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WIU defense at North Dakota State
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7
Western Illinois WIU 4-5 , 3-3
59
Winner North Dakota State NDSU 7-2 , 5-1
Western Illinois WIU
4-5 , 3-3
7
Final
59
North Dakota State NDSU
7-2 , 5-1
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
WIU Western Illinois 0 0 7 0 7
NDSU North Dakota State 17 21 7 14 59

Game Recap: Football | | WIU Athletic Communications

Western Loses at #5 North Dakota State

Lance Lenoir and Trenton Norvell both move up to second place all-time in receiving and passing

PHOTOS

FARGO, N.D. – Western Illinois fell behind early to fifth-ranked North Dakota State and could not recover, losing 59-7 Saturday afternoon (Nov. 7) in the Fargodome. The Leathernecks dropped to 4-5 overall and 3-3 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference.
 
NDSU (7-2, 5-1) struck first in the opening minutes when Easton Stick threw a pass down the left sidelines and Zach Vraa made a catch behind the back of a WIU defender and went in for the 41-yard touchdown. Midway through the first quarter, Trenton Norvell was intercepted by Pierre Gee-Tucker who returned it 36 yards for a score and 14-0 lead.
 
After a first quarter field goal, NDSU got a 20-yard TD pass on the opening play of the second quarter to extend the lead to 24-0. With four minutes left in the first half, Stick threw a 5-yard touchdown pass making it 31-0. During the final minute of the half, Stick threw a 43-yard touchdown pass making it 38-0.
 
Western picked up a first down on its first drive of the third quarter but ended up punting. NDSU got a 6-yard rushing touchdown from King Frazier midway through the third for a 45-0 lead.
 
With its best field position of the day, Western went 53 yards on three plays to reach the endzone. Norvell found Lance Lenoir on a 40-yard touchdown with just over four minutes in the third quarter.
 
The Bison had two touchdown runs in the fourth quarter for the final margin.

"I give credit to Coach Klieman, his staff and North Dakota State. That was a really good football game they played today. Obviously very disappointed in the outcome and the way we played. I think we're capable of being a better football team than we showed today, but I don't want that to take away from the way North Dakota State played today. They executed exceptionally well," said Western head coach Bob Nielson. "They're really good, their front four is good... We couldn't get any rhythm. If you can get some rhythm then all of the sudden running the football is a little bit easier. We couldn't get any first downs to get some rhythm going in that first quarter as far as possessions. It wasn't that they were doing things a lot different than what we expected, it was just they executed better than we did."
 
Norvell completed 16-of-30 passes for 172 yards and a touchdown with an interception. Lenoir ended the game again just shy of another 100-yard game, totaling 96 yards on five receptions. The junior wide receiver's 19th career touchdown moved him into a tie for second place all-time.
 
Brett Taylor recorded his sixth game this season of 10 or more tackles, finishing with 15 – his third highest total this season. David Griffith added 10 tackles, his third game this year with 10 or more stops. Riggs Baxter set a career-high in tackles with 13, as did Xavier Rowe with 10.
 
Next Saturday (Nov. 14) Western travels to Indiana State. Kickoff is scheduled for 12 p.m. central.
 
GAME NOTES: True-freshmen Baxter (at linebacker) and offensive lineman Nicholas Kaltmayer, along with redshirt-freshman defensive end Pete Swenson made their first collegiate start… Walk-on redshirt-freshman defensive end Ben Meyers made his collegiate debut… The Leathernecks started eight underclassmen on defense... Lenoir extended his streak to 26 straight games with a reception, the third-longest streak in program history… Borsellino caught a pass for the 19th straight game… Western finished with one rushing yard in the first half and 99 passing… Norvell (7,141) surpassed 7,000 career passing yards during the first half. He overtook Matt Barr for second place all-time… Lenoir moved past Lito Senatus for second place all-time in receiving yards (2,361)… NDSU out-gained Western 528-205… Western has now lost three straight in league play after starting 3-0… Attendance was announced at 18,251.
 
 
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