Illinois Wesleyan (5-0, 2-0) vs. Elmhurst (1-4, 0-2)
Sat., Oct. 14 • 1 p.m.
Illinois Wesleyan Stadium, Bloomington, Ill.

HOMECOMING AT IWU
In the last 35 years, Illinois Wesleyan football teams are 24-11 in Homecoming games at Illinois Wesleyan Stadium. This is the first Homecoming game vs. Elmhurst since 1989, when IWU posted a 34-6 win.

TITAN NOTES
IWU upset top 10 Augustana, 20-16, in Rock Island last Saturday to improve to 5-0. Senior David Rasho (Forsyth, Decatur St. Teresa HS) made his first career catch a big one - a 71-yard TD reception with 3:01 remaining to give IWU the lead. Joel Castillo (Elgin, Larkin HS) was 7 for 18 for 167 yards and Max Milinkovich (Elmhurst, York HS) rushed for 83 yards on 25 carries. Brad Andrekus (Carol Stream, Glenbard North HS) had 14 total tackles, while end Chris Hummel (Normal, Community HS) had 11. Creighton Drescher (Palatine HS) and Kevin Kaplan (Cary, Cary-Grove HS) each had interceptions.. . The Titans are sixth in College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin offense with 317.4 yards per game and are second in the league in defense, allowing just 258.0 yards per game. IWU leads the league in scoring defense, allowing only 9.2 points per game. . . The last time IWU started with a 5-0 mark was 1998; they went 2-2 the rest of that season. The last Titan teams to be 6-0 were the 10-1 Division III playoff teams of 1996 and 1992.

CAREER MARKS
In his career, Shawn Emerson (Zion, Zion-Benton HS) has 125 catches (No. 8 all-time at IWU) for 1,802 receiving yards (No. 5 all-time) and 18  TD catches (No. 8 at IWU) . . . Max Milinkovich (Elmhurst, York HS) has 1,895 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. 14 (from 18) in the week’s American Football Coaches Association poll and jumped to No. 2 from No. 22 in Don Hansen’s Football Gazette. In the latest usafootball.com poll, IWU was No. 18.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Chosen by Titan coaches to honor top players in the week’s game and practices.
OFFENSE: Joel Castillo, senior, quarterback, Elgin (Larkin HS); David Rasho, senior, receiver, Forsyth (Decatur St. Teresa HS)
DEFENSE: Joel Dodson, sophomore, linebacker, Pontiac (HS); Brad Andrekus, junior, safety, Carol Stream (Glenbard North HS)
SPECIAL TEAMS: Chris Ross, sophomore, returner, Chatham (Chatham Glenwood HS)
SCOUT TEAM (Offense): Jamison Bills, sophomore, back, Normal (U High)
SCOUT TEAM (Defense): Mark Coleman, sophomore, linebacker, Chatsworth (Prairie Central HS).

FOR THE RECORD
IWU has won 40 of its last 48 games (.833) 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 39-21 in October (.650). The Titans are 47-14 (.759) at home and 41-23-1 on the road (.648) 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.

ABOUT THE BLUEJAYS
Elmhurst is coming off a 31-21 home loss to North Park. They have also fallen to Ripon (28-14), Ohio Wesleyan (38-0) and Augustana (49-31), while their lone win has been a 17-16 home decision over Benedictine. The Bluejays are eighth in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin in team defense (383.4 per game allowed), scoring defense (32.4 points against) and scoring (16.6 per game) and rank fifth in total offense with 317.4 yards per game. Elmhurst quarterback Juan Quesada is third in the CCIW with 908 yards of total offense, including 234 rushing yards. His top receiver is Rasand Hall, who has 15 catches for 196 yards.

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 88-37-1 (.702) and a CCIW mark of 67-30-1 (.689) with three league titles (1992, 1994, 1996). With one more league win, Eash will be tied for sixth in all-time CCIW coaching wins with Wheaton’s Harve Chrouser, who was 68-7-2 from 1946-59. Eash is second in victories at IWU, behind Don "Swede" Larson (166 wins in 33 years, 1954-86) . . . Paul Krohn is in his eighth season as the coach of the Bluejays and has a career mark of 15-52-1 (.228) and a record of 9-41-1 (.186) in the league. Krohn was an assistant at Mankato State (Minn.) for 12 years had helped the Mavericks to two Division II playoff appearances.

THE SERIES
In a series that dates back to 1930, Illinois Wesleyan holds a 40-7-1 lead in games vs. Elmhurst. The Titans have won the last 14 meetings and 15 of the last 17 games between the two schools, including a 31-26 decision at home last year.

LOOKING AHEAD
The Titans are on the road next week for a CCIW battle against the Wheaton Thunder. The game starts at 1 p.m. game on October 14 at McCully Field.