LEBANON, Ill. – After overcoming a slow start to draw even with McKendree late in the third quarter, Missouri S&T was unable to put together another scoring drive and ended up on the short end of a 20-17 Great Lakes Valley Conference decision Saturday afternoon at Leemon Field.
S&T (2-6, 2-2 GLVC) fell behind 14-0 after one play of the second quarter, but utilized a gusty wind at its back in the third quarter to draw even. However, with the field flipped in the fourth quarter, the Bearcats (2-5, 2-2 GLVC) took advantage of a short punt knocked down by the breeze for the eventual game-winning points on a 33-yard field goal by Ryan Kastl with 5:48 remaining.
McKendree took the ball on the opening drive and used up over eight minutes on the clock to go 77 yards for the first score of the contest, which came on a two-yard touchdown run by Eddie Clark. The Bearcats faced third down three times on the drive but got first downs after all three – twice due to offsides penalties on the Miners – before Clark reached the end zone.
Late in the period, the Bearcats got a 26-yard punt return from Timothy Middleton to set up shop at the S&T 24-yard line, then Clark ran for 23 yards on the next play to put McKendree at the one. On the first play of the second quarter, Clark crossed the goal line from the one to extend the Bearcat lead to 14-0.
The Miners – who were playing into the wind in the first quarter – had only 16 yards of total offense in the period and had a three-and-out on its first possession of the second period, then McKendree's Markiese Jones blocked a punt to give the ball to the Bearcats at the S&T 31. The Bearcats drove to the four-yard line before S&T defensive end
Sohl Gafa (San Pedro, CA/San Pedro) ripped the ball out of the hands of Clark and
Nick Mattli (O'Fallon, MO/Fort Zumwalt South) recovered the fumble to halt that scoring opportunity.
S&T put together a drive after the turnover, moving past midfield on a leaping catch by
Justis Braden (Liberty, MO/Liberty North) and later reaching the one-yard line when
Blaize Klossner (Rolla, MO/Rolla) made a catch at the Bearcat one-yard line. After being unable to run the ball into the end zone, the Miners scored on a third down pass from
Gunnar Palacios (Canyon, TX/Canyon) to Braden in the back of the end zone.
The Miners fumbled on the first play of the second half and the Bearcats turned that into points when Kastl connected from 22 yards, but the Miners responded immediately when
Josh Sanders (Maize, KS/Maize) returned the ensuing kickoff to the McKendree 45. On the next play, Palacios connected with CJ Jarmon down the middle of the field for a touchdown to cut the Bearcat advantage to 17-14.
When the Miners got the ball back after a McKendree punt, they drove back into Bearcat territory as the third quarter ended and eventually reached the nine-yard line, but Drew Crooks picked off a deflected Palacios pass at the 10 to thwart that scoring chance.
McKendree was forced to punt after getting the ball back, but Kaleb Barry's punt was downed at the one-yard line and S&T had to punt it back three plays later. The punt, however, got knocked down by the wind and went out of bounds at the Miners' 25-yard line, setting the Bearcats up for Kastl's go-ahead field goal.
S&T got the ball back twice after the field goal, but had one drive end when Palacios was sacked on fourth down and the other – after having to start from its own three – have promise after a 34-yard completion to
CJ Wiggins (Yuma, AZ/Gila Ridge), but end with four straight incompletions after that.
The Miners outgained McKendree 274-204 in the game – the Bearcats had only 104 yards after Clark's second touchdown – with Palacios completing 17-of-30 passes for 231 yards. S&T's ground game, which came into the game averaging nearly 180 yards per game, was held to a net 43 in the contest.
Braden had six receptions for 60 yards to lead the Miners, while Jarmon had four catches for 67 that included the touchdown.
Carson Prenger (Jefferson City, MO/Blair Oaks) paced the defensive effort with 11 tackles, while
Justin Gniedziejko (Chicago, IL/Taft) recorded seven.
Missouri S&T will return home next Saturday for a 1 p.m. contest against William Jewell on Homecoming at Allgood-Bailey Stadium.
