but on third down, Bragg jumped the pass route to pick off the pass and run it back down the sidelines to give the lead back to the Hawks.

After both teams traded punts, the Miners drove from own 24-yard line to the Quincy eight, but Simms had the ball knocked out of his hand by Trevon Rhodes and recovered by the Hawks at the one-yard line with 4:09 remaining.

Quincy got one first down before having to punt the ball back to S&T with 2:43 to go, where Simms completed a pass to Tate Nickleberry (Columbia, MO/Rock Bridge) to get into Hawk territory and another to Michel to get into field goal range.  The drive stalled at the 23-yard line, but Glaess missed his attempt from 40 yards away to tie the game.

The Miners, who entered the game ranked fifth in NCAA Division II in total offense, ran up 573 yards in the game to Quincy's 282 and had the ball for 39:24 of the contest.  Simms completed 33-of-45 passes for a career-high 380 yards with Michel hauling in 13 passes – also a career best – for 179 yards.  McAlister and Aaron Moya (Canutillo, TX/Canutillo) each had 87 yards rushing as the Miners finished with 193 in the game.

Defensive end Ben Straatmann (Washington, MO/Washington) had a monster game on that side of the ball Saturday, with six of his team-high 11 tackles going for a loss and recording a S&T single game record five quarterback sacks along with a forced fumble.

Missouri S&T will be at home for its next two games, beginning with next Saturday's Homecoming game against 18^th-ranked Truman State at 1 p.m. at Allgood-Bailey Stadium.