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Opponent: Missouri S&T
Time: Saturday, April 10; 7:00 PM
Location: Allgood-Bailey Stadium | Rolla, MO
 
Bolivar, Mo. - Southwest Baptist Football heads to Missouri S&T for their first road competition of the spring season. Last Thursday the team opened at home against Truman State, falling to the Bulldogs 38-20. 

Previous Season Recap
The Bearcats finished the 2019 season with a 3-8 (1-6 GLVC) record which included wins over Central State, Kentucky Wesleyan, and William Jewell. Southwest Baptist averaged 203.7 yards rushing per game and 154.9 passing yards per game. The 203.7 rushing yards was good enough for 3^rd best in the GLVC along with a conference leading pass defense that only allowed 211 yards per game. The Bearcats were also 3^rd best in returning punts with an average of 15.1 yards per return.
Southwest Baptist's offense was led by Brenden Smith with 692 yards rushing for 76.9 yards per game along with 737 passing yards on a 55% completion percentage for 81.9 yards per game. Bryce Cabrera and Eric Knight were the leaders at the running back position with 519 total yards and 514 total yards respectively. Smith shared time in the pocket with Dylan Mountain who pitched in 720 yards passing at a 60.2% completion rate and 3 touchdowns. Curtis Cuillard led all receivers on the Bearcats with 51 catches for 607 yards and 3 touchdowns. Cory Hanger led the defense with 65 total tackles, 17 pass break-ups, and 3 fumble recoveries for 56 yards. De'shawn Tone led the front line with 53 total tackles that included 12.5 tackles for loss.

Scouting The Bearcats
Robert Clardy will be entering his sixth season (2020-21) as the Head Football Coach and his 14th season overall on the Bearcats Football coaching staff. In 2016, Coach Clardy earned GLVC Coach of the Year honors after leading the Bearcats to their first ever conference title and NCAA National Playoff appearance after finishing the season 10-2 (7-1 GLVC). Clardy's Bearcats were ranked as high as 17th in the NCAA Division II AFCA poll, finishing 22nd in the final NCAA Division II AFCA poll, while earning their first ever regional and national rankings. In their first matchup of the year, the Bearcats fell to Truman State. SBU scored first and hung tight with TSU, trailing just 17-13 at the half. A strong start to the second half led Truman to a 38-20 win. Cooper Callis got his first start at SBU and threw for the most yards in an SBU game since October of 2017. He completed 29 passes on 38 attempts for 376 yards and 3 touchdowns. Those 376 yards were spread throughout 8 Bearcat receivers, led by Curtis Cuillard who caught 9 passes for 101 yards and 2 touchdowns. Chance Pillar caught the other touchdown, snagging 6 passes for 71 yards. Last season, SBU averaged 358.6 yards of offense per game, and they had 419.0 yards against Truman State. The SBU defense forced 3 turnovers in their 2021 spring opener, picking off the TSU quarterback twice and recovering a fumble late in the game. Aaron Harris had the first interception, halting the Bulldog drive in the end zone right before half. He collected 7 tackles, including a tackle for a two-yard loss, and a quarterback hit. Brenden Smith had the other interception, as well as 6 tackles. First year Bearcat, Bryton Lewi, led the team in tackles with 10. He was also responsible for the fumble.

Scouting The Miners
The Missouri S&T Miners return to play this spring following a 7-4 (4-3 GLVC) fall 2019 season. Despite the 4-3 record, the Miners lost close games to Truman State (39-41 final on game winning field goal) and Lindenwood (31-37 overtime final). Todd Drury returns as the team's head coach, his second season in the position. Drury served as the team's defensive coordinator the previous three seasons, guiding the defense to the top of the GLVC and leading the defense to a GLVC-high 43 sacks in 2018. S&T's leading rusher from last season is no longer on the team, but their backup Aaron Moya won GLVC Offensive Player of the Week following his performance against William Jewell where he ran for 143 yards on 14 attempts and 2 touchdowns. Their quarterback in Brennan Simms returns for his senior campaign, completing 23-33 for 225 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception in last week's win. The GLVC Defensive Player of the Week also came from S&T in Justin Onwugbufor who had 7 tackles, a pass break up, and a fumble returned for a touchdown. Last season, Onwugbufor led the team with 81 tackles, 3 forced fumbles, and 3 fumble recoveries. Last week against William Jewell, the team recorded 8.0 tackles for loss and 5.0 sacks.

The teams have met 29 times, SBU leading the all-time series 18-10-1. Missouri S&T has won the past three meetings, but the game in 2017 was decided by a narrow margin of 41-38. In 2016, SBU defeated the Miners 45-22 in Bolivar.