ROLLA, Mo. – Returning home for the first time since the season opener, Missouri S&T's football team opens a three-game homestand Saturday when it plays host to Wayne State (Neb.) at Allgood-Bailey Stadium.  Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m.

Saturday's game will be a Green Out at Missouri S&T, as fans are encouraged to wear to green attire to the game.  S&T students will receive a free green Pickaxe Platoon shirt while supplies last.

The Miners come into Saturday's game seeking their first win of the 2023 campaign after losing 38-26 last week at Upper Iowa.  S&T led 13-0 and was on the cusp of extending its lead when it fumbled near the goal line, then Upper Iowa used that turnover and three additional ones by the Miners to run off 31 unanswered points to take the lead for good.

For the third straight game, the Miners held an advantage in total yardage as they racked up 394 yards to Upper Iowa's 319, but were done in by five turnovers in the game.

Quarterback Tyler Gioia (Huntington Beach, CA/Edison) completed 20-of-31 passes for 254 yards and two touchdowns – one to Blaize Klossner (Rolla, MO/Rolla) and the other to CJ Wiggins (Yuma, AZ/Gila Ridge) – and has been successful on 66 percent of his passing attempts this season for 801 yards and seven scores.  Klossner and Wiggins have 18 catches apiece to lead S&T, with Wiggins accumulating 283 yards on his receptions and scoring twice.  Klossner has 139 yards receiving and a touchdown, while tight end Justis Braden (Liberty, MO/Liberty North) has three touchdowns among his 10 catches this season.

Josh Sanders (Maize, KS/Maize) has a team-high 158 yards rushing, while Cameren Smith (Claymont, DE/Concord) – who scored the other two S&T touchdowns last week – has 148 yards on the ground.  Defensively, linebacker Justin Gniedziejko (Chicago, IL/Taft) leads the Miners with 24 stops, while safety Carson Prenger (Jefferson City, MO/Blair Oaks) has recorded 18  and Justin Amaro (Wichita, KS/Goddard) has 15, including a team-leading 5.5 behind the line of scrimmage.

ABOUT WAYNE STATE: The Wildcats improved to 2-1 on the season after routing Southwest Minnesota State 49-10 Saturday in Wayne, Neb.  WSC led 21-10 at the intermission, then broke the game open with four second half touchdowns, two of them coming on scoring runs by quarterback Nick Bohn, named Monday as the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference's Offensive Player of the Week.

Bohn, who accumulated 386 yards of total offense and was responsible for four touchdowns in the contest, has completed 59.7 percent of his passes for 769 yards and five scores on the season for a  team averaging 263.7 yards per game through the air.  His leading targets have been Kendrick Watkins-Hogue with 15 receptions for 212 yards and Ashten Schmaderer, who has 10 receptions for 207 yards and three touchdowns.

Latravious Boyd and Dawson Forgy pace the Wildcat ground game, as Boyd has rushed for 169 yards and Forgy has 149 on the season.  Wayne State is averaging 127.7 rushing yards per game and ran for 119 in the win on Saturday.

Linebacker Dexter Larsen leads the Wildcats with 20 tackles on the season and has two sacks to lead the way.  Rex Becker has made 17 tackles on the year and Alex Schall has been in on 17 stops as well, while Jacob Byrd has two of Wayne State's five interceptions. The Wildcat defense did not allow a touchdown in Saturday's victory, as the Southwest Minnesota State score came as the result of a blocked punt that was recovered in the end zone.