Illinois Wesleyan 2005 Football Stories

Contact: Stew Salowitz (309) 556-3206

Also see other stories at Football Archives

Illinois Wesleyan Football 2005 Preseason Fact Sheet (pdf)

January 5
Illinois Wesleyan junior Mike Stephens has been named to the third team of the all-North Region football squad chosen by Don Hansen’s Football Gazette. Stephens, a 6-foot-4, 240-pound defensive end from Orland Park (Providence Catholic HS), was the Titans’ “Most Valuable Defensive Player” and was also named the team’s “Best Lineman” for 2005. A first team all-College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin selection, Stephens made 43 total tackles, including 29 solo, and had nine quarterback sacks for -42 in yardage. He also blocked three kicks, broke up three passes, forced three fumbles and recovered a fumble.

November 22
Senior quarterback Tom Kudyba and junior defensive end Mike Stephens have been selected as the most valuable offensive player and most valuable defensive player, respectively, for the 2005 Illinois Wesleyan University football team. Kudyba also earned the team’s “Best Skill” award and Stephens was named the team’s “Best Lineman.” Senior Nick Roto was selected as the “Most Improved Player”, junior Mike Mastro earned “Best Big Skill” honors, and Martin Ceisel was named the team’s “Most Valuable Freshman.” Junior kicker Mike Berry was the “Best Special Teams” player. Junior Joe Murphy and freshman Ron Watts were the winners of the top offensive and defensive junior varsity player honors, respectively. Levi Derber was the winner of the first-ever “Doug Schmied Award”, which is voted on by the coaches for loyalty, leadership, citizenship, sports-minded, team-minded and attitude. The honor, which was previously the “Titan Award”, was named for Schmied, the IWU senior offensive lineman who passed away in August.

November 15
Illinois Wesleyan landed three players on the first team and four on the second team of the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin all-league squads. Defensive end Mike Stephens, wide receiver Martin Ceisel and return specialist Eric Esch were first team honorees while defensive back Bo Osburn, linebacker Damon Banks, offensive lineman Tim Murray and running back Marcus Dunlop were all selected to the second team. Banks was a second team all-CCIW pick the last three seasons and Esch was a first team return specialist in 2004.

November 12
The Illinois Wesleyan football team’s season ended with a 29-27 loss to Millikin at IWU Field on Sat., Nov. 12. The Titans finish with a 3-7 overall record and 2-5 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin while the Big Blue improved to 5-5, 2-5 CCIW.
Senior quarterback Tom Kudyba accounted for 349 total yards of the Titans’ 378 yard total, rushing for 134 yards on 21 carries and passing for 215 yards (21 of 37 with four touchdowns).
Millikin’s Nathan Wallick rushed 40 times (tying a school record) for 217 yards in the game and scored on a 4-yard run just 28 seconds into the game, putting IWU in a hole they never recovered from. Wallick also scored on runs of 12 yards and 3 yards and Joe Albin ran in a score from 15 yards out. Millikin’s Aaron McLean kicked a 30 yard field goal in the second quarter and made two of four extra point kicks.
Bryson Brownlee (8 yards), Martin Ceisel (13 yards), Jordan Musselman (7 yards) and Nick Iovino (17 yards) all made TD grabs for IWU and Mike Berry was three of four in extra point tries.
Damon Banks led the Titans with 14 total tackles and Bo Osburn made 11. Robaer Williams led the Big Blue with 10 tackles and Joel Goldstone made eight. Matt Jones made the game’s only interception for an 18 yard return.

November 5
Illinois Wesleyan fell to 3-6 overall and 2-4 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin, dropping a 42-7 decision at Carthage on Sat., Nov. 5 in Kenosha, Wis. Senior Tom Kudyba threw for 311 yards, the 22nd best in a single game at IWU, completing 23 of 50 attempts, including a 38-yard touchdown to freshman Martin Ceisel. Ceisel made 10 catches for 237 yards, which is the fourth most in an IWU single game, behind only Chris Bisaillon (287 vs. Carroll, 1989; 260 vs. Carroll, 1991) and Eric Larsen (244 vs. North Central, 1997). IWU managed only 14 rushing yards and got 341 yards of total offense compared to the 549 yards amassed by Carthage (6-3, 3-3 CCIW) in the game, which had a 90-minute delay for lightning in the second quarter. The Titans end their season on Sat., Nov. 12, in a "Seniors' Day" home game against Millikin (4-5 overall, 1-5 CCIW).

October 29
The Illinois Wesleyan football team posted its second straight College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin win, taking a 21-7 decision from North Park in Chicago on Sat., Oct. 29. Sophomore Marcus Dunlop rushed 27 times for 164 yards including a 59 yard touchdown run. Tom Kudyba was 7-of-18 for 144 yards and TD passes to Jordan Musselman (of 59 yards) and Martin Ceisel (of 38 yards). Brian Smith led the defense with nine total tackles while Damon Banks had eight and Mike Mastro added seven in the win. The Titans are 3-5 overall and 2-3 in the CCIW.
October 24
Illinois Wesleyan seniors Tom Kudyba and Damon Banks were named offensive and defensive “Players of the Week”, respectively, in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin for their performances Saturday, Oct. 22. Kudyba finished 26 of 40 for 232 yards and two touchdowns as IWU won its first CCIW game of the year, a 23-14 victory over Wheaton at home on Oct. 22. Kudyba’s 26 completions tied for the fifth most in school history in a single game. The win was the 500th in the 113-year history of Titan football. Banks led the Titans with 16 tackles, including seven solo in the win over Wheaton. Banks returned an interception 55 yards for a touchdown and also
forced two fumbles in the win.

October 22
Illinois Wesleyan earned the 500th win in the 113 year history of football at the school as the Titans scored 16 fourth quarter points to post a 23-14 come-from-behind win over Wheaton in a College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin football game at IWU on Sat., Oct. 22.
The Titans are 2-5 overall and 1-3 in CCIW play while Wheaton falls to 5-2, 2-2 CCIW.
Wheaton opened the scoring with a touchdown catch by Chris Fossum of 4 yards from Jeremy Chupp with 9:47 to play in the first quarter, and the Titans tied the score at 7-7 when Tom Kudyba found Jordan Musselman with a 3-yard pass with 6:40 to play in the half.
Wheaton's Jeremy Chupp scored on a 2 yard run with 1:01 to play in the third, but the fourth quarter was all Titans. Mike Berry kicked a 30-yard field goal with 13:46 to play in the game and then linebacker Damon Banks made a 55-yard interception return for a touchdown with 10:27 to play.
Martin Ceisel capped the scoring with 3:13 to play when he caught a TD pass from Kudyba from 13 yards out.
Banks led the Titans with 16 tackles defensively. Ceisel made six catches for 118 yards and a late score and Kudyba threw for 232 yards, completing 26 of 40 passes with two TD passes.
The Thunder's Chaz Black ran for 107 yards on 31 carries and Jeremy Chupp completed 16 of 42 passes for 177 yards and was intercepted twice. The Thunder outgained the Titans, 339-270.

October 15
Illinois Wesleyan lost its third straight College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin game, falling 41-15 to Augustana on Sat., Oct. 15 in Rock Island. The Titans are 1-5 overall and 0-3 in the CCIW while the No. 23-ranked Vikings are 5-1, 3-0 CCIW. IWU's Adam Bohr scored Titans' first TD on a 2-yard pass from Tom Kudyba and Marcus Dunlop rushed for a 9-yard TD. Dunlop finished with 73 yards on 19 carries and Kudyba was 10 of 20 passing for 102 yards. The Titans, who trailed only 14-3 at the half, gained 255 total yards while Augie picked up 439 total yards, all via the rush.

October 8
North Central’s Kam Kniss threw for 356 yards and three touchdowns as the North Central Cardinals topped Illinois Wesleyan, 36-14, on Sat., Oct. 8 in Bloomington, Ill. North Central, who took advantage of six IWU turnovers, improves to 5-0 overall and 2-0 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin while IWU is 1-4, 0-2 CCIW.
Kniss was 22 of 32 in the game and had scoring strikes of 16, 38 and 10 yards to Tyke Spencer. Spencer made nine catches in all for 196 yards for North Central as the Cardinals rolled up 410 yards from scrimmage.
The Titans got 142 rushing yards on 24 carries from sophomore Marcus Dunlop and Brandon Cotter, filling in for an injured Tom Kudyba at quarterback, threw for 114 yards (13 of 26 with three interceptions) and a touchdown to Jordan Musselman. Freshman Martin Ceisel was the Titans' top yardage receiver, making three grabs for 84 yards.
Quarterback Bryan Kelly ran for the other Titan TD with 6:51 to play in the game.
Zach Pederson and Nicholas Swanson had six tackles each to lead the Cardinals’ defense while Swanson, Dan Lantz, Adam Pennington, and Josh Weil all made interceptions.
Damon Banks was IWU’s tackle leader with 12 (and a fumble recovery) while Mike Mastro had 10.

October 1
Illinois Wesleyan lost, 20-15, at Elmhurst in the opening game of the 2005 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin football season on Sat., Oct. 1. The Titans are 1-3 overall and the Bluejays improved to 4-0 overall and 1-0 in the CCIW. Quarterback Tom Kudyba was 16 of 31 passing for 159 yards with touchdown throws to Jordan Musselman and Martin Ceisel. Marcus Dunlop ran for 96 yards on 12 carries and Musselman had six total catches for 93 yards. Mike Berry connected on a 24 yard field goal for IWU, who was led defensively by Mike Mastro (11 tackles) and Bo Osburn (9). IWU hosts North Central at 1:30 p.m. next Sat., Oct. 8, in the annual Homecoming game.
September 25
Illinois Wesleyan junior kicker Mike Berry has been chosen “Special Teams Player of the Week” in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin for his efforts in IWU’s 20-13 win over the University of Chicago on Sept. 24. Berry kicked two field goals and ran in a two-point conversion. Berry hit second quarter field goals of 37 yards and 27 yards and his two-point conversion run in the fourth quarter put the Titans on top by seven. As a punter, Berry had seven boots for an average of 42.3 with a long punt of 49 yards and two punts landed inside the 20.  Illinois Wesleyan is now 1-2 on the season.
September 24
The Illinois Wesleyan football team came from behind to post its first win of the 2005 season, downing the University of Chicago, 20-13, on Sat., Sept. 24 at IWU Stadium. Chicago falls to 0-3. The Maroons jumped out to a 13-0 lead by early in the second quarter on touchdown runs of 11 yards (8:56, first quarter) and 5 yards (13:50 second quarter) by Nick Schey. The Titans made it 13-6 with 6:20 to go in the first half on a 48 yard touchdown pass from Tom Kudyba to Martin Ceisel and it was 13-12 at the half when Mike Berry made field goals of 37 yards (3:53) and 27 yards (:37). The only second half scoring was on a 22 yard run from Kudyba, who was 15 of 28 for 159 passing yards and ran for 64 on 15 carries. Chicago’s Matt Rinklin was 24 of 38 for 327 passing yards and the Maroons held a 447-238 advantage in total offense. Chicago was whistled for 11 penalties worth 103 yards as compared to five for 37 yards for IWU. Illinois Wesleyan’s Mike Mastro had 12 total tackles and Rob Hoyland had 10 while Mike Stephens accounted for three sacks. The Maroons were led on defense by Scott Johnson with six tackles, a fumble recovery and an interception.
September 10
The Illinois Wesleyan football team suffered a 46-0 loss to Wisconsin-Eau Claire on Sat., Sept. 10 at Eau Claire’s Carson Park. The Titans managed only 111 yards of total offense in suffering the first shutout of an IWU team since a 41-0 loss to Augustana in 1999. IWU (0-2) fell behind 20-0 in the first 11 minutes of the game and was behind 32-0 at intermission. Linebacker Steve Groetsema had 10 tackles, including five solo. The Titans have Sept. 17 off and return to action against the University of Chicago on Sat., Sept. 24 in a 6 p.m. start at IWU’s Wilder Field..
September 3
The Illinois Wesleyan Titans dropped a 20-14 decision to the Simpson Storm in the season opener for both teams on Sat., Sept. 3 at IWU’s Wilder Field. Senior quarterback Tom Kudyba completed 25 of 44 passes for 205 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 49 more yards. His favorite receiver was Jordan Musselman, who made 10 catches for 111 yards and a TD. The Titans never led in the game and trailed, 14-0 before getting on the board with a Brock Klien TD reception in the second quarter. Simpson accumulated 337 total yards to 281 for IWU. Eric Esch had 11 tackles and Mike Mastro had 10 tackles for the Titans on defense. IWU plays at UW-Eau Claire on Sept. 10 at 1 p.m.
August 10
Following a 3-7 season in 2005, the Illinois Wesleyan football team was picked to finish sixth in the annual College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin preseason football coaches poll. Wheaton (11-2 in 2004) was the choice to win the league with 43 points, including two first place votes, while Carthage and North Central each tallied 40 points with two and three first place votes respectively. Augustana was predicted fourth with 35 points, including one first place vote, followed by Millikin, IWU, Elmhurst and North Park. The Titans, with senior captain Damon Banks open their season at home with a 1 p.m. game against Simpson on Sept. 3. The Storm ended their season with a 5-5 mark, including a 13-7 win over IWU on Sept. 4 in Indianola, Iowa. The Titans return 32 lettermen including quarterback Tom Kudyba, running back Marcus Dunlop, linebacker Damon Banks, and Eric Esch, a first team Division III All-American on the sixth annual squad chosen by D3football.com and a preseason All-American this year. A return specialist, Esch was second in the national D-III statistics with a 20.6 punt return average and brought back two for touchdowns.
July 19
Illinois Wesleyan junior return specialist Eric Esch (Bloomington, Ill., HS) has been chosen to the first team of the preseason Division III All-American squads named by D3football.com.
Last season Esch finished second in the national Division III statistics with a 20.6 punt return average and brought back two for touchdowns. His 80-yard punt return for a TD against Chicago on Sept. 25 is tied for the third longest in school history.
Esch, who is also a defensive back for IWU, was a first team all-College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin selection and was twice chosen as the CCIW “Special Teams Player of the Week:
He was a D3football.com first team All-American as a return specialist last season and was chosen to the second team of the Division III all-North Region squad by Don Hansen’s Football Gazette. The Titans (3-7 in 2004) open their season at home Sept. 3 against Simpson.
May 29
The Illinois Wesleyan football team earned what head coach Norm Eash hopes is the first of many wins of the 2005 season in a 35-10 victory over the La Courneuve Flash on Sunday, May 29 in Paris, France. For a complete game and France trip story, click here.
The Titans opened the scoring in the first quarter when Bo Osburn intercepted a pass from Brandon Shaver and returned it 78 yards to the Flash 5. On the next play, Marcus Dunlop ran the ball in the end zone. A long Flash punt on their next possession pinned the Titans on their own 5 and two plays later Dunlop was tackled in the end zone for a safety.
Tom Kudyba ran in on two yard quarterback draw to start the second half scoring, but the Flash scored on a 59 yard interception return by Patrick Coulon, converted a pass for the extra point and closed the gap to 13-10 at the half.
Kudyba, who was chosen as the game's ”MVP,” had a sluggish start at quarterback, going only 6 of 15 for 87 yards and 3 interceptions in the first half, but he closed well, running for another TD from 15 yards out to begin the fourth quarter and completing a 10 yard pass to Nick Iovino to open the game up, 29-10. Kudyba was 11 of 24 for 144 yards and his favorite receiver was tight end Brock Klein, who made four grabs for 65 yards.
The Titans' final score came when Osburn returned his second interception 39 yards for a TD.
Dunlop finished with 101 yards rushing on 21 carries, Kudyba ran for 25 yards on 6 carries and Matt Maxwell had 23 yards on six carries as IWU amassed 162 rushing yards.
LaCourneuve Flash managed only 55 rushing yards and 83 passing yards.