Illinois Wesleyan (3-2, 2-1) vs. Wheaton (3-3, 2-1)
Sat., Oct. 20 • 1 p.m. • Illinois Wesleyan Stadium, Bloomington, Ill.

LAST WEEK: The Titans scored with 38 seconds remaining on a 19-yard touchdown pass from junior Josh Akin (Naperville, Benet Academy) to freshman Eric White (Antioch HS) to claim an 8-3 win on the road in Elmhurst. On a miserably rainy afternoon, Akin completed eight of 22 passes for 162 yards. White had five total catches for 100 yards while sophomore Tim Snyder (Glen Ellyn, Glenbard South HS) had three catches for 57 yards. Senior Aaron Telford (Bloomington, Central Catholic HS) rushed for a career-high 118 yards on 21 carries. His previous high was 115 at Washington U. earlier this season. . . The IWU defense limited Elmhurst to 198 yards of offense. Junior defensive end Steve Schilsky (Springfield, Sacred Heart Griffin HS) had six solo tackles and assisted on five more with a fumble recovery while junior linebacker Mike Clark (Joliet, West HS) had six solo tackles and assisted on four more.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Chosen by Titan coaches to honor top players in the week’s game and practices.
OFFENSE: Eric White, freshman, end, Antioch (HS)
DEFENSE: Andy Rader, senior, linebacker, Carlock (Normal U High); Mike Clark, junior, linebacker, Joliet (West HS)
SPECIAL TEAMS: None selected
SCOUT (Offense): Tom Geary, freshman, running back, Glencoe (New Trier HS); Josh Evans, freshman, quarterback, Sycamore (HS)
SCOUT (Defense): Pat Kinsella, sophomore, end, Bolingbrook (Joliet Catholic HS); Garrett Oleson, freshman, back, Genoa (Genoa-Kingston HS); Robert Shell, freshman, linebacker, Lansing (Thornton Fractional South HS).

FOR THE RECORD: IWU teams are 42-23 (.646) in October in the Norm Eash era . . .The Titans are 51-15 (.773) at home and 44-25-1 on the road (.630) under Eash. . .IWU is 40-8 (.833) at Wilder Field in the last 11 years, including 2001 . . .Dating back to 1995, IWU has won 47 of its last 58 games (.810) and has been over the .500-mark for seven straight years and 11 of the last 12 years. . . Prior to a Sept. 8 loss at Washington U., IWU had won 11 straight regular season non-league games, dating back to a 24-21 loss to Simpson in 1995.

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 95-40-1 (.702) and a CCIW mark of 74-32-1 (.696) 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) . . . With an overall record of 36-16 (28-10 CCIW), Mike Swider is in his sixth season as Wheaton’s head coach after 11 seasons as defensive coordinator, a position he still holds. A 1977 Wheaton graduate, Swider is a former Wheaton quarterback and still ranks 10th in career passing yards at the school.

THE SERIES: Wheaton has won the last four games in the series and has a 23-21-2 lead over the Titans in the series that dates back to 1922. In the last 16 meetings, Wheaton has an 11-4 lead with a tie in 1991. Norm Eash is 4-9-1 vs. Wheaton.

CCIW STATS: In the latest CCIW statistics, IWU is fifth in total offense with 357.6 yards per game and ranks third in total defense, allowing 213.4 yards per game. . . Tim Snyder is second in the CCIW with 66.4 receiving yards per game and Aaron Telford is fifth with 83.4 rushing yards per game. Kevin Kaplan is third with an average of 12.0 yards per punt return. Josh Akin is second in the league with 120.4 passing yards per game. . . Wheaton is third in total offense with 372.8 yards per game and ranks fifth in total defense, allowing 328.5 yards per game. Josh Anderson leads the CCIW in total offense (227.2) and passing (221.6). Mike Whalen is seventh with 59.5 rushing yards per game. Jonathan Mills leads the CCIW with 67.3 receiving yards per game. . . In 2001 non-league games, CCIW teams were 15-8 vs. opponents.

HEARING THE THUNDER: Wheaton is 3-0 on the road and 0-3 at home. . . The Wheaton Thunder topped Carthage, 41-14, on Saturday and improved to 3-3 overall and 2-1 in the CCIW. Josh Anderson led the Thunder offense with 19 completions on 29 attempts with a career-high five TD passes and no interceptions. Brad Musso had five catches for 122 yards and three touchdowns, Corey Noonan had four catches for 48 yards with one TD, while Randy Rosen had three catches for 21 yards with one TD. Mike Whalen ran for 51 yards on 15 carries with one TD run and had eight punt returns for 162 yards, including a 52-yarder. Bryant Wolfsberger returned three kickoffs for 88 yards, including a 53-yard return. The Thunder offense amassed 355 yards of total offense on 76 plays (4.7 per play) while the defense held Carthage to 177 yards on 55 plays (3.2 per play). Kevin Sellers made eight total tackles with a quarterback sack (-10 yards), while Justin Knapp also made eight tackles.

LOOKING AHEAD: IWU returns to the road next Saturday for its second night game of the season, meeting the Carthage Redmen at 6 p.m. Art Keller Field in Kenosha, Wis.