ROLLA, Mo. – Missouri S&T closed its football season Saturday with a 66-17 at South Dakota School of Mines and also landed one of the final “Player of the Week” awards from the Great Lakes Valley Conference as a result, the recipient being senior wide receiver Smook Thomas (Quincy, Fla./East Gadsden) in his final game as a Miner.

Thomas had 77 yards on four punt returns, which included a 44-yard runback for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter.  The return by Thomas was the third for a touchdown by a Miner this season, as Carlton Westbrook (Centralia, Ill./Centralia) ran two punts back for scores in September.

In addition to the return numbers, Thomas also had eight catches for 61 yards in the win to break the school's single-season record for pass receptions, as he ended the year with 92 receptions for 861 yards and six touchdowns.   Two of the touchdown catches came Saturday as he scored three times on the afternoon.

The Miners have landed seven of the awards for the conference's weekly honor over the course of the season, which saw Missouri S&T finish with a 10-1 overall record and 7-1 for a second place finish in the first season of Great Lakes Valley Conference play.

Also on Monday, the Miners moved up one spot in the American Football Coaches Association poll to No. 19.  S&T is one of two GLVC teams in the poll along with Indianapolis, who also moved up a spot to 18th.

American Football Coaches Association Rankings (Nov. 12, 2012)
1. Colorado State-Pueblo (11-0)
2. Winston-Salem State, N.C. (11-0)
3. New Haven, Conn. (10-0)
4. Ashland, Ohio (11-0)
5. Minnesota State (11-0)
6. Henderson State, Ark. (10-0)
7. Minnesota-Duluth (10-1)
8. Midwestern State, Texas (9-1)
9. Missouri Western (10-1)
10. Bloomsburg, Pa. (10-1)
11. Indiana, Pa. (10-1)
12. Harding, Ark. (9-1)
13. Northwest Missouri State (9-2)
14. Tuskegee, Ala. (9-1)
15. Shippensburg, Pa. (10-1)
16. West Texas A&M (9-2)
17. Valdosta State, Ga. (8-2)
18. Indianapolis, Ind. (9-2)
19. Missouri S&T (10-1)
20. Chadron State, Neb. (9-2)
21. Sioux Falls, S.D. (9-2)
22. Carson-Newman, Tenn. (8-2)
23. Miles, Ala. (8-2)
24. Emporia State, Kan. (9-2)
25. (tie) Charleson, W. Va. (9-2)
25. (tie) Shepherd, W. Va. (8-2)