Illinois Wesleyan (1-1, 0-0) vs. North Park (2-1, 0-0)
Sat., Sept. 29 • 1 p.m. • Hedstrand Field, Chicago, Ill.

LAST WEEK: Junior quarterback Josh Akin (Naperville, Benet Academy) came off the bench in the third quarter with Illinois Wesleyan behind, 31-14, and threw for three touchdowns and a two-point extra point to rally IWU to a 35-31 non-league win over Taylor. In the game, Akin was 12 of 19 for 176 yards. Junior Pat Spangler (Joliet HS) led IWU with 100 rushing yards on 16 carries while senior Kyle Eash (Bloomington HS) ran for 75 yards and senior Aaron Telford (Bloomington, Central Catholic HS) rushed for 58 yards. Freshman Eric White (Antioch HS) made three catches for 28 yards and two scores and sophomore Tim Snyder (Glen Ellyn, Glenbard South HS) had six catches for 66 yards. Sophomore Dave Strubbe (Oak Forest, Providence Catholic HS) also had three catches for 63 yards and a TD . . . IWU amassed 474 yards of total offense and allowed Taylor only 217. . . Defensively, the Titans were paced by senior Brad Andrekus (Carol Stream, Glenbard North HS), who made 11 total tackles and intercepted two passes. Senior lineman Keir Thirus (Country Club Hills, Rich Central HS) was in on nine tackles.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Chosen by Titan coaches to honor top players in the week’s game and practices.
OFFENSE: Pat Spangler, junior, back, Joliet (HS)
DEFENSE: Brad Andrekus, senior, back, Carol Stream (Glenbard North HS)
SPECIAL TEAMS: Steve Schilsky, junior, defensive end, Springfield (Sacred Heart Griffin HS)
SCOUT (Offense): Chris Reynolds, freshman, line, Springfield (Southeast HS); Joe Sergo, freshman, wide receiver, Park Ridge (Maine South HS)
SCOUT (Defense): Jon Robinson, freshman, linebacker, Centralia (HS); Michael Cafferata, freshman, end, Chicago (Gordon Tech HS).

CAREER PICKS: Brad Andrekus (Carol Stream, Glenbard North HS) had two interceptions last Saturday and now has eight for his career. The all-time leaders are Jon Goldie and Kevin Fahey, who had 16 from 1995 to 1998. Fahey also holds the season record with nine (1998).

FOR THE RECORD: IWU teams are 27-9-1 in September in the Norm Eash era, The loss to Washington U. was the first by IWU in September since 1995. . .IWU had won 11 straight regular season non-league games, dating back to a 24-21 loss to Simpson in 1995 . . .The Titans are 51-14 (.785) at home and 42-25-1 on the road (.634) under Eash. . .IWU is 40-7 (.851) at Wilder Field in the last 11 years, including 2001 . . .Dating back to 1995, IWU has won 45 of its last 55 games (.818) and has been over the .500-mark for seven straight years and 11 of the last 12 years.

CCIW STATS: In 2001 non-league games, CCIW teams were 15-8 vs. opponents. . . In the latest CCIW statistics, IWU is fifth in total offense with 373 yards per game and ranks third in total defense, allowing 271 yards per game. North Park ranks eighth in total offense with an average of 283 per game and is fifth in defense, allowing 341 yards per game.

THE COACHES: Norm Eash, a 1975 IWU graduate, is in his 15th season as head coach at Illinois Wesleyan. He has an overall record of 93-39-1 (.703) and a CCIW mark of 71-31-1 (.694) with conference titles in 1992, 1994, 1996 and 2000. Eash is fifth in all-time CCIW coaching wins and is second in victories at IWU, behind Don "Swede" Larson (166 wins in 33 years, 1954-86) . . . The Vikings are coached by another 1975 IWU grad, Robin Cooper, in his first season. A former Titan quarterback and baseball player, Cooper was a teammate of IWU coach Norm Eash. He has coached previously at MacMurray (20-8, 3 yrs.), Evansville (36-33, 8 yrs.), and the College of DuPage (13-8, 2 yrs.).

SCOUTING THE VIKINGS: North Park has won two straight non-league games, topping Carroll, 13-3 and Concordia, 35-17. Their loss came at Northwestern (Minn.), 32-13. . . Dante Britten has rushed for 90 yards per game and Mike Rice averages 73.5 yards as the Vikings gain 61% of their yards by rushing. . . Phil DeWald has thrown for 330 yards and three TDs in three games. His favorite target is Chris Oquendo, who has made 16 grabs for 186 yards and two scores. . . On defense, Tim Wisner has made 20 tackles and an interception and defensive backs Jason Ellerman and Alfredo Cruz also have intercepted passes. Ellerman is second on the team with 19 tackles.

THE SERIES: Dating back to 1960, IWU leads the series vs. North Park, 38-3. The Titans have won 15 in a row and 20 of the last 21, including a 36-12 decision in Bloomington a year ago.

LOOKING AHEAD: IWU will have its Homecoming game in Bloomington next Saturday, hosting Augustana in a 1:30 p.m. game. The game was originally scheduled for 1 p.m. but was moved back to accommodate campus Homecoming festivities.

ABOUT WHITE, AKIN: Freshman wide receiver Eric White (Antioch HS) and junior quarterback Josh Akin (Naperville, Benet Academy) are non-lettermen and are not profiled in the 2001 IWU media guide.
WHITE: Was an all-North Suburban Conference, all-county and all-area football player as a senior for the Sequoits. . . Also lettered four times in basketball . . .Majoring in business.
AKIN: He threw for 800 yards and eight touchdowns as a high school senior for an East Suburban Catholic Conference champion team that made the state playoffs. . .Majoring in chemistry.