ROLLA, Mo. – Missouri S&T came out running the football from the opening kickoff Saturday night and set the tone up front as it got into the win column for the first time this season with a 31-6 victory over Upper Iowa at Allgood-Bailey Stadium.
Saturday's game avenged a loss to the Peacocks in a non-conference game three weeks ago and allowed the Miners (1-5) to even their Great Lakes Valley Conference record at 1-1 as they rushed for a season-high 256 yards.
After getting the opening kickoff, the Miners drove 63 yards on 10 plays – all of them runs by either
Cameren Smith (Claymont, DE/Concord) or
Josh Sanders (Maize, KS/Maize) – and reached the end zone when Smith scored from the one. Earlier in the drive, Smith had a 28-yard run that got the ball to the Peacock 11-yard line and then later got a first down on a fourth-and-three that preceded his touchdown run.
Smith's touchdown would turn out to be the only scoring for the Miners in the first half, but the defense held firm for the better part of the half. The only mistake made by S&T quarterback
Gunnar Palacios (Canyon, TX/Canyon) – making his first start behind center Saturday – came when he threw an interception that Nevan Foss returned into S&T territory midway through the second quarter. The Peacocks took advantage of the turnover as quarterback Darryl Overstreet Jr. scored on a three-yard run to cut the lead to 7-6, but the Miners retained the lead as the extra point was off the mark.
Upper Iowa (2-4, 0-2 GLVC) blocked a long field goal by the Miners in the waning seconds of the first half, but then committed what may have been the fateful turnover in the contest after S&T's first possession of the second half ended with a punt.
Logan Jacobson's (Hillsboro, MO/St. Pius X) punt went right through the arms of UIU returner Cam Williams and was recovered by S&T long snapper
Graham Carter (Liberty, MO/Liberty North) as the Peacock 28-yard line. Two plays later, Palacios connected with CJ Jarmon on a 21-yard scoring pass to extend the S&T lead to 14-6.
The Peacocks' next possession also ended with a turnover that resulted in points for the Miners, as
Nick Mattli (O'Fallon, MO/Fort Zumwalt South) recovered a Jayden Mitchell fumble at the UIU 38 to set up a 27-yard field goal by
Layne Ryals (Louisburg, KS/Louisburg).
Upper Iowa drove into S&T territory as the game moved into the fourth quarter but failed to convert on fourth down to give the ball back to the Miners. Aided by a pass interference penalty and an 11-yard run by Sanders, the Miners got to the end zone again as Smith went around left tackle and found an opening to the end zone to extend the lead to 24-6.
Smith would score his third touchdown of the night on a five-yard run after another turnover on downs by the Peacocks, capping a night where he finished with 124 yards on 21 carries. S&T also got 51 yards from
Kai Martin (Clearwater, FL/Calvary Christian), 35 from Palacios and 30 from Sanders in the running game Saturday.
Palacios put the ball in the air only 15 times and completed nine of those throws for 103 yards. Jarmon hauled in five of the completions for 54 yards as the Miners finished the night with 359 yards of total offense to Upper Iowa's 252.
Carson Prenger (Jefferson City, MO/Blair Oaks) had seven tackles to lead the Miners on that side of the ball, while
Matt Brenneisen (Springfield, IL/Sacred Heart Griffin) and Matthew Hudson had five stops apiece. S&T forced three turnovers in the game –
David Harris (Maidson, TN/Goodpasture Christian) II picked off a pass late in the contest for the third turnover – after it had collected only two over the first five games of the season.
Missouri S&T will hit the road for the next two weeks, beginning with next Saturday's 1 p.m. contest against Southwest Baptist in Bolivar, Mo.
