Stick sparks N Dakota State to 56-31 romp over N Iowa

Stick sparks N Dakota State to 56-31 romp over N Iowa

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 4:08 p.m. ET

CEDAR CITY, Iowa (AP) — Easton Stick had two scoring runs and a touchdown pass and North Dakota State scored 28 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to turn a close game into a rout with a 56-31 thumping of Northern Iowa in Missouri Valley Football Conference play on Saturday.

The Bison (5-0, 2-0), the top-ranked FCS team in the coaches' poll, trailed the 22nd-ranked Panthers (2-3, 1-1) by three points entering the fourth quarter. That's when Stick took over the game.

NDSU's senior quarterback started the scoring burst with a 75-yard strike to Bruce Anderson on the first play of a drive just 11 seconds into the fourth quarter for a 35-31 lead. Stick added a 1-yard TD plunge and a 31-yard TD run on the Bison's next two possessions. Adam Cofield added a 25-yard TD run to cap the scoring as NDSU finished with TDs on all four fourth-quarter possessions.

Stick completed just nine passes for 179 yards, but four of them went for TDs. He added 35 yards rushing.

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Eli Dunne passed for 362 yards and three TDs for the Panthers.

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