“What’s The Point?”

Jim Amidon — We were about 30 minutes this side of Decatur, Illinois Saturday morning following the Wabash football team to its game at Millikin University when my daughter announced from the back seat, “I’m not sure I see the point in coming so far for a football game.”

She’s a big fan of the Little Giants, but not so much of sitting in the back seat of my car for a couple of hours on a gorgeous fall Saturday.

I explained to her that Saturday’s game was important; that it was, perhaps, a turning point in a season that has barely started.

I told her about Dustin Huff, the fifth year senior star quarterback, who broke his fibula and tore ligaments in a season opening win over Franklin. I told Sammie that before breaking his leg, Dustin had broken a couple of Wabash school records, and how hard it was for everyone at the College to imagine playing this season without him.

I explained the reason we were going to central Illinois was to show our spirit and support for Dustin, sure, but also for the other 115 Little Giants who would be suiting up for an early-season test of emotion and determination.

I had heard from Josh Gangloff earlier in the week that the team chose the word “exposed” to think about during the week leading up to the Millikin game. Josh said the word came from senior Richard Roomes, and that it described how the team felt without its star quarterback.

There was a lot of pressure on sophomore quarterback Kyle Augustinovicz (left) when he stepped under center for his first Wabash football game Saturday. He was taking the reins of a high-powered offensive machine capable of putting huge numbers on the board and in the stat book.

But the pressure was lessened because Coach Chris Creighton and his staff had told each and every player on the team to step it up a notch this week — the week when they felt exposed physically and emotionally.

I feel safe saying that everyone did step it up. The scoreboard wasn’t eye-popping, but “Augie” endured his first test as a starter and came through with more than passing numbers (pun intended): 22-of-30 passing for 270 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed for a score and managed the game effectively and did not turn the ball over.

The defensive players took the game on their shoulders and delivered five turnovers. They recorded eight sacks, blocked an extra point, and Matt Kraft’s interception return for a touchdown iced the victory.

It is, after all, a team sport. And the Little Giants perhaps never looked so much like a team as they did at Millikin on Saturday.

I give credit to the coaches, sure, but also the senior members of the team who set the tone for the season. Adi Pynenberg played like an All-American, leading the team vocally and physically at every important moment of the game.

Jared “Bubba” Lange looked like a player who was hungry, really hungry. After an all-conference season as a sophomore, Lange broke his leg last year and missed the season. His performance against Millikin — 3. 5 quarterback sacks and a pass knock-down — was not only impressive, it was passionate.

Then there was Daryl Kennon (right), who stood out Saturday not because of his statistics, but because of his always-churning motor. There wasn’t an offensive lineman who could block the talented defensive end, so they resorted to double-teaming him, holding him, and running away from him. Kennon, like Lange, had the hunger of having missed two seasons for personal reasons. His game Saturday looked to me like a statement game: “I’m back!”

When a defensive back would get burned on a pass play, a linebacker was there to pick him up or pat him on the back. When the offense sputtered, senior punter Chad Finley made sure Millikin couldn’t gain an edge in field position.

I’ve never been someone who believes that a team can actually be better when a superstar gets hurt. But I believe that such things can galvanize a team; they can focus a team; they can make a team stronger because every player must be accountable for his performance. There’s less margin for error.

So there they were, an exposed group of young men who were hurting badly after losing their all-star player. Yet they demonstrated more than the “Wabash Always Fights!” motto. For three hours on a glorious Saturday afternoon, they turned exposure into passion; they played not so much like a team, but like a family.

For my daughter who began the day saying she didn’t see the point in traveling so far to watch a game, there was a good life lesson to be taught on the drive home.