NDSU QB Stick Measures Up

FRISCO, Texas — Easton Stick never let the pressure get to him.

The North Dakota State junior quarterback threw for 130 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 35 yards in the Bison’s 17-13 FCS championship win over James Madison on Saturday at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas.

Stick was named the game’s Most Outstanding Player.

“They were able to do some things against us,” Stick said. “When you play good people, they’re going to make their plays. That’s what they did.

“But you’ve just got to stand in there and trust everybody.”

JMU’s defense attacked Stick like it had any other quarterback this season. The problem was the end result wasn’t the same.

In the Dukes’ semifinal win over South Dakota State, the defense recorded five sacks and it led to Jackrabbits quarterback Taryn Christion turning the ball over nine times.

During the regular season, four sacks of Richmond quarterback Kyle Lauletta led to an interception. Five sacks of two different New Hampshire quarterbacks turned into two interceptions. Maine’s Chris Ferguson threw three interceptions against the Dukes after being sacked four times.

JMU junior defensive end Darrious Carter sacked Stick in the first quarter. Dukes senior defensive tackle Simeyon Robinson got Stick twice and destroyed the NDSU signal-caller with a driving force to the ground, which caused the quarterback to fumble in the second quarter.

But it was Stick’s only turnover of the day.

“I think that was critical,” JMU coach Mike Houston said. “That was another thing we talked about at the half was trying to put the ball and put the game in his hands.

“We tried to put as much pressure on him as we could and then try to force the turnovers. That was our mindset taking the field in the second half. To his credit, he’s an experienced veteran quarterback, and you’ve got to have guys go out and perform like that to win a national championship.”

JMU senior quarterback Bryan Schor was sacked four times and threw two costly interceptions.

After Robinson’s strip-sack of Stick, Schor gave the ball right back when he was intercepted by NDSU defensive tackle Nate Tanguay.

Stick took advantage of regaining possession, finding Darrius Shepherd for a 50-yard touchdown.

“It was something we put in right away when we were looking at stuff,” Stick said. “Got the coverage that we wanted and really it was all on Darrius running away from that back-side safety.

“The offensive line protected really well. [Running back] Lance Dunn sold the fake well. Darrius was able to run underneath and get us in the end zone, and that was a huge play for us.”

Schor’s second interception zapped the momentum JMU had seemed to take in the third quarter.

The Dukes were driving with a chance to go ahead and Schor’s toss toward the goal line — which was intended for senior wide receiver Ishmael Hyman —was snatched out of the air by NDSU cornerback Marquise Bridges.

“We felt like we could win the one-on-one matchups, and it turned into a little more of a throwing game than we wanted,” Houston said. “They’re a great football team, and it was a fantastic game. We just came up on the short end of the stick.”