TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Freshman quarterback Easton Stick ran for 124 yards and two touchdowns to lead No. 8-ranked North Dakota State to a 28-14 win over 18th-ranked Indiana State at Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 24.
 
Stick, who made his first start in place of injured senior Carson Wentz, rushed 17 times and also passed for 126 yards and a score as the Bison improved to 5-2 overall and 3-1 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference.
 
Stick scored from 29 yards out on NDSU's first drive for a 7-0 lead.  He connected with former high school teammate RJ Urzendowski on a 13-yard touchdown pass to break a 14-14 tie and scored on a 15-yard run late in the third quarter for the final margin.
 
Urzendowski, who played with Stick at Creighton Prep High School in Omaha, Neb., led nine Bison receivers with three catches for 48 yards.  Darius Anderson had two catches on NDSU's final scoring drive and totaled 29 yards.
 
Except for an 81-yard scoring run by quarterback Matt Adam, the Bison defense held Indiana State (4-3, 2-2 MVFC) to just 34 yards rushing on 25 other attempts.
 
Punter Ben LeCompte gave the Bison good defensive field position all afternoon punting six times for an average of 47.7 yards and a long of 60.  The Sycamores' average starting spot was the 20 and they were inside the 10 four times.
 
Linebackers Pierre Gee-Tucker, Nick DeLuca and MJ Stumpf each had six tackles to pace the NDSU defense.  Brian Schaetz had a sack, Greg Menard and Stanley Jones combined on a sack, and Caleb Butler had a pair of quarterback hurries.
 
Gary Owens, ISU's leading receiver who entered averaging 78.8 yards per game, had zero catches.  Cornerback Jalen Allison had three of NDSU's nine pass breakups.
 
The Bison doubled up Indiana State in time of possession holding the ball for 39:31 and converting 8 of 15 third-down opportunities.  NDSU outgained ISU 369-201 in total offense.
 
North Dakota State plays at Southern Illinois at 2 p.m. next Saturday, Oct. 31, at Saluki Stadium in Carbondale, Ill.  SIU was 2-4 overall and 1-2 in the MVFC entering a home game with Youngstown State.