Tyler Sessions won’t ever forget his first start as a college quarterback.

Sessions threw for 234 yards and two touchdowns as Haskell Indian Nations University squeezed Southwestern Assemblies of God U., 26-24, Saturday at Haskell Stadium.

“I’m a small-town guy, and I’m sure they’ll be proud of me back home,” Sessions said after helping HINU post its first victory in seven starts.

The 5-foot-10, 165-pound Sessions hails from Fennville, Mich., a burg of about 1,500 people located six miles from Lake Michigan.

Haskell coach Eric Brock brought Sessions along slowly this season, using him for a couple of series in Weeks 3 and 4, then alternating him with starter Victor Ramos the last couple of weeks.

On Saturday, the plan was for Sessions to start for the first time, then alternate series with Ramos, as usual. Instead, Sessions never left the field when the Indians were on offense.

“He did so well we left him in there,” Brock said. “You don’t want to stop rolling the dice when you’re hot.”

Sessions completed 16 of 28 passes without an interception while running the attack virtually without flaw.

HINU didn’t lose a fumble, either.

“He was very solid,” Brock said. “When it comes right down to it, the kid takes care of the ball. He’s a very intelligent player.”

Sessions wasn’t the whole show. The Indians’ running game was just as productive as the aerial attack. Alternating tailbacks Quentin Haynes and Bubba Wills ran for 146 and 84 yards, respectively.

More than half of Haynes’ yardage came on one play, a 79-dash down the right sideline that set up what proved to be the winning touchdown early in the fourth quarter.

Haynes, a freshman from Montrose, Colo., rambled from the HINU 14 to the SAGU 7 before being hauled down.

“I felt good for the first 50 yards, then my legs got tired,” Haynes said. “I’m not used to being caught from behind, but I could feel I was slowing down.”

That Haynes would shift into a lower gear during that long sprint was hardly surprising considering he didn’t practice all week because of nagging knee and quad injuries.

Wills, who replaced the winded Haynes and scored two plays later, also has been banged up this season. So, too, have a handful of offensive linemen. Center Jared Jones, for example, played Saturday for the first time in a month.

Haskell (1-6) compiled a season-high 464 yards of offense against the Lions (0-8), who failed on a two-point conversion pass that would have forged a tie with 6:56 to play.

SAGU never touched the ball again as the Tribe, playing at home for the first time in five weeks and in front of a homecoming crowd, ran off 13 consecutive time-eating plays, 12 on the ground.

Next up, Haskell will host Peru State on Saturday.