ROLLA, Mo. – Following an overtime win last week, Missouri S&T's football team looks for a second straight victory away from home as it heads to Owensboro, Ky., Saturday for a contest against Kentucky Wesleyan College.  Saturday's contest gets underway at 7 p.m.

The Miners, who knocked off Drake 17-14 in overtime to even their record at 1-1 and Panthers (0-2) have faced one another 10 times since 2000, but are meeting for the first time since KWC was part of the Great Lakes Valley Conference in 2013.  S&T is looking to get above the .500 mark for the first time this year against a Panther team that is ranked in the top 10 in NCAA Division II in passing.

S&T's defense came up big in the win last week, allowing just 333 total yards despite being on the field for 85 offensive plays.  The Miners forced four turnovers in the win, an interception by Peyton Shelton (Ventura, CA/Buena) and three fumbles, one of which was returned by Ben Straatmann (Washington, MO/Washington) 65 yards for a touchdown.

Straatmann, who also recorded nine tackles, four for a loss and two quarterback sacks to go along with the touchdown, earned GLVC Defensive Player of the Week honors for his performance.  He wasn't alone, however, as S&T also got a team-high 10 tackles from Stefan Camplin (Raytown, MO/Raytown) as well as seven tackles and two pass breakups by Cam Orr (Mansfield, TX/Lake Ridge) from his cornerback position.

S&T had four sacks in the win – Bentley Hart (Brookland, AR/Brookland) had the other two as well as the forced fumble that led to Straatmann's touchdown – and recorded six pass breakups along the way.  The Miners also blocked a kick on special teams, as Jamie Gott (Marion, IL/Marion) got a piece of a potential game-tying field goal attempt in overtime to preserve the win and landed the GLVC's Special Teams Player of the Week honor as a result.

Straatmann leads the Miners in tackles with 18 with seven coming behind the line of scrimmage, while Camplin has been in on 16 stops and linebacker Kyle Viverito (South Elgin, IL/South Elgin) has 12 tackles.

The Miner offense struggled to gain traction for much of the afternoon as it recorded only 165 total yards in the game, but took advantage of another Drake fumble to score a touchdown right before halftime on a one-yard run by Cameren Smith (Claymont, DE/Concord).  Smith finished with 33 yards on the ground and his 55 for the season are second to Gideon Niboh's (St. Charles, MO/Francis Howell) 76.

Quarterback Max Conard (Blue Springs, MO/Blue Springs South) has completed 54.3 percent of his passes for 291 yards and two touchdowns on the year, while Isaiah Wright (Panama City, FL/Port St. Joe) has a team-high five catches for 119 yards.  Ryan Langford (Phoenix, AZ/O'Connor), CJ Jarmon and Blaize Klossner (Rolla, MO/Rolla) all have three catches each as the Miners have had receptions from 13 different receivers in the first two weeks.

Parker Boyce (Hartsburg, MO/Southern Boone), who kicked the 26-yard field goal that decided Saturday's contest, is also averaging 44.3 yards per punt and has dropped seven of his 17 punts inside the opponents' 20-yard line.  Boyce's average currently ranks sixth in NCAA Division II.

ABOUT KENTUCKY WESLEYAN:  Kentucky Wesleyan has opened its season with back-to-back setbacks, falling to Great Midwest Athletic Conference newcomer Northwood before a late rally fell short last weekend in a 26-21 home loss to Lake Erie.  The Panthers scored two touchdowns in the final five minutes to get within five and got the ball back with seconds to play, but a multi-lateral play on the final snap could only reach midfield.

Panther quarterback Wiley Cain completed 26-of-49 for 390 yards and three touchdowns in the loss and comes into Saturday's contest already having thrown for 626 yards on the season. He has completed 56 percent of his throws, with his top target being David Florence with 14 catches for 194 yards and two scores.  Through two games, the Panthers have a trio of receivers with at least 10 catches, as Peyton Peters has 13 receptions and Brennen McGuire has hauled in 10 for 266 yards, the fifth-most in Division II.

While the Panthers have averaged 328.5 yards per game through the air, the ninth-best mark in Division II, they have rushed for just 69.5 per outing. Landon Newman leads the way with 76 yards, while Jatorian Dillard has rushed for 75.

Defensively, linebackers Jalen Humphrey and Bryce Yeast lead KWC with 12 tackles apiece on the season, while Ramond Jackson and Keon McGhee have been in on nine each.  The Panthers have reached the quarterback for a  sack just twice and have yet to force a turnover in the first two contests.