NIU’s Garrett Wolfe acknowledged the crowd and raised his helmet high as he walked off the field after Saturday’s win over Bowling Green.

The sophomore running back got his chance to shine and rushed for a career-high 202 yards and three touchdowns during the Huskies 34-17 victory over the MAC rival Falcons.

“I’ll give him his props; he’s a little scat-back now,” Bowling Green coach Gregg Brandon said. “He’s low to the ground and quick. We just didn’t tackle, and when you don’t tackle a little back like that, you’re going to have problems.”

Wolfe filled in for the injured A.J. Harris and left a group of fans in the west stands chanting “Wolfe, Wolfe, Wolfe” at the end of the game.

“The offensive line did a great job; the wide receivers … the play calling was great” Wolfe said. “All I did was run. It was unfortunate that A.J. got hurt, and no one pulls for me more in our running back group than A.J.”

Harris injured his left ankle at the end of the first half, which left the chance for Wolfe to showcase his skills on national television. He then accumulated all of his yards in the second half and scored touchdowns of 42, 21 and 8 yards for NIU.

“I thought A.J. was going to come back in the second half, but he went out there and warmed up and said he couldn’t go,” coach Joe Novak said. “Little Garrett went in there, we gave him the ball and boy he did a great job.”

Wolfe, who redshirted his first year, was forced to sit out last season because he was a credit short and did not meet the academic requirements to play.

Now with 304 yards on the year, Wolf is the sixth-leading rusher in the MAC. Harris, who finished with 46 yards before he left the game Friday, is still atop the leaderboard with 373 yards on the year.

Wolfe’s three touchdowns brought his season total to six. He is the only Huskie to score at least one in all four of NIU’s games.

“He’s a great back,” said Bowling Green linebacker Jovon Burkes. “You think he’s kind of small and easy to bring down, but he just stayed low to the field and kept going.”

Wolfe is now second in the MAC for all-purpose yards – which includes rushing, receiving and kick and punt return yardage – with a 142.5 yards per game average. The 202 yards was also the highest single-game total by a MAC running back this season.