ROLLA, Mo. – Missouri S&T's football team will seek to get back above the .500 mark in Great Lakes Valley Conference play on Saturday when it takes on William Jewell in Liberty, Mo.  Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.

After winning their GLVC opener over Quincy on Oct. 1, the Miners fell into an early hole and was unable to climb out of it in a 36-14 loss at Truman State last week, dropping S&T to 1-1 in the GLVC and 2-4 overall.  The Miners fell behind 10-0 in the first seven minutes of play following a blocked punt and an interception that led to two early Truman scores.

S&T played on even terms with the Bulldogs in the second half and scored the only touchdown over the final 30 minutes as Cameren Smith (Claymont, DE/Concord) dashed 65 yards for a touchdown as part of his career-high 138 yards on the ground for the afternoon. Smith leads the Miners in rushing with 308 yards and four touchdowns; he is currently ranked eighth in the GLVC in rushing.

Quarterback Staton King (Bixby, OK/Bixby), who has started the last three games for the Miners, has completed 49-of-83 passes (59 percent) for 511 yards and three touchdowns and threw a scoring pass to tight end Ryan Langford (Phoenix, AZ/O'Connor) for S&T's other touchdown last week.  The Miners' top receiving targets have been Isaiah Wright (Panama City, FL/Port St. Joe) with 14 catches for 187 yards and a score and Paulvin Horton (Raleigh, NC/Garner HS), who has hauled in 11 passes for 77 yards.  CJ Jarmon has a team-high 232 yards on his 10 receptions this season.

On the defensive side of the ball, linebacker Ben Straatmann (Washington, MO/Washington) has team highs in sacks and stops behind the line of scrimmage while sharing the team lead in tackles with safety Stefan Camplin (Raytown, MO/Raytown) with 45.  Straatmann has seven sacks and 15.5 tackles for a loss on the year – both totals that lead the GLVC and rank among the top 10 in NCAA Division II – while Nick Mattli (O'Fallon, MO/Fort Zumwalt South) has recorded 7.5 stops for a loss and three sacks.

Punter Parker Boyce (Hartsburg, MO/Southern Boone) continues to lead the GLVC in average at 42.5 yards per punt, an average that ranks 13^th in the nation, while sharing the conference lead with 12 punts dropped inside the opponents' 20-yard line.

ABOUT WILLIAM JEWELL:  The Cardinals come into Saturday's game at 1-5 overall and 0-2 in the GLVC following a 44-21 loss last week at Southwest Baptist.  Jewell was outgained by a 532-295 margin in the game, as SBU quarterback Cooper Callis threw for 442 yards and four touchdowns.  The Cardinals' lone win came on Sept. 24 over Kentucky Wesleyan – who beat S&T a week earlier – to end a 27-game losing streak.  Jewell has scored 133 points this season after posting just 147 in the entire 2021 campaign.

Quarterback CJ Ward has completed 80-of-148 passes (54.1 percent) for 953 yards and eight touchdowns on the season, with his top target being Deldrionn Amos with 25 receptions for 337 yards; he has caught four scoring passes.  The Cardinals are averaging 295.2 yards per game of total offense, which ranks fifth in the GLVC through six weeks of play.

Jewell has five receivers with at least 10 catches on the season, as Winston Quinn has caught 15 balls for 218 yards and Keavian Long has hauled in 13 passes that includes two for touchdowns.  Tabren Yates and Jordan Clay both rank among the top 10 in rushing in the GLVC, as Yates has a team-high 243 yards and Clay has rushed for 236.

Defensively, the Cardinals have allowed 432.2 yards and 35.3 points per game – both marks ranking next-to-last in the conference.  Linebacker Adam Callahan leads Jewell with 50 tackles on the year that included 5.5 tackles for a loss, while Sean Mitchell has been in on 41 stops.  Cornerback Kwesi Hooks has two of Jewell's six interceptions this season.