Shrine Bowl: Brett Rypien, Easton Stick shine in all-star game

Quarterbacks Brett Rypien and Easton Stick had breakout performances at the East-West Shrine Game, with both throwing touchdown passes to help the West win, 21-17.

Rypien, most recently with Boise State, is the nephew of Super Bowl MVP Mark Rypien. He finished 10 of 14 for 134 yards on the day, helping improve his stock in the upcoming 2019 NFL Draft in front of NFL teams.

Rypien started the scoring with a 22-yard completion to LSU running back Nick Brossette. Devine Ozigbo also found the end zone for the West.

Stick, who led North Dakota State to another FCS national championship last month, completed 5 of 8 for 51 yards. That included a 22-yard touchdown strike to Shawn Poindexter that gave his team a 21-0 lead early in the third.

David Blough, who played at Purdue, and Georgia’s Terry Godwin tried to get the East back into it in the third quarter, hooking up from six and 18 yards out on scoring strikes. Matt Gay also booted through a 47-yard field goal for the East in the fourth.

Along with Blough, Jordan Ta’amu completed 7 of 10 passes for 98 yards, with Taylor Cornelius going 4-for-7 for 28. Marquis Young led the East with 54 yards rushing and Ty Johnson added 44.

Marcus McMaryion was the third quarterback for the West, completing just 3 of 11 for 27 yards. Darrin Hall had a game-high 77 yards rushing on 12 carries, averaging over six yards per rush. Poindexter finished with four catches for 71 yards and Ron’Quavion Tarver had five grabs for 66.

Justin Hollins led the West defense with 10 tackles and recorded two sacks, and Tre Watson paced the East with nine tackles and a sack.

Players worked out all week for NFL scouts in hopes of bettering their chances of being selected in the upcoming NFL Draft. The draft is scheduled for April 25-27 in Nashville, Tennessee and will air on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and NFL Network.