Illinois Wesleyan (6-1, 3-1) vs. Carthage (3-4. 0-4)
Sat., Oct. 28 • 1 p.m.
Illinois Wesleyan Stadium, Bloomington, Ill.

TITAN NOTES: IWU dropped its first decision of the season, falling 35-21 at Wheaton. . . The last Titan teams to be 6-0 were the 10-1 Division III playoff teams of 1996 and 1992. Both teams finished with 10-1 records. . . Last weekend Wheaton snapped a 7-7 late first half tie by scoring 28 unanswered points to take a 35-7 lead. Senior David Rasho (Forysth, Decatur St. Teresa HS) caught two fourth quarter touchdown passes. Senior quarterback Joel Castillo (Elgin, Larkin HS) completed 20 passes for 222 yards and rushed for a team-high 30 yards. IWU was led defensively by Brad Andrekus (Carol Stream, Glenbard North HS), who had 15 tackles and an interception, while John Kovaka (Chicago, Marist HS), Chris Hummel (Normal Community HS), Dan Vosnos (Glenview, Glenbrook South HS), and Creighton Drescher (Palatine HS) each had nine total tackles. . .The Titans are sixth in College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin offense with 310.7 yards per game and are third in the league in defense, allowing just 261.7 yards per game. IWU is second in the league in scoring defense, allowing only 12.6 points per game...The Titans venture to Naperville next Saturday for a 1 p.m. CCIW meeting with North Central.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Chosen by Titan coaches to honor top players in the week’s game and practices.
OFFENSE: David Rasho, senior, wide receiver, Forsyth (Decatur St. Teresa)
DEFENSE: Brad Andrekus, junior, back, Carol Stream (Glenbard North HS)
SPECIAL TEAMS: None selected
SCOUT TEAM (Offense): Nick Heinz, freshman, quarterback, Woodstock (McHenry West HS)
SCOUT TEAM (Defense): Jim Yonker, junior, end, Naperville (Central HS).

CCIW MARKS: Joel Castillo (Elgin, Larkin HS) is second in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin in both passing and total offense. He has thrown for 1303 yards and rushed for 36. Shawn Emerson (Zion, Zion-Benton HS) is third in the CCIW with 38 catches for 508 yards and Max Milinkovich (Elmhurst, York HS) is seventh in rushing with 446 yards. Rick Tosch (Park Ridge, Maine South HS) is third with 10.8 yards per punt return and Chris Ross (Chatham, Chatham Glenwood HS) is fifth with 22.2 yards per kickoff return.

FOR THE RECORD: Dating back to 1995, IWU has won 41 of its last 50 games (.820) and is guaranteed a better-than-.500 season for the seventh straight season and for the 11th time in the last 12 years. Of those nine losses, four have been to Wheaton, three to Millikin, and one each to Augustana and Mount Union. . .IWU teams were 72-21-1 in the 1990s (.769) and, in the Eash era, are 40-22 in October (.656). The Titans are 48-14 (.774) at home and 41-24-1 on the road (.629) under Eash’s tutelage. . . IWU is 37-7 (.841) 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.

CAREER MARKS: In his career, Shawn Emerson (Zion, Zion-Benton HS) has 128 catches (No. 8 all-time at IWU) for 1,839 receiving yards (No. 5 all-time) and 18  TD catches (No. 8 at IWU) . . . Max Milinkovich (Elmhurst, York HS) has 1,957 career rushing yards, good for No. 8 all-time at IWU. He is behind Gary Vicini (2,019 yards from 1972-75).

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 89-38-1 (.699) and a CCIW mark of 68-31-1 (.685) with conference titles in 1992, 1994, and 1996. Eash is 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) . . .Tim Rucks is in his sixth season as head coach of his alma mater, where his record is 24-27-1 overall (18-21-1 in CCIW). His record at North Park was 9-33-3 (5-29-3 CCIW), but his 1993 North Park team was 4-4-1, the best record at the school in 25 years. Rucks was an all-conference offensive tackle for the Redmen in 1982.

THE SERIES: In a series that dates back to 1926, Illinois Wesleyan holds a 30-14 lead vs. Carthage. The Titans have won six in a row, 16 of the last 18 meetings, and 21 of the last 24. Carthage’s last win in Bloomington was a 29-7 victory in 1981.

ABOUT THE REDMEN: After winning their first three games, Carthage has dropped all four CCIW games. Their wins were against Lakeland (34-15), Martin Luther (34-14), and Adrian (21-3). They have lost to Millikin (42-14), North Central (33-24), Wheaton (29-24), and Elmhurst (19-16). . .Rob Garnes is second among College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin pass receivers with 557 yards and is tied for third in scoring with 42. Quarterback Patrick Brown is third in total offense (1,258 yards) and fourth in passing (1,118 yards). Tailback Cory Tenner is sixth in the CCIW in rushing (463 yards) and Adam Woodworth is third with a 36.3 punt average. As a team, the Redmen are ranked fifth in offense (316.7 yards per game), sixth in defense (306.4), third in scoring offense (23.9 points per game) and fifth in scoring defense (22.1).

RANKINGS: The Titans, who were picked to finish fourth in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin preseason coaches’ poll, fell to 24th (after two weeks at No. 14) in the American Football Coaches Association poll. IWU dropped to 27th (from 19th) in Don Hansen’s Football Gazette. In the latest usafootball.com poll, IWU was No. 14 (prior to loss at Wheaton).