ROLLA, Mo. – After pulling out a thrilling victory on a field goal as time expired last week, Missouri S&T's football team will look for its first 3-0 start since 2012 when it heads to St. Joseph, Mo., to face a former conference foe in Missouri Western on Saturday night.

The Miners picked up their second straight victory to open the 2025 campaign when Layne Ryals (Louisburg, KS/Louisburg) kicked a 43-yard field goal with no time remaining to give S&T a 27-24 win at Northeastern State.  The Miners trailed 21-10 heading into the fourth quarter, but outscored the RiverHawks 17-3 over the final 15 minutes to come away victorious.

Missouri Western, who was a member of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association along with S&T from 1989-2004, opened its season two weeks ago with a 30-26 loss to nationally-ranked Augustana as the Vikings scored with 10 seconds left to pull out the win.  The Griffons were idle last week and are playing their home opener on Saturday, which will get underway at 6 p.m.

ABOUT THE MINERS: Missouri S&T trailed 21-10 heading into the fourth quarter Saturday, but scored two touchdowns in the first minute of the period and then won it on Ryals' field goal to close out a 54-yard, game-ending scoring drive.

The Miners overcame four turnovers in the game as they also forced four themselves, with one of them leading to a touchdown in that early stretch of the fourth quarter.  S&T also got a blocked field goal attempt from Louis Traglia (Wichita, KS/Kapaun Mount Carmel) with 2:58 remaining on what turned out to be NSU's final possession, as the Miners drove down the field to set up the game-winning kick.

S&T's defense, led by Justin Gniedziejko (Chicago, IL/Taft) and Max Barnes' (Overland Park, KS/Blue Valley Northwest) six tackles, held Northeastern State to 367 yards and had 10 tackles behind the line of scrimmage during the contest.  Bentley Hart (Brookland, AR/Brookland) was responsible for four of them and has 4.5 to lead the Miners, while Christian Kemp (Madison, AL/Bob Jones) has four from his defensive tackle position; S&T has 25 stops for a loss over the first two games of the year.

The Miners also got an interception from Seneca Bradley (Clarksville, TN/Rossview) Jr., among the four turnovers they accumulated.

Quarterback Jake Farrell (Scottsdale, AZ/Notre Dame Prep) completed 27-of-46 passes for 272 yards and two touchdowns last week and has thrown for 606 yards and six touchdowns over the first two weeks.  Tyler Gioia (Huntington Beach, CA/Edison) has a team-leading 11 receptions for 184 yards and had one of the two scoring catches last week, while the other was hauled by Reid Weber (St. Charles, MO/Francis Howell), who has nine receptions for 129 yards and a Great Lakes Valley Conference-leading three touchdowns.

AJ Harris (Wentzville, MO/Lutheran-St. Charles) leads the Miners on the ground with 104 yards after recording 81 on Saturday, while Kai Martin (Clearwater, FL/Calvary Christian) comes into the game with 93 yards.
 
ABOUT MISSOURI WESTERN: The Griffons, who were idle last week, return to action this week following a tough 30-26 loss to then-No. 23 Augustana on Aug. 30.  Western held a late lead in that contest before surrendering a touchdown with 10 seconds remaining to fall in its season opener.  The Griffons, picked to finish seventh in the MIAA, finished 4-7 in 2024.

Western ran the ball effectively in its opener, compiling 152 net yards between six players; Marrell Fountain led the way with 58.  Quarterback Kade Donovan, who was part of a three-way battle for the starting role, completed 15-of-27 passes for 226 yards and two scores at Augustana and completed throws to nine different receivers.  Bryce Marcus III and Michael Haggerty hauled in the two scoring passes.

Despite holding the Vikings to just 65 yards on the ground, the Griffons struggled to slow down Augustana's passing game as the Vikings threw for 430 yards in the contest.  Linebacker Keenan Gaskin led the Griffons with 10 tackles, while Kamron Lee and Jake Leader had five apiece.  Western's secondary also broke up eight passes in the game.

Missouri Western coach Tyler Fenwick began his head coaching career at Missouri S&T, where he led the Miners from 2013-18.  In that time, he recorded a record of 37-29 – the 37 wins are the third-most by any S&T head coach in history – and a victory in the 2018 Mineral Water Bowl over MSU Moorhead in the Miners' first post-season game in 68 seasons.