HILLSDALE, Mich. – Missouri S&T jumped out to a 17-point lead in the first half Saturday afternoon in its final non-conference game of the season at Hillsdale, but a number of mistakes in the second half proved costly as the Miners wound up on the short end of a 38-31 result to the Chargers.

Trailing 24-17 at the half, Hillsdale scored on each of its first three second half possessions and slowed down the S&T offense, which entered the game averaging an NCAA Division II-leading 555.3 yards per game.  The Miners had 232 yards at halftime, but just 89 over the final 30 minutes of play as they dropped to 2-2 on the year.

The Miners erupted out of the gate as Gideon Niboh (St. Charles, MO/Francis Howell) – who had a 93-yard kickoff return for a touchdown last week – returned the opening kickoff 86 yards to the Chargers' nine-yard line.  However, the Miners picked up only one yard on the three plays that followed and had to settle for a 25-yard field goal from Zach Glaess (Queen Creek, AZ/Queen Creek) to get on the scoreboard.

After the two teams traded punts following the field goal, the Chargers got the ball following S&T's punt at the Miner 45 and drove for a go-ahead score on Luke Keller's 13-yard touchdown pass to Isaac TeSlaa.  Hillsdale converted on a fourth-and-one play during the course of the drive that gave it the 7-3 lead.

S&T wasted little time in getting the lead back, as Niboh set up the Miners near midfield following the kickoff and four plays later, Luke Hertzler (St. Louis, MO/Parkway North) connected with Breon Michel (Colorado Springs, CO/Vista Ridge) on a 31-yard scoring pass to give the lead back to the Miners only 1:38 after the Hillsdale touchdown.

Two plays into the second quarter, S&T added to its lead when Aaron Moya (Canutillo, TX/Canutillo) raced 21 yards for a touchdown in another drive that started near midfield after the defense forced the Charger offense into a three-and-out.

The Miners continued to pick up large chunks of yards through the air in the opening half as well, as on the next S&T possession Hertzler completed passes of 20 yards to Michel and 35 yards to Ryan Langford (Phoenix, AZ/O'Connor) to move into Hillsdale territory.  He completed the drive with a 30-yard scoring strike to Tate Nickleberry (Columbia, MO/Rock Bridge) to extend the Miner advantage to 24-7 five minutes into the second quarter.

Hillsdale responded following the ensuing kickoff, as Keller had a 21-yard on third down to keep the drive alive and later completed a 34-yard pass to TeSlaa to get the Chargers into the red zone, but had to settle for a 30-yard field goal by Julian Lee to trim the S&T lead to 24-10.

Both teams traded turnovers, as Hertzler had a pass picked off deep in Hillsdale territory, but the Miners got it right back when Justin Onwugbufor (Wichita, KS/Northwest) forced and then recovered a fumble by Josef Hissom at the Charger 27.  However, as the Miners appeared on the verge of extending their lead, Hillsdale's Jackson Gillock picked off a pass in the red zone and returned back to the Miner one-yard line, setting up Jake Burger's touchdown run on the next play to cut the S&T lead in half.

Hillsdale opened the second half, aided by two pass interference penalties by the Miners, by driving for the tying score as Burger scored on a one-yard run to knot the contest at 24.  But S&T's response was going back to the combination of Hertzler and Michel, as they hooked up on a 50-yard pass play on the first play following the kickoff to get the Miners back into Hillsdale territory at the 28-yard line.

That drive appeared ready to stall after a sack on second down and an incompletion on third down, but a targeting penalty on the Chargers on the third down play gave the Miners an automatic first down at the Hillsdale 15.  S&T regained the lead four plays after that penalty when Hertzler found Trevor Anthony (Elsberry, MO/Clopton) for a two-yard scoring pass.

Penalties played a big role on Hillsdale's next possession as well, as the Miners were called for two more pass interference penalties and for offsides on a third-and-four play, allowing the Chargers to even it up again on the first play of the fourth quarter on Jack Robinson's one-yard run.

After the Miners went three-and-out when they got the ball back, Bart Bixler blocked a Chase Cole (Festus, MO/Festus) punt and the Chargers recovered the loose ball at the S&T 12-yard line.  On the very next play, Garrit Aissen threw a touchdown pass to Michael Harding to put Hillsdale back in front.

S&T got one first down after the ensuing kickoff before being forced to punt, then had to punt again on its next possession with 4:53 to play and couldn't get the ball back as the Chargers picked up three first downs and were able to run out the clock.

Hertzler completed his first 10 passes of the game and finished 15-of-22 for 234 yards and the three scores; Michel caught six passes for 124 yards and had his fourth straight game with at least one scoring catch.  The Miners, however, rushed for just 87 as a team and was unable to convert on any of their eight third down plays.

Onwugbufor had a team-high 15 tackles on the afternoon to go along with the fumble force and recovery, while Trey Quick (Rolla, MO/Rolla) recorded nine stops as the Miners held Hillsdale to 327 yards of offense in the contest. 

The Miners open Great Lakes Valley Conference play next Saturday as it takes on Quincy in a 1 p.m. game in Quincy, Ill.