ROLLA, Mo. – Missouri S&T's football team seeks its third win in succession Saturday as the Miners head to Lebanon, Ill., for a matchup against McKendree University.  Kickoff at Leemon Field for the Great Lakes Valley Conference contest is scheduled for 1 p.m.

For the second week in a row, the Miners never trailed in the contest and used a big second half run to break free of the Bearcats.  S&T led 21-6 at the half, then after SBU scored touchdowns on its first two second half drives – it missed a two-point conversion after the second score – the Miners regained control of matters when tight end Justis Braden (Liberty, MO/Liberty North) completed a fourth down pass to fellow tight end Rhet Liley (Jackson, MO/Jackson) for a 64-yard touchdown.

Following that score, the Miner defense held the Bearcats off the scoreboard and forced four of their five turnovers in the fourth quarter, including two interceptions apiece by Paulvin Horton (Raleigh, NC/Garner HS) and Kian Shafe (Kansas City, MO/Park HIll).  Shafe ran one of his picks back for a touchdown, helping him land the GLVC's Defensive Player of the Week award.

Carson Prenger (Jefferson City, MO/Blair Oaks) leads the Miners with 51 tackles on the season, while Justin Gniedziejko (Chicago, IL/Taft) has 47 stops and Matt Brenneisen (Springfield, IL/Sacred Heart Griffin) has 28.  Nick Mattli (O'Fallon, MO/Fort Zumwalt South) leads S&T with 8.5 tackles for a loss and shares the team lead in sacks with Bentley Hart (Brookland, AR/Brookland) with four apiece.  S&T has also picked off five passes over the last two weeks.

On the offensive side of the ball, Cameren Smith (Claymont, DE/Concord) ranks fourth in the GLVC in rushing with 530 yards and leads the conference with 10 rushing touchdowns; he is currently tied for second in overall scoring with Truman State's Mason Huskey with 60 points.  Josh Sanders (Maize, KS/Maize) had 320 yards rushing and Kai Martin (Clearwater, FL/Calvary Christian) comes into the week with 173 yards on the ground.

Gunner Palacios has thrown for 199 yards and two touchdowns in his two starts, with CJ Wiggins (Yuma, AZ/Gila Ridge) still leading the way with 26 receptions for 397 yards and two scores.  Blaize Klossner (Rolla, MO/Rolla) has hauled in 25 passes for 212 yards and CJ Jarmon has 23 receptions for 343 yards and a team-leading five touchdowns.

ABOUT McKENDREE: The Bearcats won for the first time in the 2023 season Saturday with a 41-34 overtime win at Upper Iowa, moving to 1-5 and 1-2 in the GLVC.  McKendree tied the game on the last play of regulation time on a 21-yard scoring pass from Caleb Fisher to Quincy Hall, then won it on Brylan Apholone's eight-yard touchdown catch in overtime and getting a stop on the Peacocks' overtime possession.

Fisher has completed 64.2 percent of his passes for the season for 975 yards and nine touchdowns after throwing for a season-high 247 in Saturday's win; he has also thrown 10 interceptions.  His leading target has been Yogi Flager Jr., who leads the GLVC with 41 receptions for 406 yards and five touchdowns.  Tight end Jordan Sprycha has caught 15 passes for 103 yards and Apholone has hauled in 14 balls for 164 yards and two scores.

Eddie Clark leads the Bearcats with 234 yards on the ground, while Ronnie Hunsaker has 124 on the year.  McKendree is averaging a league-low 80.5 yards on the ground and also ranks last in the GLVC in total offense with 268.8 yards per game.

The Bearcats have allowed a league-high 44.3 points per game, largely due to a couple of high-scoring games earlier in the season to teams currently ranked in the national top 25.  Andrew Sherry leads McKendree with 35 tackles and Ja'Markus Gary has recorded 34.  Gary also has two sacks, while Tanner Hollerich has four tackles for a loss to lead the team.