MISSOURI VALLEY FOOTBALL CONFERENCE Saturday’s other games

North Dakota State 24, Western Illinois 12

FARGO, N.D.

Easton Stick threw for a touchdown and ran for two more that made the difference as North Dakota State beat Western Illinois in a battle between two of the top teams in the FCS. Stick brought the Bison back from a two-point halftime deficit with a short scoring run for the lead after taking his team 75 yards in 11 plays on the first drive of the third quarter. He repeated on the next Bison drive, slashing and rolling 8 yards for another touchdown and the final score. The Bison (7-0, 4-0) now lead the Missouri Valley Conference with South Dakota falling to Illinois State. Stick finished with 221 yards passing and 61 yards rushing. Bruce Anderson ran for 93 yards and RJ Urzendowski had 100 yards receiving, including a 58-yard scoring catch in the second quarter. Sean McGuire had 185 yards passing for the Leathernecks (5-2, 2-2).

South Dakota State 62, Missouri State 30

SPRINGFIELD, MO.

Taryn Christion went 14 of 19 for 323 yards with two touchdowns and South Dakota State ran away from Missouri State. The Jackrabbits (5-2, 2-2 Missouri Valley Conference) outscored the Bears (1-6, 0-4) 28-3 in the second half. SDSU’s Brady Mengarelli rushed 11 times for 115 yards with two touchdowns — including a 57-yard rush, and Christion added 59 yards with a TD on eight carries. Dallas Goedert grabbed eight passes for 170 yards with a touchdown, and Cade Johnson hauled in a 7-yard TD reception.

Southern Illinois 45, Indiana State 24

TERRE HAUTE, IND.

Sam Straub threw three touchdowns and Southern Illinois kept Indiana State winless. Straub threw for 352 yards for the Salukis (4-3, 2-2 Missouri Valley Conference). Daquan Isom ran for 73 yards and two scores — one rushing, one receiving — and Darrell James had 154 yards and a score receiving. Straub threw over-the-middle scoring passes to James and to Connor Iwema in the first quarter to help Southern Illinois to a 24-14 halftime lead. The Salukis led the rest of the way, with Straub adding a short TD pass to Isom late in the third quarter and D.J. Davis and Jonathan Mixon adding rushing scores in the fourth. The Sycamores (0-7, 0-4) scored on a pass interception by Rondell Green with 8:17 left in the fourth quarter but a fumble ended their next drive.

Illinois State 37, South Dakota 21

NORMAL, ILL.

James Robinson ran for a career-high 193 yards and two touchdowns, Spencer Schnell had seven catches for a career-best 191 yards and two more TDs, and Illinois State handed South Dakota its first loss. Robinson had 19 carries and both of his touchdowns came in the second half, a 14-yarder late in the third quarter and a career-long 87-yard dash to make it 34-21 with 5:42 left. Schnell also scored from long distance, hauling in a 64-yard touchdown throw from Jake Kolbe for the first points of the game and snagged a 5-yard scoring toss 10 minutes later. Illinois State (5-2, 3-1 Missouri Valley Football Conference) also got three field goals from Sean Slattery, including a 45-yard score with 1:36 left. South Dakota (6-1, 3-1) tied the game at 14-all in the second quarter when Chris Streveler connected with Aaron Ramsey for a 2-yard touchdown, and later cut the gap to 24-21 with Kai Henry’s 12-yard TD run with 13:30 to play.

Associated Press