Golden's touchdown run capped a methodical 13-play, 53-yard drive that took over six minutes off the clock. In a tied game, the Miners got the ball at their own 47-yard line with 7:26 remaining in the fourth quarter. After picking up a pair of first downs, S&T faced a fourth-and-six at the Pumas' 25 and elected to go for it.
Steve Watson completed a pass for eight yards to Golden to get the first down; moments later, Watson hit Chad Shockley on a third-and-11 for 12 yards to put the ball at the six-yard line. Shockley carried the ball twice to get it to the one, then Golden crossed the goal line on third down to put the Miners in front.
S&T missed the extra point, however, leaving the door open for the Pumas to drive back down the field for a potential game-winning score. Saint Joe's started on its own 38, then made a pair of fourth down conversions of its own to keep the drive alive. Billy VandeMerkt completed a 12-yard pass to Julian Walker to get into Miner territory, then made another to Mack Ogletree to move the ball to the S&T 24 with only six seconds remaining.
VandeMerkt got two shots to get the tying touchdown, but had his first effort broken up by Edwin Scott in the end zone and was sacked on the following play by Freddy Dugard to end the game.
Saint Joseph's broke on top with two early touchdowns, as VandeMerkt hit Ogletree for a seven-yard touchdown pass at the 5:38 mark of the first quarter and again for a five-yard scoring pass with 12:41 to go in the half. S&T cut that lead in half on its next possession, which ended on a 10-yard scoring toss from Watson to Smook Thomas.
The Miners were able to take advantage of a turnover to knot the score before halftime. The play began when Watson was picked off by Kenneth Lee, but on the return fumbled the ball back to S&T. Watson threw a 20-yard pass to Shockley to the two-yard line, then two plays later connected with Thomas for the second time to even the count at 14 with just five seconds remaining.
S&T grabbed its first lead of the afternoon in the third quarter as it drove 72 yards for a touchdown. The Miners stopped the Pumas on downs at their own 28, then Watson followed with completions of 19 yards to Thomas and 35 to Golden to reach SJC's five-yard line. Two plays later, Shockley scored from the three to give the Miners a 21-14 lead.
Saint Joseph's tied the game on the ensuing possession when VandeMerkt scored on a two-yard run.
Watson had one of his best games of the season throwing the ball for S&T Saturday, completing of 24-of-34 for 277 yards and the two scores. Shockley caught 11 passes for 113 yards, while Thomas finished with 91 yards on his six receptions and ended the day with 182 all-purpose yards.
The Miner defense held the Pumas (5-5) to just 89 yards on the ground and 279 total yards on the afternoon. The Miners also got an interception from Jared Jenkins and sacks from Dugard and Kellen Weaver. Linebacker Chris Horn led S&T with nine tackles in the contest.
The GLFC title is the second for the Miners in the last three seasons, as they share first with Saint Joseph's - who would have won it outright with a victory Saturday - and Urbana.
Missouri S&T, now 3-7 on the season, will close its 2010 campaign next Saturday against Lincoln in Jefferson City, Mo. Game time is at 2 p.m.
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