BOLIVAR, Mo. –
Andy Ball took a gamble Saturday – and it ended up paying off in a big way for Missouri S&T.
After leading 21-6 at halftime but seeing Southwest Baptist close the gap to 21-19 after scoring touchdowns on its first two possessions of the second half and swinging the momentum in its direction, the Miners faced a fourth-and-two at their own 36-yard line.
The Miners decided to go for the first down and lined up tight end
Justis Braden (Liberty, MO/Liberty North) at quarterback. After the snap, Braden lofted a pass to fellow tight end
Rhet Liley (Jackson, MO/Jackson) – who got behind the SBU secondary – and Liley outran the Bearcat defense to the goal line for a 64-yard touchdown to start a 24-0 run that led to a 45-19 Great Lakes Valley Conference win for the Miners at Plaster Stadium.
Following the Liley touchdown, the Miner defense got a three-and-out on SBU's next possession and then forced turnovers on each of the next four Bearcat possessions that included a pick-six by linebacker
Kian Shafe (Kansas City, MO/Park HIll) to ice the victory.
As was the case in last week's win over Upper Iowa, the Miners (2-5, 2-1 GLVC) opened the game with a scoring drive in which they never put the ball in the air. This time, it was a 13-play, 65-yard drive that took nearly eight minutes off the clock and culminated in a two-yard scoring run by
Cameren Smith (Claymont, DE/Concord).
SBU (2-5, 1-2 GLVC) cut into the Miner lead on a 51-yard field goal by Logan Turner, but the Miners got on the board two more times before the first half ended, first on a 40-yard scoring pass from
Gunnar Palacios (Canyon, TX/Canyon) to CJ Jarmon and then on a 21-yard touchdown run by
Josh Sanders (Maize, KS/Maize) with 52 seconds remaining before halftime.
Bearcat quarterback Riley Walker threw two touchdown passes in the first seven minutes of the second half – of 24 yards to Kylan Herrera and 46 yards to Jordan Kent – to cut the lead two, but misfired on a two-point conversion attempt to tie the contest.
Up by nine after the fourth down conversion for the touchdown, the Miners added to their lead after Shafe made the first of his two interceptions and returned it to the Bearcat 13-yard line.
Layne Ryals (Louisburg, KS/Louisburg) kicked a 27-yard field goal to make it 31-19, then an interception by
Paulvin Horton (Raleigh, NC/Garner HS) – his second of the game – was returned to the SBU 11 and set up a one-yard touchdown run by Smith to give S&T a three-possession lead.
Shafe ended the next SBU possession with his second pick that he took down the sideline 52 yards to the end zone, extending a streak in the process as the Miners have now had at least one return for a touchdown in each of the last 19 seasons.
The Bearcats had a 407-352 advantage in total yards, but the Miners forced five SBU turnovers while committing only one. S&T ran for 192 yards – Smith had 81 and Sanders finished with 66 – while finishing with 160 yards through the air, most of which came on the two scoring passes.
Carson Prenger (Jefferson City, MO/Blair Oaks) led the Miners with 11 tackles and
Matt Brenneisen (Springfield, IL/Sacred Heart Griffin) finished with eight, including one of S&T's three quarterback sacks. Horton and Shafe had two interceptions apiece and
Julian Mountcastle (West Palm Beach, FL/Park Vista) had a forced fumble that he also recovered to end an SBU drive in Miner territory.
Missouri S&T will be on the road again next Saturday as it takes on McKendree in a 1 p.m. game in Lebanon, Ill.
