ROLLA, Mo. -- Missouri S&T Football lost its first game of the season today, going down 27-7 at home against Northeastern State University.
Defenses prevailed early, drawing a pair of punts in the first several minutes of the game. S&T's offense was the first to cross midfield, doing so on a 9-yard rush up the middle by Eli Scott (Louisville, KY/Eastern) before the RiverHawks put an end to the drive.
The Miners had their first takeaway of the game on the ensuing possession, with Kaden Glass (San Antonio, TX/Pieper) forcing a fumble that was recovered by Jalen Hill (Mayo, FL/Lafayette) and returned to the NSU 11. S&T turned to the run game in the red zone but came up short on fourth-and-4 to turn the ball over on downs.
Devin Dunn (McLean, VA/The Potomac School) came up big for the Miners on the next drive, intercepting NSU's Donnie Smith on a pass to deep right, setting the Miners up at the RiverHawks' 27-yard line. The Miners capitalized this time, punching the ball into the end zone several plays later on an AJ Harris (Wentzville, MO/Lutheran-St. Charles) rush up the middle to take a 7-0 lead.
Northeastern State responded with one of its longest drives of the night, marching down to the S&T 26-yard line before settling for a field goal to make it 7-3. After a pair of empty possessions by both teams, the RiverHawks were the first to break the scoring drought, going 81 yards in the final two minutes of the half to score their first touchdown of the night and take a 10-7 lead heading into the locker rooms.
The RiverHawks added another three points on their opening drive of the second half, connecting on a 54-yard field goal that was a career long for NSU's Troy Nguyen.
Trailing 13-7, the Miners were efficient on their next possession, picking up gains of 28 and 16 yards early to help advance the ball to the NSU 18. They were unable to convert the red zone appearance into points though, missing a 35-yard field goal after a pair of incomplete passes.
NSU further extended its lead with touchdowns late in the third and early in the fourth quarter, taking a 27-7 advantage. Looking for a spark, the Miners turned to quarterback Jake Ryan (Columbia, MO/Father Tolton) on their final possession of the game. Ryan scrambled for 26 yards, then connected with Sam Ryan (Columbia, MO/Father Tolton) on a 9-yard pass to the right, putting the Miners in NSU territory again before the drive stalled at the 33-yard line and ended in a turnover on downs, allowing NSU to control the final minutes and run the clock out to seal the game.
The Miners ran the ball well, gaining 148 yards with an average gain of 4.6 yards per attempt. Evan Wells (Roxana, IL/Roxana) was S&T's leading rusher, picking up 52 yards on 13 carries. Scott and J. Ryan both contributed to the rushing game as well, scrambling to add a combined total of 61 yards on the ground.
Linebackers Glass and Cameron Sturgell (Lamar, MO/Lamar) led the Miner defense in tackles, each picking up nine. Glass also recorded a team-high 2.5 tackles for loss and a forced fumble. Kam Richardson (Kirkwood, MO/Kirkwood) recorded the lone sack of the contest, doing so on a strip sack in the second quarter. Sturgell, John Rasmussen (Arlington, TX/Arlington), and Christian Kemp (Madison, AL/Bob Jones) each recorded pass breakups as the Miners applied pressure to NSU's Smith throughout the night.
What's Next
The Miners host Missouri Western next weekend in their final nonconference game of the season. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.
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