ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. β Brett Rypien and Easton Stick each threw a touchdown pass to help the West beat the East 21-17 in the East-West Shrine Game on Saturday. A touchdown pass to Arizona's Shawn Poindexter proved to be the decisive score.Β
Rypien, a Boise State product and nephew of Super Bowl MVP Mark Rypien, was 10 of 14 for 134 yards.
Stick, from North Dakota State, completed 5 of 8 passes for 51 yards.
Purdue's David Blough had two touchdowns and 149 yards on 10-of-15 passing.
Rypien connected on a 22-yard scoring strike with LSU's Nick Brossette during the first drive of the game.
Nebraska's Devine Ozigbo had a two-yard TD run midway through the second as the West took a 14-0 lead. The score was set up by a fumble return by Michigan's Tyree Kinnel.
On the first play following an interception by BJ Blunt of McNeese State, Stick threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Poindexter that made 21-0 five minutes into the third. (The Star's Michael Lev wrote this about Poindexter yesterday).
The East got to 21-14 during the final three minutes of the third when Blough threw 6- and 18-yard TD passes to Terry Godwin II of Georgia. Godwin had four receptions for 80 yards.
Matthew Gay of Utah had a 47-yard field goal that cut the East deficit to 21-17 with 4 minutes left.
West's Darrin Hall Jr. of Pitt was the leading rusher with 77 yards on 12 carries.
