ROLLA, Mo. – Missouri S&T went toe-to-toe with the 14
th-ranked team in NCAA Division II for better than three quarters Saturday night, but Indianapolis ended up prevailing in the Great Lakes Valley Conference opener for both teams with a 26-13 win at Allgood-Bailey Stadium.
The Miners trailed by only three at the end of three quarters, but had only 51 yards of total offense and committed two turnovers to thwart any hopes of a rally to pick up their first victory of the season.
UIndy (4-0) drew first blood in the contest after the first of four turnovers by the Miners, as a muffed punt gave the Greyhounds the ball as S&T's 22-yard line. The Miners forced UIndy to settle for a 33-yard field goal by Colin Seymour, then gave themselves a good scoring opportunity after
Josh Sanders (Maize, KS/Maize) ripped off a 57-yard run to take the ball to the UIndy 18.
However, three plays after the Sanders run, Michael Brown picked off a
Tyler Gioia (Huntington Beach, CA/Edison) pass in the end zone to end that chance. The Greyhounds capitalized on that turnover with an 80-yard drive that was capped when quarterback Gavin Sukup scored on a quarterback keeper from a yard out to extend the lead to 10-0.
S&T got on the scoreboard early in the second quarter, as Gioia connected with CJ Jarmon on a 39-yard completion to set up a 42-yard field goal by
Layne Ryals (Louisburg, KS/Louisburg). The Miners then proceeded to tie the game on their next possession with an impressive 12-play, 78-yard drive that took over seven minutes off the clock; the drive finished when
Cameren Smith (Claymont, DE/Concord) crashed over from the one on fourth down.
UIndy answered with a touchdown drive to retake the lead when Jon Lewis caught a 21-yard scoring pass from Sukup with 55 seconds to go in the half, but the Miners got down the field quickly after the ensuing kickoff and Ryals connected again from 42 yards out to bring S&T to within three as the half ended.
The Miners got another good chance early in the second half after
Aidan Hurtado (Austin, TX/McNeil) recovered a fumble at the UIndy 42, but S&T couldn't do anything with the chance and had to punt the ball away. Despite picking up just one first down in the third quarter, the Miner defense held the Greyhounds off the scoreboard as well to keep it a three-point game heading into the final period.
S&T had the Greyhounds in a third-and-12 situation, but Sukup got a 22-yard completion to Jaden Schlabach to get a first down and then converted another third play later in the drive. UIndy added to its lead a short time later when Sukup hit tight end Ethan Hand on a three-yard scoring pass.
After that score, the Miners turned the ball on interceptions on their final two possessions; UIndy got a field goal from Dylan Hillger after the first one and was able to run out the clock after the second.
The Miners were held to a season-low 311 yards of total offense and had only 63 yards after halftime. Gioia completed 15-of-29 passes for 151 yards but threw three interceptions, while
CJ Wiggins (Yuma, AZ/Gila Ridge) had a game-high five receptions for 62 yards. S&T ran for 160 yards in the game, with Sanders leading the way with 60.
UIndy had 378 yards against the Miner defense – matching its fewest in a game this season – as
Carson Prenger (Jefferson City, MO/Blair Oaks) led the way with 11 tackles. The Miners also recorded four quarterback sacks, two of them by Hurtado to go along with his fumble recovery. S&T had 10 tackles behind the line of scrimmage in the contest.
Missouri S&T will have a rematch next Saturday against Upper Iowa as the teams will play their GLVC contest at Allgood-Bailey Stadium at 6 p.m. The Peacocks, who lost 30-13 Saturday at William Jewell, beat the Miners 38-26 on Sept. 16 in Fayette, Iowa.
