Sat., Sept. 21 • 6 p.m. • Wilder Field at Illinois Wesleyan Stadium
Bloomington, Ill.
WEEKEND EVENTS: The IWU vs. Washington U. game provides the setting for the annual McLean County Appreciation Day. It is also Family Weekend at Illinois Wesleyan.
LAST WEEK: IWU rallied from a 10-point fourth quarter deficit to claim a 35-31 win at UW-LaCrosse. Senior Josh Akin (Naperville, Benet Academy) was 17 of 38 for 219 yards and also rushed for 54 yards, including a 37 yards run with 6:43 to play that gave IWU its only lead. Sophomore Eric White (Antioch HS) had nine catches for 141 yards and two TDs and senior Chris Ross (Chatham, Glenwood HS) ran for 101 yards on 29 carries. Defensively, junior LB Solomon Jones (Kankakee HS) registered 10 solo tackles and assisted on one more while senior DB Kevin Kaplan (Cary, Cary-Grove HS) had 10 total tackles and an interception, the sixth of his career.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: IWU’s Josh Akin (Naperville, Benet Academy) was named College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin “Offensive Player of the Week” as he amassed 273 yards of total offense vs. UW-L. The defensive honor went to Millikin defensive end Nate Carden.
RANKINGS: IWU went from unranked to No. 23 in the first Division III poll release by the American Football Coaches Association. IWU also went from being unrated to No. 37 in this week’s Don Hansen Football Gazette. The Titans were picked to finish second in the preseason CCIW coaches’ poll.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Chosen by Titan coaches to honor top players in the week’s game
and practices.
OFFENSE: Eric White, sophomore, receiver, Antioch (HS)
DEFENSE: Solomon Jones, junior, linebacker, Kankakee (HS)
SPECIAL TEAMS: Drew Himes, freshman, punter, Princeton (HS)
SCOUT (Offense): Brian Lett, sophomore, line, Libertyville (HS);
Jensen Jones, freshman, back, LaHarpe (HS)
SCOUT (Defense): David Choi, freshman, linebacker, Lisle (Naperville
North HS); Justin Holschbach, freshman, line, Princeton (HS).
SCOUTING THE BEARS: WU saw an early 10-0 lead slip away last week in a 16-10 home field loss to No. 35-ranked MacMurray. WU committed five turnovers, had a blocked punt returned for a TD and was tackled for a safety. Junior Toby Neighbors rushed for 71 yards and sophomore Jeff Beuning caught eight passes for 59 yards...WU was 8-2 last year, advanced to the NCAA playoffs, and was the preseason choice to win the UAA.
THE COACHES: Norm Eash (Illinois Wesleyan, 1975) is in his 16th season as head coach at IWU and has an overall record of 100-40-1 (.713) and a CCIW mark of 77-32-1 (.704) with conference titles in 1992, 1994, 1996, 2000, and 2001. Eash, the CCIW “Coach of the Year” in 1992, 1996 and 2001, is tied for fourth in all-time CCIW coaching wins with Millikin’s Carl Poelker, who was 77-30-1 in 14 years (1982-95). Eash is second in victories at IWU, behind Don Larson (166 wins in 33 years, 1954-86)... Larry Kindbom is in his 14th season at Washington U. and has an 85-47 record with the Bears. He has a career mark of 113-77-1 (.595), which includes six seasons at Kenyon.
FOR THE RECORD: IWU teams are 29-9-1 in September in the Norm Eash era and, last year at Washington U., lost in September for the first time since 1995...That loss also snapped a string of 11 straight regular season non-league wins, dating back to a 24-21 loss to Simpson in 1995...Since 1995, IWU has won 52 of its last 63 games (.825) and has been over the .500-mark for eight straight years and 12 of the last 13 years. The 11 losses have come to Wheaton (4), Millikin (3), Augustana (2), Washington U. and Mount Union (1 each)...The Titans are 53-15 (.779) at home and 47-25-1 on the road (.651) under Eash...IWU is 42-8 (.840) at Wilder Field in the last 11 years (1991-2001).
UNDER THE LIGHTS: This is the first home night football game
at IWU’s Wilder Field since 1971. The Titans were to have played Aurora
at night on Sept. 15, 2001, but the game was cancelled in light of the
national tragedies of Sept. 11. The last home night game was on Oct. 2,
1971, when Carthage downed the Titans, 22-19. Home night game results from
1965-71:
Oct. 2, 1971 - Carthage 22, IWU 19
Sept. 19, 1970 - IWU 21, Wheaton 21
Oct. 5, 1968 - Carthage 20, IWU 13
Sept. 30, 1967 - IWU 17, Augustana 3
Oct. 1, 1966 - IWU 20, North Park 0
Sept. 25, 1965 - IWU 34, Illinois State 7
ALL-TIME: IWU is 485-348-42 (.578) in 110 years of football. Before the season, IWU was tied for 16th among Division III schools (with St. John’s [Minn.], 484-211-24 in 91 seasons).
ALIVE AND KICKING: Junior Brian Klesath (Peoria, Notre Dame HS) had field goals of 37 and (career-long) 44 yards in the win over UW-LaCrosse. In his career Klesath is 15-of-24 and has moved into second place all-time at IWU, behind Dave Pearce, who kicked 29 field goals from 1979-82.
THE SERIES: Dating back to 1899, Washington U. holds a 9-5 advantage
in the series against IWU.
1899 Washington U. 6, IWU 0
1949 Washington U. 41, IWU 25
1950 Washington U. 27, IWU 7
1951 IWU 14, Washington U. 7
1952 Washington U. 61, IWU 14
1953 Washington U. 54, IWU 6
1954 Washington U. 52, IWU 7
1975 Washington U. 20, IWU 7
1976 IWU 17, Washington U. 0
1994 IWU 28, @ Washington U. 14
1995 Washington U. 28, @ IWU 23
1996 IWU 48, @ Washington U. 27
2000 @ IWU 24, Washington U. 0
2001 @Washington U. 17, IWU 14
ON THE AIR: The IWU/WU game will be broadcast via streaming audio on the Internet at http://www.wjbc.com.
LOOKING AHEAD: The Titans play their final non-CCIW game next Sat., Sept. 28, at the University of Chicago at 1 p.m. Chicago (1-0) opened their season with a 33-9 win over North Park last Saturday. Senior QB Josh Dunn completed 22 of 36 attempts for 311 yards and two TDs, and freshman K Michael Morzenti kicked a school-record four field goals. Chicago amassed 436 yards of total offense to 242 for North Park. IWU opens CCIW play at home Oct. 5 vs. North Park in Illinois Wesleyan’s 2002 Homecoming game.
HONORS: Four players return that were first team all-CCIW choices last season - senior defensive back and punt returner Kevin Kaplan (Cary, Cary-Grove HS) (20 tackles, five interceptions, led league in punt returns); senior linebacker Mike Clark (Joliet, West HS) (82 tackles, 45 solo, 13 tackles for loss); senior offensive tackle Adam Miller (Elgin, Larkin HS); and junior wide receiver Tim Snyder (Glen Ellyn, Glenbard South HS) (27 catches for 396 yards). Kaplan is also a third team preseason All-American (Don Hansen’s Football Gazette).
HOLD THAT LINE: In last year's final NCAA Division III statistics, IWU was 29th in total defense and 13th in scoring defense (12.0 allowed).
MEDIA GUIDE: The 2002 Illinois Wesleyan football media guide, complete with player and coach profiles and all-time records, is available for $5 via mail. Send a check to: Sports Information Director, Illinois Wesleyan, P.O. Box 2900, Bloomington, IL 61702-2900.