Illinois Wesleyan (4-0, 1-0) vs. Augustana (4-0, 1-0)
Sat., Oct. 7 • 1 p.m. • Ericson Field, Rock Island, Ill.

TITAN NOTES
IWU won its College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin opener, 36-12, over North Park last Saturday in Bloomington. With a 7-6 lead at halftime, the Titans scored 22 unanswered points to seal the win. Senior Max Milinkovich (Elmhurst, Tork HS) rushed for 91 yards on 16 carries with a touchdown. Senior Joel Castillo (Elgin, Larkin HS) threw for 191 yards and was 16 for 25 with a TD pass. Senior Shawn Emerson (Zion, Zion-Benton HS) made 11 catches for 104 yards. John Kovaka (Chicago, Marist HS) had 12 total tackles while Creighton Drescher (Palatine HS)  and Mike McPherson (Maywood., Nazareth Academy) each had six to lead IWU’s defense.

CAREER MARKS
In his career, Shawn Emerson (Zion, Zion-Benton HS) has 124 catches (No. 8 all-time at IWU) for 1,798 receiving yards (No. 5 all-time) and 18  TD catches (No. 8 at IWU) . . . Max Milinkovich (Elmhurst, York HS) has 1,812 career rushing yards, good for No. 8 all-time at IWU. He is  behind Gary Vicini (2,019 yards from 1972-75).

RANKINGS
The Titans improved to No. 18 (from 24) in the week’s American Football Coaches poll and remained No. 22 for the second straight week in Don Hansen’s Football Gazette. In the last usafootball.com poll, IWU was No. 20. In the same polls, Augustana was No. 8, No. 7, and No. 13.

FOR THE RECORD
IWU has won 39 of its last 47 games (.826) 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 38-21 in October (.644). The Titans are 47-14 (.759) at home and 40-23-1 on the road (.627) under Eash’s tutelage. . . IWU is 36-7 (.837) at Wilder Field in the last 10 years, including 2000...IWU has won 11 straight regular season non-league games, dating back to a 24-21 loss to Simpson in 1995...CCIW teams were 19-5 against non-conference foes in the league’s first 10-game schedule.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Chosen by Titan coaches to honor top players in the week’s game and practices.
OFFENSE: Max Milinkovich, senior, tailback, Elmhurst (York HS)
DEFENSE: Jeff Heinzl, senior, line, Palatine (Fremd HS)
SPECIAL TEAMS: Aaron Telford, junior, back, Bloomington (Central Catholic HS); Dennis Tovar, freshman, punter, Elgin (Larkin HS)
SCOUT TEAM (Offense): Logan Mitchell, freshman, back, Jacksonville (HS)
SCOUT TEAM (Defense): Jason Trotter, freshman, linebacker, Decatur (Meridian HS); Patrick Kinsella, freshman, end, Bolingbrook (Joliet Catholic HS).

THE VIKINGS
Junior David Chorney rushed for 149 yards with two TDs on 18 carries and Augustana got 476 yards rushing on 70 attempts in a 49-31 CCIW victory over Elmhurst. Augustana won its 10th straight regular season game, dating back to a 20-7 loss to Elmhurst on October 2, 1999. The Vikings had 520 yards of total offense as sophomore QB Ben Kleinhans had 68 yards on three attempts, including a 47 yard TD run, and Corey Ungaro had 63 yards on 13 carries with one TD. Elmhurst had 418 yards of total offense on the Viking defense, 250 rushing and 168 passing. Augustana was led in tackles by Roy Fritz and Brad Haverback with nine each and safety Chris Beard had an interception.

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 87-37-1 (.690) and a CCIW mark of 66-30-1 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 Barnes, a 1981 Augustana grad and a former practicing attorney, is in his first year at his alma mater, taking over for Tom Schmulbach, who was 34-13 with CCIW titles in 1997 and 1999. Barnes comes to Augie after five years as head coach at the College of Wooster (Ohio), where his teams were 37-13. In 1997, the Scots were 9-1 and have been 8-2 in each of the last two years. He was a three-year starter at defensive back and was team captain and all-CCIW in 1980.

THE SERIES
Illinois Wesleyan is the only team in the CCIW with a winning series edge on Augustana. The Titans lead 37-27-1 and had won four straight (1995-98) before Augustana’s 41-0 win last year. The Vikings won 11 in a row vs. IWU from 1981-91.

LOOKING AHEAD
The Titans return home next week for the annual Homecoming game, facing Elmhurst in a 1 p.m. game on October 14.