Dustin Huff had a career day.
But the Wabash College senior quarterback didn't really care about his individual statistics.
In fact, he even lost track of how many touchdown passes he threw for in the game.
Huff threw for career-highs of 416 yards and five touchdowns in a 42-28 win Saturday afternoon against visiting North Coast Athletic Conference rival Ohio Wesleyan (0-4, 0-1 NCAC) at Byron P. Hollett Little Giant Stadium.
And he only cared about earning a victory to start conference play.
"I don't pay attention about how many touchdown passes I have," said Huff, who threw touchdowns to four wide receivers and also rushed for another score. "I worry about the scoreboard and us getting a win. That's all that matters to me."
With the win, the Little Giants kept two conference winning streaks intact. Wabash (2-1, 1-0 NCAC) won its fourth straight North Coast Athletic Conference opener and ninth straight conference game overall. The Little Giants haven't lost an NCAC game since 2004 when they suffered a 16-10 overtime defeat against Allegheny.
Huff threw for nearly half his yardage in the first quarter. Huff had 177 passing yards at the end of the quarter, including a 78-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Ray Green on the second play of the game.
He also added a 12-yard touchdown run and accounted for 193 of Wabash's 209 yards in the quarter. Since he started becoming more confident and patient in the pocket, Huff has blossomed and started to light the scoreboard up.
"After the first couple of games, I noticed I rushed a couple of balls instead of trusting my lineman," said Huff, who went 22-for-28 with the five touchdowns and one interception. "I don't know how many weapons we have. I'm feeling more confident every week."
Senior tight end Graham Nelson tied a career-high with two touchdown receptions. Nelson had three catches for 45 yards, including touchdown receptions of nine and 22 yards. But his fourth-quarter 22-yard touchdown catch sealed the game for the Little Giants.
With a 35-21 lead, Wabash went on a seven-play, 81-yard drive that culminated with Nelson's second touchdown. Huff found Nelson wide open in the end zone after the Ohio Wesleyan's cornerbacks went to cover senior running back Billy King.
"Sometimes, the tight end gets lost," said Nelson, who missed the Sept. 9 Franklin game with an injury. "You're blocking all day and they sort of forget about you. Then, you have today. Huff was doing a great job today. We get into the red zone and everyone expects us to run. Then I sneak out the back end. I hope we don't do that too much so I keep getting touchdowns."
Despite giving 28 points, including 14 in the fourth quarter, the Little Giants defense held steady during most of the game.
Ohio Wesleyan scored only one offensive touchdown through the first three quarters on senior halfback Nick Rice's one-yard score in the second quarter. He rushed 17 times for 101 yards and the one touchdown and was the Battling Bishops' main offensive threat. Rice also scored on a 95-yard kickoff return in the third quarter to cut the Wabash lead to 21-14. But that's as close as the Battling Bishops could get.
Wabash capitalized on two Ohio Wesleyan turnovers, both which were caused by sophomore linebacker Matt Kraft.
Kraft had a fumble recovery in the second quarter and made his first career interception in the third to lead the Little Giants defense.
He also had nine tackles, but said he just happened to be in the right place at the right time for both plays.
"That's the way our defense is," he said. "Everyone is supposed to follow the ball. It just happened that I got there first."
Wabash gained 579 total yards and limited Ohio Wesleyan to 379, an improvement over the last two weeks where opponents have gained more than 400 total yards.
Now, the Little Giants travel to conference rival Earlham (2-1, 0-0 NCAC) on Sept. 30. And Wabash coach Chris Creighton knows it will be another difficult test.
"I think we have some momentum," he said. "(But) we're no different than Earlham. They're 2-1 overall too. It's the best Earlham team we will have faced since I've been here."
Groth is the sports editor for The Paper of Montgomery County.