Nick Fitzgerald filled in for all-SEC quarterback Dak Prescott and enjoyed the best game of his young college career.

Fitzgerald, a redshirt freshman from Richmond Hill, passed for two touchdowns and ran for another score Saturday in Mississippi State’s 45-17 rout of Troy in Starkville, Mississippi.

Prescott played only three series because of a stomach virus. Fitzgerald stepped in and completed 6 of 7 passes for 141 yards and rushed for 29 yards on eight carries.

Fitzgerald entered the game late in the first quarter with the Bulldogs leading 21-0. The 6-5, 227-pound quarterback ran for 12 yards on third and 9 to keep the drive going, and his 10-yard rush set up Westin Graves’ 24-yard field goal to widen the margin to 24-0.

Fitzgerald threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to De’Runnya Wilson on the Bulldogs’ next possession. His 1-yard touchdown run with 47 seconds on the clock put Mississippi State up 38-0 at halftime.

The Richmond Hill alumnus added the exclamation point to his big day with a 49-yard touchdown bomb to Donald Gray in the fourth quarter, extending the Bulldogs’ lead to 45-14. Mississippi State improved to 4-2 on the year with the non-conference win.

For the season, Fitzgerald has completed 10 of 11 passes for 231 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. He also has rushed for 93 yards and three scores on 15 carries.

Allen scores 3 TDs in Citadel’s win

Dominique Allen’s two touchdown runs staked The Citadel to an early lead, and the Bulldogs rolled to a 39-12 win over Wofford on Saturday in Charleston, South Carolina.

Allen, a sophomore quarterback from Richmond Hill, scored from 1 and 24 yards out to put The Citadel up 14-0 in the first quarter. He also threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Eakins in the third quarter as the Bulldogs (3-2 overall) started the year 2-0 in the Southern Conference.

“That was definitely a great game,” Allen said. “We came out as a unit and executed on all cylinders. The defense shut their run game down and we just came together as one team, one unit and one family to play a really great game.”

Allen completed 7 of 10 passes for 125 yards and added 72 yards rushing on 10 carries. It was the third game this season in which he recorded multiple touchdowns.

“That is the Dominique that we have seen the last two weeks of practice,” The Citadel head coach Mike Houston said. “I hugged him after the game and told him how proud I was of him.”

Allen leads the team with seven rushing touchdowns this season and is second with 361 yards on 79 carries.

He has completed 24 of 41 passes for 441 yards with two touchdowns and four interceptions.