The first four minutes were a gut check for the Lincoln Blue Tigers.
Missouri S&T had its offense on the field for one play during that span and managed to score two touchdowns. The Blue Tigers were able to stay within reach until the fourth quarter, when the Miners pulled away to a 37-3 win Saturday at Dwight T. Reed Stadium.
"You can't turn the ball over," Lincoln coach Steven Smith said. "Point blank, that's our biggest problem right now."
After Missouri S&T quarterback Tyler Swart connected on a 44-yard touchdown pass to Josh Brown on its one offensive play in the first 11 minutes of the game, the Miners' Roderick Chapman picked off a pass from Lincoln quarterback Drake Davidson and returned it 32 yards for a score. Ben Styron added the extra point after each touchdown to give the Miners a 14-0 lead with 11:32 to go in the opening quarter.
Davidson, a true freshman who made his first career start at quarterback Saturday, finished 21-of-34 passing for 190 yards. He was picked off a second time later in the first half.
Eleven of Davidson's completions moved the chains for the Blue Tigers.
"He did well and hopefully he'll get better as we go," Smith said. "We'll continue to work with him and continue to push him."
Smith said Davidson getting the start over Eugene Sainterling was not injury related.
"It was just something we needed to change right now," he said.
Lincoln possessed the ball for more than 20 minutes in the first half.
The Blue Tigers capped an 11-play, 62-yard drive to open the second quarter with a 34-yard field goal by Wolky Belancourt, making the score 14-3 with 9:17 left in the first half.
The score would remain the same until halftime. Missouri S&T opened the second half with a 3-yard touchdown run by Deshawn Jones to stretch the lead to 21-3.
The Miners scored 16 points in a span of 2:19 in the fourth quarter. D'Luis West had touchdown runs of 15 and 12 yards that sandwiched a Blue Tiger safety.
By the end of the third quarter, Lincoln outgained Missouri S&T 207 yards to 205. In the final 15 minutes, the Miners added 123 yards, while the Blue Tigers were held to minus-5 yards.
"When it came down to it, we made a mistake or a penalty," Smith said. "We have to go back to the drawing board and correct things."
Missouri S&T averaged 315.8 yards passing entering Saturday's game, but Lincoln held the Miners to 176 yards through the air. While Missouri S&T was playing without leading receiver Braxton Graham, Lincoln constantly pressured Swart in the backfield.
"I thought the defense played really well against the pass, but we have to do a better job stopping the run," Smith said. "We did a good job of getting to (Swart) and making him move."
Jones had game-highs of 23 carries and 115 yards to lead the Miners. Missouri S&T (5-2, 3-0 GLVC) won its fifth straight game, all on the road.
Justin Korakakos was Lincoln's top receiver, hauling in six catches for 56 yards. Terry Hunter had nine carries for 33 yards.
The Blue Tigers recorded their first takeaway this season on a fumble recovery by Isaiah Gray late in the first quarter.
Lincoln (1-5, 0-3) hosts fifth-ranked Indianapolis at 5 p.m. Saturday. The Greyhounds blanked Quincy 55-0 on Saturday.