The Malone University football team fell 48-21 to Missouri S&T on Saturday afternoon in its first game at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.

Malone wide receiver Ashton Dulin had an incredible performance for the Pioneers as the junior broke two single-game school records after piling up 235 receiving yards and 367 all-purpose yards.  Unfortunately for the home crowd, the huge day by Dulin was not enough to overcome the Miners' high-powered offense, which racked up 605 total yards and outscored Malone 20-0 over the final two quarters.

The Pioneers slipped to 0-3 following the defeat while Missouri S&T improved to 2-2.

Recap
Malone jumped out to an early 14-0 lead thanks to a pair of long first-quarter pass completions from senior quarterback John Iacucci to Dulin. 

After both squads punted on their first possessions of the game, Malone took over at its own four-yard line.  Following an 11-yard run by tailback Jayvon Hilton, Dulin sprinted past man-to-man coverage down the middle of the field and Iacucci hit him in full stride.  From there, the All-American hurdler for the Malone track & field team raced past the Miner defense for an 85-yard touchdown catch.  The big play ranks as one of the longest completions in program history, tied for fourth in the Pioneer record book behind previous completions of 94, 94 and 90 yards.

The Malone defense would then force another punt and the offense went back to work, engineering an eight-play, 71-yard scoring drive.  Much like on Malone's second possession of the game, a big pass play from Iacucci to Dulin proved key.  Although he was lined up on the opposite side of the field, Dulin once again outran the S&T defense down the middle.  However, this time the Miner defensive back was able to make a diving shoestring tackle at the 7-yard line, narrowly preventing another TD reception.  The Miner defense would hold the Pioneers out of the endzone on three straight running plays, but on 4th and inches, running back Xavier Garland punched it in.  Marcus Moeller followed with the extra point, putting Malone on top 14-0 with 2:37 to go in the first quarter

S&T quickly responded using three plays of 15 yards or more on their next drive, cutting the deficit to 14-7 on a 25-yard touchdown run by running back Deshawn Jones.

Following a three-and-out by the Pioneer offense, the Miners took over at the Malone 45 and quickly evened the score at 14-14 with a five-play drive.  Missouri S&T's 6-4, 260-pound quarterback Tyler Swart moved the Miners down the field with a 19-yard completion to Braxton Graham.  On the very next play, Swart hit Logan Armontrout in the back of the endzone with a 21-yard TD pass, tying the score three minutes into the second quarter.

Later in the period, the Miners would use a pair of big plays to pull in front.  After taking over at their own 28, S&T moved into Pioneer territory on a 29-yard completion to Armontrout.  The visitors then hurried to the line and quickly snapped the ball.  Swart handed off to Jones and the tailback sprinted off the right side of the line and down the sideline on a 43-yard TD run.  Kicker Ben Styron added the PAT to put Missouri S&T in front 21-14 with 3:12 to go in the first half.

The Iaccuci-Dulin connection struck once more for the Pioneers minutes later.  The senior quarterback hung in the pocket against the Miner pass rush and fired another long pass down the field.  Dulin, this time blanketed by two S&T defenders, leaped in the air to make the grab.  He then stumbled after landing but somehow maintained his balance and dashed over the goal line for a 53-yard TD grab.  The extra point was true for Moeller, tying the game back up at 21-21.

Despite another highlight reel grab from the Pioneers' dynamic playmaker, the Miners quickly moved down the field, answering back with a 71-yard TD drive.  With just 12 second to go in the half, Swart hit tight end Austin Griffin with a two-yard, play-action TD pass and the Miners headed to locker room with a 28-21 advantage.

Missouri S&T then carried the momentum from their late second-quarter TD pass over into the second half, outscoring Malone 20-0 over the final 30 minutes of action.

The Pioneer offense, which posted 268 total yards through the first two quarters, was unable to get on track in the second half.  The Miners, meanwhile, would tack on a pair of TDs and two Styron field goals, pulling away for the road victory.
 
Game Highlights
-The Miners finished the day with 605 total yards, 222 coming on the ground and 383 through the air
-Malone posted 345 yards, 319 passing and 26 rushing
-Missouri S&T posted 26 first downs and was 6 of 13 on third down while Malone was limited to 11 first downs and converted three of its 14 third-down attempts
-Both teams had plenty of big plays.  Missouri S&T averaged 8.3 yards per play while Malone averaged 6.1
-Over 1500 fans attended Saturday's contest, Malone's highest attendance total for a home opener since 2011
 
Malone Individual Highlights
-Dulin racked up his 235 receiving yards on just eight catches for a remarkable average of over 29 yards per catch.
-In the record book, Dulin surpassed Josh Settlemire's 2005 receiving yardage total of 198 yards against Urbana.  Dulin had actually broken the single-game record by halftime as 214 of his yards came in the first two quarters.
-Dulin also posted 131 yards on seven kickoff returns and had one punt return for one yard for 367 all-purpose yards.  The big total edged Justin McLean's record of 346 all-purpose yards, registered in a 2009 contest against Olivet Nazarene
-Iacucci completed 18 of 27 passes for 319 yards and two scores
-Wide Receiver Eian Elsass posted eight catches for 69 yards
-Linebacker Ryan Weber piled up 20 total tackles on the afternoon which is tied for the third most in a single game in Malone history; the senior has now totaled at least 13 tackles in all three of Malone's game this year and already has 52 tackles on the season
-Safety Daniel Tepe added 10 tackles and a pass break-up while cornerback Jordan Johnson posted eight stops
 
Missouri S&T Individual Highlights
-Swart threw for 367 yards and totaled four touchdowns on the day, three passing and one rushing
-Jones finished with 154 yards and two TDs on just 19 carries
-Justin Vaughn pulled in six receptions for 110 yards
-Austin Truvillion led the Miners' defense with 10 tackles, including two tackles for loss and a sack
 
Up Next
The Pioneers will be back at home on Saturday evening as they open the Great Midwest Athletic Conference portion of their schedule with a 7:30 pm showdown against Ohio Dominican University.