Sat., Nov. 2 • 1 p.m. • Art Keller Field
Kenosha, Wis.
LAST WEEK: After jumping out to a 7-0 lead on a 41-yard punt return for a touchdown by Kevin Kaplan (Cary, Cary-Grove HS), the Titans surrendered 28 unanswered points and eventually fell to Wheaton, 35-21. IWU allowed 525 yards of total offense, including 381 passing yards. Senior Josh Akin (Naperville, Benet Academy) completed 22 of 43 passes for 248 yards and 11 of those passes went to sophomore Eric White (Antioch HS) for 153 yards. Senior Chris Ross (Chatham, Glenwood HS) was limited to 34 rushing yards on 16 carries (see more Ross notes below). Vince Heaton (Wheaton, Warrenville South HS), John Butler (Deerfield HS) and Solomon Jones (Kankakee HS) all had 10 total tackles and Heaton made an interception...Kaplan had six total tackles and made two interceptions, giving him four for the season and nine for his career. He also broke up six other passes.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Chosen by Titan coaches to honor top players in the week’s game
and practices.
OFFENSE: Eric White, sophomore, receiver, Antioch (HS)
DEFENSE: Kevin Kaplan, senior, back, Cary (Cary-Grove HS)
SPECIAL TEAMS: Kevin Kaplan, senior, back, Cary (Cary-Grove HS)
SCOUT (Offense): Tom Kudyba, freshman, quarterback, Des Plaines (Elk
Grove HS)
SCOUT (Defense): William Gaitros, sophomore, line, Cerro Gordo (HS);
Tim Jacko, freshman, back, Park Forest (Rich East HS).
CHRIS ROSS: Against North Central, Chris Ross (Chatham, Glenwood HS) tied a school record with 39 rushing attempts in a game, held by Kurt Swearingen (1977 vs. Augustana) and his 238 yards rushing is third best in a single game at IWU, behind Chris Humbles (273 vs. North Park, 1991) and Deon Hornsby (244 vs. Thomas More, 1996). At Chicago he ran for 206 yards and vs. North Park he ran for 187 yards and tied a school-record with four TD runs. For the season Ross has 871 rushing yards, which is eighth in an IWU season. Ross is 209 yards from eclipsing the single season rushing record of 1079 by Swearingen in 1977. In his career Ross has 974 yards. Maury Parker ran for four TDs vs. Carthage in 1990.
CATCHING UP: Sophomore Eric White (Antioch HS) has 738 receiving yards after the first seven games, good for 12th in an IWU single season. Only nine other Titans have had 800+ receiving yards in a season. In his career White has 1050 yards, which is 16th all-time at IWU...On the passing end, Josh Akin (Naperville, Benet Academy) is 10th all-time in passing yards at IWU with 2542.
JUST FOR KICKS: Junior Brian Klesath (Peoria, Notre Dame HS) has eight field goals this season, which makes him second in a single season in IWU records, behind Dave Pearce (10 in 1981). Klesath, who tied the single-game record with four field goals vs. North Central, is 21-of-34 in his career, second all-time at IWU, behind Pearce (29 field goals from 1979-82). Klesath had a career-long 44 yarder in the win over UW-LaCrosse.
LEAGUE HONORS: Senior Chris Ross (Chatham, Glenwood HS) has been "Offensive Player of the Week" in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin three times this fall and Josh Akin (Naperville, Benet Academy) was CCIW “Offensive Player of the Week” on Sept. 14.
FOR THE RECORD: IWU teams are 27-8 in November in the Norm Eash era... Since 1995, IWU has won 56 of its last 69 games (.811) and has been over the .500-mark for eight straight years and 12 of the last 13 years. The 13 losses have come to Wheaton (5), Millikin and Augustana (3 each), Mount Union and Washington U. (1 each)... The Titans are 56-16 (.778) at home and 48-26-1 on the road (.647) under Eash...IWU is 45-9 (.833) at Wilder Field in the last 11 years (1991-2002).
ALL-TIME: IWU is 489-350-42 (.578) in 110 years of football. Before the season, IWU was tied for 16th among Division III schools (with St. John’s [Minn.], 484-211-24 in 91 seasons).
SCOUTING THE REDMEN: After leading at halftime, 12-7, Carthage fell at North Central, 22-19. Against North Central, Carthage tailback Randal Baker rushed for 186 yards on 28 carries while quarterback Patrick Brown completed five-of-11 passes for 67 yards. Defensively, Mike Pelkowski had a game-high 21 tackles (8 solo, 13 assisted)...Prior to the North Central game, Baker was second among NCAA D-III rushers with a 171.8 yards-per-game average, trailing Tony Sutton from the College of Wooster (186.8). Baker was No. 1 the first three weeks of the year and again after week five. Baker was 20th nationally in all-purpose yards (174.2) and tied for 23rd in scoring (10.0 ppg). Linebacker Ray Hartmann was tied for 21st in sacks (1.1) and tied for 36th in tackles (10.5 per game). As a team, Carthage was ninth nationally in rushing defense (66.7 yards per game) and 12th in rushing offense (255.2 yards).
THE COACHES: Norm Eash (Illinois Wesleyan, 1975) is in his 16th season as head coach at IWU and has an overall record of 104-42-1 (.711) and a CCIW mark of 79-34-1 (.697) with conference titles in 1992, 1994, 1996, 2000, and 2001. Eash, the CCIW “Coach of the Year” in 1992, 1996 and 2001, is fourth in all-time CCIW coaching wins, behind IWU’s Don Larson (142 wins), Bob Reade of Augustana (112) and Carthage’s Art Keller (105). Eash is second in victories at IWU, behind Don Larson (166 wins in 33 years, 1954-86)...Tim Rucks (Carthage, 1983) is in his eighth season at his alma mater and has a record of 33-38-1. In 13 seasons overall, he has a mark of 42-71-4. 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-CCIW offensive tackle for the Redmen in 1982.
The Norm Eash Record - Year-by-Year
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THE SERIES: In a series that dates back to 1926, Illinois Wesleyan holds a 32-14 lead vs. Carthage. The Titans have won eight in a row, 18 of the last 20 meetings, and 23 of the last 26. Carthage last won in Bloomington in 1981 - a 29-7 victory. The Titans won, 32-0, last fall in Kenosha.
LOOKING AHEAD: IWU returns home for the final home game of 2002, playing against the Elmhurst Bluejays at 1 p.m. The team’s seniors will be honored with their parents before the game. Elmhurst is 3-4 overall and 1-3 in the CCIW after a 42-28 win over North Park last weekend.
ON THE AIR: The IWU/Carthage game will be broadcast live on WJBC Radio and on the Internet at www.wjbc.com.
CCIW STATS: Illinois Wesleyan is fifth in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin in both total offense (381.7) and defense (378.7) while Carthage is fourth in both offense (382.0) and defense (352.3). Josh Akin (Naperville, Benet Academy) leads the CCIW with 242.3 yards of total offense per game and Eric White (Antioch HS) leads the CCIW with eight catches per game and is second with 105.4 receiving yards per game. Chris Ross (Chatham, Glenwood HS) is second in rushing with 124.4 per game, behind Carthage’s Randal Baker (173.9). Kevin Kaplan (Cary, Cary-Grove HS) leads the CCIW with a 15.8 punt return average and Josh Addis (Essex, Reed-Custer HS) is second with a 23.9 kickoff return average. With eight field goals, Brian Klesath (Peoria, Notre Dame HS) tops the CCIW and is the league’s leading kick scorer with 49 points.
IWU ALUM COACHES: Three of the CCIW coaches are Illinois Wesleyan graduates - the Titans’ Norm Eash and North Park’s Robin Cooper, both from the class of 1975, and North Central’s John Thorne, who graduated in 1969. Four other coaches are the head mentors at their own alma maters - Jim Barnes (Augustana), Doug Niebuhr (Millikin), Mike Swider (Wheaton), and Tim Rucks (Carthage), while Elmhurst’s Paul Krohn is a Mankato State graduate.
UNDER THE LIGHTS: On Sept. 21, 2002, IWU won the first home night
football game played at IWU’s Wilder Field since 1971. The Titans were
to have played Aurora at night on Sept. 15, 2001, but the game was cancelled
in light of the national tragedies of Sept. 11. The last home night game
was on Oct. 2, 1971, when Carthage downed the Titans, 22-19. Home night
game results from 1965-2002:
Sept. 24, 2002 - IWU 31, Washington U. 24 (OT)
Oct. 2, 1971 - Carthage 22, IWU 19
Sept. 19, 1970 - IWU 21, Wheaton 21
Oct. 5, 1968 - Carthage 20, IWU 13
Sept. 30, 1967 - IWU 17, Augustana 3
Oct. 1, 1966 - IWU 20, North Park 0
Sept. 25, 1965 - IWU 34, Illinois State 7
MEDIA GUIDE: The 2002 Illinois Wesleyan football media guide, complete with player and coach profiles and all-time records, is available for $5 via mail. Send a check to: Sports Information Director, Illinois Wesleyan, P.O. Box 2900, Bloomington, IL 61702-2900.
HONORS: Four players return that were first team all-CCIW choices last season - senior defensive back and punt returner Kevin Kaplan (Cary, Cary-Grove HS) (20 tackles, five interceptions, led league in punt returns); senior linebacker Mike Clark (Joliet, West HS) (82 tackles, 45 solo, 13 tackles for loss); senior offensive tackle Adam Miller (Elgin, Larkin HS); and junior wide receiver Tim Snyder (Glen Ellyn, Glenbard South HS) (27 catches for 396 yards). Kaplan is also a third team preseason All-American (Don Hansen Football Gazette).