Wabash ran for 438 yards and five touchdowns in a 54-17 rout of Allegheny Saturday afternoon at Hollett Little Giant Stadium.

Junior running back Isaac Avant led the way for Wabash (8-1, 7-1 NCAC) with a career-high 229 yards and three touchdowns. He thrilled the home crowd with a 98-yard run for a score late in the second period to tie his longest career run from earlier in the year at Kenyon. Avant averaged 10.4 yards per carry with 22 rushing attempts on the afternoon.

Big runs proved to be the norm for the Little Giants. Micah Walker ripped off a 58-yard run in the second half, finishing with 74 rushing yards on eight carries. Mason Durrett ran for 83 yards on 10 attempts that included a single rush for 42 yards. Backup quarterback Tanner Skeel ran for 45 yards with a 22-yard play as part of his six carries.

Wabash marched 66 yards on its opening drive of the game, scoring in an eight-yard pass from Jake Reid to Ra'Shawn Jones to go in front 7-0. Allegheny (5-4, 5-3 NCAC) answered on the very next series. Chad Balla gave the Gators good field position with a 74-yard kickoff return to setup Alex Victor for an eventual 10-yard touchdown run to tie the score at 7-7.

Reid and Jones hooked up again midway through the first period on a 36-yard pass on a diving catch by Jones for his second score of the game and a 14-7 Wabash lead. Avant pushed the lead to 20-7 in the second period with a nine-yard touchdown run before Reid connected for his third passing touchdown of the game, hitting Ryan Thomas in stride for a 31-yard scoring strike for a 27-7 lead midway through the half.

Allegheny cut the lead to 27-10 with a 22-yard field goal in the closing minutes of the half and pinned Wabash deep in its own territory on the ensuing kickoff. That's when Avant broke free on the left side of the offensive line and raced down the sideline for the 98-yard touchdown and a 34-10 lead at the break.

Patrick Kelly opened the third period with a 66-yard interception return of a pass from Allegheny's Logan Lee to set up the Little Giants at the 11 yard line. Avant scored three plays later on a two-yard run for a 41-10 lead. After the Wabash defense stopped Allegheny again, Walker took over in the backfield, ripping off his 58-yard carry on his first attempt. Five more carries for the sophomore ended with a one-yard touchdown for the first score of his career to give the Little Giants a 47-10 advantage.

Skeel added the final score of the game for Wabash with a two-yard run for his first career touchdown before Victor found the end zone in the fourth quarter for the second Allegheny touchdown of the game to provide the final score of 54-17.

Reid finished 9-of-13 passing for 164 yards and three TDs. Avant led all Wabash receivers with three catches for 56 yards to finish with 285 all-purpose yards, the fifth-best total in Wabash history. Jones added two receptions for 44 yards and the two scores.

The Little Giants limited Allegheny to 240 yards of offense through three quarters before the Gators rolled up another 119 in the fourth quarter with the final result no longer in doubt. Wabash intercepted Allegheny twice in the game with picks by Kelly and Brock Heffron. Sophomore linebacker Jackson Garrett led the defense for the third consecutive week with eight tackles. Don Schuch finished with four tackles, 2-1/2 tackles for losses totaling seven yards, and one sack for four yards.

Wabash prepares for its final regular season on November 10 against DePauw University in the 125th Monon Bell Classic presented by Cancer Treatment Centers of America and Mr. Richard and Dr. Stacie Stephenson. The game will be played at Wabash and will be broadcast on Fox Sports Indiana Fox Sports Midwest, and College Sports Central beginning at 1 p.m. EST.