IWU/North Central Notes, 11/3/01

Illinois Wesleyan (5-2, 4-1) vs. North Central (2-6, 1-4)
Sat., Nov. 3 • 1 p.m. • Wilder Field, IWU Stadium, Bloomington, Ill.
SENIOR DAY: IWU honors its 18 senior team members this Saturday - Joe Abruzzo, Brad Andrekus, Creighton Drescher, Kyle Eash, Shaun Friziellie, Matt Highland, Craig Kastning, Craig Knoche, Ben Lawson, Jeff McWherter, Frank Mirandola, Mark Mirandola, Jacob Quinton, Andy Rader, Aaron Telford, Keir Thirus, C.J. Walton, and James Yonker.
LAST WEEK: The Titans won for the third straight week and logged their second shutout of the season in a 32-0 win over Carthage. The deepest Carthage penetration was to the IWU 25 before an interception stalled the drive. Junior QB Josh Akin (Naperville, Benet Academy) completed 11 of 24 passes for 110 yards while senior Aaron Telford (Bloomington, Central Catholic HS) rushed for 79 yards and a TD on 13 carries (6.1 per carry). . .The IWU defense was led by junior Steve Schilsky (Springfield, Sacred Heart Griffin HS) and sophomore Solomon Jones (Kankakee HS), each of whom had six tackles, and senior Brad Andrekus (Carol Stream, Glenbard North HS), who was the CCIW “Player of the Week” (see below).
BRAD ANDREKUS: Brad Andrekus (Carol Stream, Glenbard North HS) was the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin “Defensive Player of the Week” for his play at Carthage. Andrekus had two interceptions for 50 return yards, defended three other passes, and had four solo tackles. In his career, Andrekus has 11 interceptions. The all-time leaders are Jon Goldie and Kevin Fahey, who had 16 from 1995 to 1998. Fahey also holds the season record with nine (1998).
THE RETURNS ARE IN: When junior Kevin Kaplan (Cary, Cary-Grove HS) returned a punt 85 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter at Carthage, it broke his own school record of 80 yards, set last year, also vs. Carthage. Kaplan’s punt returns are the longest for a TD in IWU history, topping the previous long of 78 yards by Chris Bisaillon vs. Augustana (Oct. 26, 1991). Nate Hilding returned three punts for scores in 1993.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Chosen by Titan coaches to honor top players in the week’s game and practices.
OFFENSE: Aaron Telford, senior, back, Bloomington (Central Catholic HS)
DEFENSE: Brad Andrekus, senior, safety, Carol Stream (Glenbard North HS)
SPECIAL TEAMS: Kevin Kaplan, junior, defensive back, Cary (Cary-Grove HS)
SCOUT (Offense): Chris Reynolds, freshman, line, Springfield (Southeast HS); Jon Pritchard, freshman, line, Galesburg (HS); David Byers, freshman, line, Lansing (Thornton Fractional South HS)
SCOUT (Defense): William Gaitros, freshman, line, Cerro Gordo (HS); Tyler Zindars, freshman, end, Oakwood (HS)
FOR THE RECORD: With five wins, the Titans will have their eighth straight winning season and are over .500 for the 12th time in the last 13 years... . . . IWU teams are 25-8 (.758) in November in the Norm Eash era . . .The Titans are 52-15 (.776) at home and 45-25-1 on the road (.641) under Eash. . .IWU is 41-8 (.837) at Wilder Field in the last 11 years, including 2001 . . .Dating back to 1995, IWU has won 49 of its last 60 games (.817). . . 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 (Illinois Wesleyan, 1975) is in his 15th season as head coach at IWU. He has an overall record of 97-40-1 (.706) and a CCIW mark of 75-32-1 (.699) 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) . . . The Cardinals’ Joe DeGeorge has a 12-24 overall record (7-19 CCIW) in his third year. The 1988 Beloit College graduate was the defensive coordinator at North Central for five seasons before becoming head man in 1998. His father, Ed, is the head football coach at Beloit.
THE SERIES: In a series that dates back to 1945, IWU leads North Central, 34-14-3. The Titans have won 12 in a row and 18 of the last 20 games vs. North Central since 1983, including a 24-0 verdict in Naperville last season.
SCOUTING THE CARDINALS: The Cardinals have wins over Benedictine (17-7) and North Park (24-17 in overtime). They have lost to Franklin, Chicago, Wheaton, Carthage, Millikin, and last week to Augustana (23-7)...North Central led Augustana, 7-3, going into the final quarter. The Cardinals limited the Viking running attack to 213 yards and allowed just 250 yards of total offense. Jeremy Walsh rushed for 103 yards and the Cardinals’ lone touchdown in the game. Gary Kmiec had 15 total tackles, Kurt Zak had 12 and Bob Goins had 10, including four solo. Kmiec is second in the CCIW with 99 tackles, including five sacks, while Zak is sixth with 77 tackles and also has five quarterback sacks.
CCIW STATS: In the latest CCIW statistics, IWU is fifth in total offense with 345.6 yards per game and ranks third in total defense, allowing 221.3 yards per game. . . Tim Snyder leads the CCIW with 4.0 catches per game and is second with 57.7 receiving yards per game. Aaron Telford is sixth with 76.0 rushing yards per game and seventh with 97.1 all-purpose yards/game. Kevin Kaplan leads the league with an average of 19.5 yards per punt return. Josh Akin is second in the league with 135.1 passing yards per game. Mike Clark is seventh in the CCIW with 63 tackles and three sacks. . . As a team, North Central is seventh in both scoring offense (17.1 ppg) and total offense (270), and sixth in total deffense (352.5). Jeremy Walsh is fifth in the league with 80.9 rushing yards per game and third with 159.5 total offense yards/game). North Central is third in the league with 123 quarterback sacks.
LOOKING AHEAD: IWU closes out its regular season with a road game at Millikin in Decatur next Saturday at 1 p.m.
ABOUT WHITE, AKIN: Freshman wide receiver Eric White (Antioch HS) and junior quarterback Josh Akin (Naperville, Benet Academy) are non-lettermen and are not profiled in the 2001 IWU media guide. WHITE: Was an all-North Suburban Conference, all-county and all-area football player as a senior for the Sequoits. . . Also lettered four times in basketball . . .Majoring in business. AKIN: He threw for 800 yards and eight touchdowns as a high school senior for an East Suburban Catholic Conference champion team that made the state playoffs. . . Majoring in chemistry.