ROLLA, Mo. – The top two offenses in the Great Lakes Valley Conference – statistically speaking – will face off against one another Saturday as Missouri S&T opens its 2021 conference schedule against Quincy in Quincy, Ill.  Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.

The Miners enter the game averaging a league-high 496.8 yards and 46 points per game on the year, but are 2-2 in the win-loss column after suffering a 38-31 loss last Saturday at Hillsdale.  S&T held a 24-7 lead at one point, but the Chargers took advantage of a turnover and nine Miner penalties in the second half to rally for the win.

Quarterback Luke Hertzler (St. Louis, MO/Parkway North) made his second start in succession and completed his first 10 passes of the game; he would finish the day 15-of-22 for 234 yards and three touchdowns.  Breon Michel (Colorado Springs, CO/Vista Ridge) caught six of those passes for 124 yards and a score as he continues to lead the GLVC with 23 catches for 535 yards and his eight touchdowns are tied for the league and NCAA Division II high.  He also ranks second in NCAA Division II in receiving yards per game (133.8).  Josh Brown (Gainesville, FL/North Marion HS) has hauled in 15 passes for 181 yards and a score.

Aaron Moya (Canutillo, TX/Canutillo) continues to lead the ground game with 308 yards and five touchdowns, as he ranks fourth in the GLVC in rushing yards per game.  S&T has four running backs among the top 15 in that category, with Josh Sanders (Maize, KS/Maize) ranking 10^th, Gideon Niboh (St. Charles, MO/Francis Howell) in 13^th and Payton McAlister (Decatur, TX/Decatur) in 15^th entering play this weekend.  Niboh is also the top kickoff returner in the GLVC with an average of 34.1 yards per runback – good for fourth in the nation -- and had an 86-yard return of the opening kickoff last week.

Defensively, the Miners are led in tackles by safety Justin Onwugbufor (Wichita, KS/Northwest) with 35 stops after he made 15 in the Hillsdale contest; he also moved into the top 10 all-time at S&T for career tackles last week.  Ben Straatmann (Washington, MO/Washington) has made 34 tackles and leads the Miners with 4.5 tackles for a loss and 1.5 sacks, while Cameron Clemons (St. Louis, MO/Lutheran North) has made 20 stops on the year.  Clemons also ranks first in the conference with seven passes defended on the year and is one of four Miner defenders with an interception.

ABOUT QUINCY: The Hawks also bring a 2-2 record into their conference opener after a 63-23 loss last week at Ashland, as they allowed 718 yards of offense to the Eagles.  Quincy comes into this week's ranked second in the GLVC behind Missouri S&T in total offense with an average of 472 yards per game – 309 of which has come through the air – and points with 36.8 per game.

Quarterback Tionne Harris has thrown for 281.3 yards per game as he has completed 46 of his 92 pass attempts; he is averaging 18.3 yards per completion.  Quincy has two receivers that rank among the leaders in the conference, led by Eugene Witherspoon, who is second in the GLVC with 460 yards on his 17 catches and is tied for the league lead with eight touchdown receptions.  The other is AJ Hardin, who has 12 receptions for 284 yards and has the league's longest reception this season of 83 yards in a win two weeks ago over Walsh.

Tremayne Lee leads the Hawks in the rushing department with 298 yards and his backup, Taylor Temple, has recorded 182 yards thus far.  Quincy is averaging 163 yards per game on the ground, but much of that stemmed from a 307-yard rushing output in its victory over Iowa Wesleyan on Sept. 11.  The Hawks have finished their other three games with more passing yards.

Quincy's top tackler is strong safety Melvin Brock, who has been in on 26 stops on the season.  Linebacker Trevon Rhodes as 21 tackles, while linebackers Dale Dambek and Peyten Chappel have 16 stops as does defensive tackle Collin Olla-Chatman.  The Hawks have recorded 13 sacks, but have allowed 499.5 yards and 38.8 points per game in the first four weeks of the season.