Illinois Wesleyan (1-0) vs. Aurora University (0-1)
Sat., Sept. 16, 2000 • 1:30 p.m. • Aurora, Ill.

FOR OPENERS
After last week’s win, IWU is 9-5 in opening-day games under Norm Eash.

FOR THE RECORD
IWU has won 36 of its last 44 games (.818) and has had better than .500 seasons for six straight seasons and for 10 times in the last 11 years. . .IWU teams were 72-21-1 in the 1990s (.769) and, in the Eash era, are 23-8-1 in September (.734). The Titans are 46-14 (.759) at home and 38-23-1 on the road (.621) under Eash’s tutelage. . . Illinois Wesleyan is 35-7 (.829) at Wilder Field in the last nine years.

TITAN NOTES
IWU shoots for its 10th straight non-league regular-season win at Aurora Saturday. The Titans' last non-CCIW regular-season loss came to Simpson (Iowa), 24-21, in 1995. . .
IWU opened the season with a 24-0 shutout of Washington U. Senior Joel Castillo (Elgin, Larkin HS) was 19 for 29 for 216 yards with two touchdown passes. Senior Shawn Emerson (Zion, Zion-Benton HS) had eight catches for 135 yards and the two TD grabs. Sophomore Kevin Kaplan (Cary, Cary-Grove HS) intercepted two passes and had five tackles. IWU was led by the seven total tackles of Brad Andrekus (Carol Stream, Glenbard North HS) and Creighton Drescher (Palatine HS). . . Freshman Brian Klesath (Peoria, Notre Dame HS) kicked a 37-yard field goal, the first IWU field goal since Oct. 3, 1998, when Brian Pervan made a 22-yarder vs. Elmhurst.

RANKINGS
The Titans are No. 28 in this week’s national Division III rankings done by usafootball.com, debuted at No. 37 in Don Hansen’s Football Gazette, and are among teams receiving votes in the national Division III American Football Coaches Association poll.

THE SERIES
The only other time IWU and Aurora met was in the first round of
the 1992 NCAA Division III playoffs. The Titans won 21-12. However, the Titans and Aurora are familiar with each other because of their preseason scrimmages the past couple seasons.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Chosen by Titan coaches to honor top players in the week’s game and practices.
OFFENSE: Shawn Emerson, senior, receiver,  Zion (Zion-Benton HS)
DEFENSE: Kevin Kaplan, sophomore, defensive back, Cary (Cary-Grove HS); Mike McPherson, senior, line, Maywood (Nazareth Academy)
SPECIAL TEAMS: Dennis Tovar, freshman, punter, Elgin (Larkin HS); Steve Schilsky, sophomore, defensive end, Springfield (Sacred Heart Griffin HS)
SCOUT TEAM (Offense): Frank Mirandola, junior, quarterback, Melrose Park (West Leyden HS); Tim Snyder, freshman, wide receiver, Glen Ellyn (Glenbard South HS)
SCOUT TEAM (Defense): Doug DePersia, sophomore, line, Tinley Park (HS); Jon Blalock, junior, defensive back, Angola, Ind. (HS).

EMERSON
Senior Shawn Emerson (Zion, Zion-Benton HS) was a preseason fourth team All-American in usafootball.com and was listed as a “Player to Watch” in Don Hansen’s Football Gazette. He was also called “one of the top receivers in the nation” by Street & Smith’s national college football magazine. Emerson has 98 career catches (10th all-time at IWU), 1,466 career receiving yards (11th all-time), and 16 career TD catches (ninth in IWU history).

THE SPARTANS
Aurora (0-1) was handled by Bethel (Minn.) last week, 34-7. The Aurora offense was limited to 187 total yards, including only 68 passing yards, and the Spartans were guilty of six turnovers - three fumbles and three interceptions. . . Aurora was 8-2 last season . . . A key returner for the Spartans is Jeremy Benson, a first team All-American in 1999 (Football Gazette and Hewlett-Packard) who was the Illini-Badger Conference defensive lineman of the year.

THE COACHES
Norm Eash, a 1975 IWU graduate, is in his 14th season as head coach at Illinois Wesleyan. He has an overall record of 84-37-1 (.690) and a College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin mark of 65-30-1 with three league titles (1992, 1994, 1996). Eash is second in victories at IWU, behind Don "Swede" Larson (166 wins in 33 years, 1954-86) . . . Jim Scott, a 1961 graduate of Luther College, is in his 15th season as head coach at Aurora. He has an overall record at the school of 72-51-3 and they made a Division III playoff appearance in 1992 (against Illinois Wesleyan).

LOOKING AHEAD
This is the first of two road non-conference games in a row for IWU. The Titans meet NAIA entry Taylor University in Upland, Ind., next Saturday. The next home game will be on Sept. 30 against Elmhurst.