Millikin (4-5, 1-5 CCIW) at Illinois Wesleyan (3-6, 2-4 CCIW)
Game Notes for November 12, 2005

THE GAME: Illinois Wesleyan (3-6, 2-4 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin) hosts Millikin (4-5, 1-5 CCIW) at 1 p.m. at IWU Stadium’s Wilder Field.

SENIORS’ DAY: The Titans take time to honor the 11 seniors on this season’s roster. They are (with hometowns and high schools) Damon Banks (Bellwood, Walther Lutheran HS); Bryson Brownlee (Evanston HS); David Choi (Naperville, North HS); Levi Derber (Princeton, Spring Valley Hall HS); Tim Irvin (Addison Trail HS); Tom Kudyba (Des Plaines, Elk Grove HS); Kevin Maliszewski (Glen Carbon, Edwardsville HS); Dan Pfeifer (Gardner, Dwight HS); Nick Roto (Palatine HS); the late Doug Schmied (Hanna City, Farmington HS); and Blake Schulenburg (Springfield, Sacred Heart Griffin).

FOR THE RECORD: IWU is 68-33 in its last 101 games (.673) since 1995. The 33 losses have come to Wheaton (7); Augustana (6); Millikin (5); North Central and Carthage (3); Simpson, UW-Eau Claire and Elmhurst (2); and Mount Union, UW-LaCrosse, and Washington U. (1)...The Titans are 64-23 (.744) at home and 51-39-1 on the road (.580) under Eash...This will be the first back-to-back losing seasons for IWU since 1987 (4-5) and 1988 (4-5)...In 2004, IWU (3-7) had its first sub-.500 season since the 1993 team was 4-5. The Titans had been at .500 or better for 10 straight years.

ON TO THE NEXT 500: IWU is 501-370-42 (.578) in 113 years of football. That win total is 21st among Division III schools heading into the season. The leader is Wittenberg with 650 wins in 111 seasons...IWU’s 500th win came in a 23-14 win over Wheaton on Oct. 22.

AT WILDER FIELD: Illinois Wesleyan is 54-16 (.771) at Wilder Field in the last 15 seasons (1991-2005). The IWU football facility is the fifth oldest football stadium in the country (1893), behind Wesleyan [Conn.] (1881), Williams [Mass.] (1883), Sewanee [Tenn.] and Amherst [Mass.] (both 1891).

IN NOVEMBER: In November, IWU is 30-14 (.682) in the Norm Eash era and was 0-2 last season in the month.

TITAN NOTES: Illinois Wesleyan fell to 3-6 overall and 2-4 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin, dropping a 42-7 decision at Carthage on Sat., Nov. 5 in Kenosha, Wis. Senior quarterback Tom Kudyba (Des Plaines, Elk Grove HS) threw for 311 yards, the 22nd best in a single game at IWU, completing 23 of 50 attempts, including a 38-yard touchdown to freshman Martin Ceisel (Deerfield HS). Ceisel made 10 catches for 237 yards, which is the fourth most in an IWU single game, behind only Chris Bisaillon (287 vs. Carroll, 1989; 260 vs. Carroll, 1991) and Eric Larsen (244 vs. North Central, 1997). IWU managed only 14 rushing yards, including 17 on 10 carries from sophomore Marcus Dunlop (Maywood, Proviso East HS), and got 341 yards of total offense compared to the 549 yards amassed by Carthage (6-3, 3-3 CCIW) in the game, which had a 90-minute delay for lightning in the second quarter. Senior linebacker Damon Banks (Bellwood, Walther Lutheran HS) had nine total tackles, including eight solo, and junior linebacker Mike Mastro (Sarasota, Fla., Cardinal Mooney HS) made seven solo and assisted on one more. Sophomore defensive back Brian Smith (Louisville, Ky., Trinity HS) made an interception for IWU vs. the Red Men.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Chosen by Titan coaches to honor top players in the week’s game and practices. The “Titan Award” is new in 2003 to honor a player for work ethic, loyalty and spirit.

OFFENSE: Martin Ceisel, freshman, receiver, Deerfield (HS)

DEFENSE: Brian Smith, sophomore, back, Louisville, Ky. (Trinity HS)

SPECIAL TEAMS: none selected

SCOUT (Offense): Andrew Mealiff, freshman, receiver, Champaign (St. Thomas More HS); John Maloney, freshman, receiver, Glenview (Glenbrook South HS)

SCOUT (Defense): J.R. Lauer, freshman, back, Springfield (Pleasant Plains HS); Alex Holmberg, freshman, linebacker, Oak Park (Fenwick HS)

TITAN AWARD: Levi Derber, senior, linebacker, (Princeton, Spring Valley Hall HS)

TOM KUDYBA: Senior quarterback Tom Kudyba (Des Plaines, Elk Grove HS) has completed 278 passes in 510 attempts for 2,878 yards in his career. He is No. 8 all-time in completions, No. 11 in passing yards, No. 10 with 25 passing touchdowns and No. 9 with 3,462 yards of total offense. His .545 completion percentage is No. 7 all-time at IWU. Against Carthage, Kudyba threw for 311 yards, the 22nd most in a single game at IWU. Kudyba completed 26 passes vs. Wheaton, a total that ties him for fifth most in a single game at IWU.

ON THE RUN: Sophomore Marcus Dunlop (Maywood, Proviso East HS) now has 1,237 rushing yards in his two-season career, making him No. 17 all-time in an IWU uniform...In CCIW games only Dunlop is averaging 86.7 per game, fourth in the league. The leader is Millikin’s Nathan Wallick (105.3 per game)...Dunlop had 164 yards against North Park in 2005 and ran for a career-high 222 yards against North Park as a freshman.

CATCHING UP: Against Carthage on Nov. 5, freshman Martin Ceisel (Deerfield HS) made 10 catches for 237 yards, which is the fourth most in an IWU single game, behind only Chris Bisaillon (287 vs. Carroll, 1989; 260 vs. Carroll, 1991) and Eric Larsen (244 vs. North Central, 1997).

THE COACHES: Norm Eash (Illinois Wesleyan, 1975) is in his 19th year as IWU’s head coach and has an overall record of 116-62-1 (.651) and a CCIW mark of 87-49-1 (.639) with league 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. Eash is second in victories at IWU, behind Don Larson (166 wins in 33 years, 1954-86)...Doug Neibuhr (Millikin, 1974) is in his 10th year at Millikin and has an overall mark of 112-53-1 and is 62-35 (.639) overall and 42-27 (.609) CCIW at Millikin alone. He was 50-18-1 at Wittenberg in seven years prior to Millikin and led the Tigers to a playoff appearance in 1995.

THE SERIES VS. THE BIG BLUE: Dating back to 1904, Millikin has a 52-38-7 lead over IWU. Despite losing last season (45-24 in Decatur), IWU has won three of the last five meetings. Before that Millikin had won three straight. Prior to that, the Titans had won three in a row and five of the last six. Millikin won nine consecutive games from 1982-90. Despite being 95 meetings old, the rivalry isn’t in the top 15 of Division III longest series.

SCOUTING THE BIG BLUE: Last week, junior Nathan Wallick became Millikin’s all-time rushing leader vs.  Elmhurst, but he couldn’t help the Big Blue earn the victory as Millikin lost, 45-35, in the final home game of the season. Millikin scored first on a 4-yard run by Wallick at 6:01 in the first half and Elmhurst closed the gap with a 30-yard field goal with 2:32 in the first. Elmhurst went up 10-7 on a 3-yard run with 7:47 left in the half, but Wallick gave Millikin a 14-10 lead on the 15-yard run. Millikin got a defensive TD on a 63-yard interception return by Joel Goldstone for a 21-10 lead with :57 left in the half. But Elmhurst scored again with :02 left in the half to cut Millikin’s lead to 21-16. In the third, Millikin scored immediately on a 57-yard pass from Joe Albin to Nathan Chandler before Elmhurst got three unanswered TDs for a 38-28 Elmhurst lead with 8:38 left. Albin found Chandler again to pull Millikin to within 38-35 at the 3:57 mark, but Albin threw an interception that Elmhurst returned 35 yards for a TD and the game’s last score. Wallick led all rushers with 102 yards on 23 carries as he set the record with a new total of 3,436 career rushing yards. Albin was 17-of-32 for 250 yards. Chandler caught six passes for 113 yards. Defensively, Michael Doggan led Millikin with 10.5 tackles and Anthony Dingle recorded 10, along with two tackles for losses and three quarterback hurries. Robaer Williams picked off two passes and Stefan Edwards and Goldstone also come down with picks. RANKINGS: Augustana (8-1) is No. 11 and North Central (8-1) is No. 15 in the current D3football.com poll. Wheaton (7-2) was in 34th place.

TITAN CCIW PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Illinois Wesleyan seniors Tom Kudyba (Des Plaines, Elk Grove HS) and Damon Banks (Bellwood, Walther Lutheran HS)  were offensive and defensive “Players of the Week”, respectively, in the CCIW for their performances Oct. 22. Kudyba finished 26 of 40 for 232 yards and two TDs as IWU beat Wheaton. Kudyba’s 26 completions tied for the fifth most in school history in a single game. Banks led the Titans with 16 tackles, including seven solo in the win over Wheaton. Banks returned an interception 55 yards for a touchdown and alsoforced two fumbles in the win. ..Earlier in the year, junior kicker Mike Berry (Crystal Lake, Prairie Ridge HS) was “Special Teams Player of the Week” in the CCIW for his efforts in IWU’s 20-13 win over Chicago Sept. 24. Berry kicked two field goals and ran in a two-point conversion. Berry hit second quarter field goals of 37 yards and 27 yards and his two-point conversion run in the fourth quarter put the Titans on top by seven. As a punter, Berry had seven boots for an average of 42.3 with a long punt of 49 yards and two punts landed inside the 20.

EARLY START: In a check of records since 1965, the Sept. 3 season opener was the earliest home football game played in the modern era at IWU. In 2004, the Titans played at Simpson on Sept. 4, the earliest season start ever prior to 2005. Other early season openers have been on Sept. 7, 1985 (DePauw at IWU); Sept. 8, 2001 (IWU at Washington U.) and Sept. 8, 1984 (IWU at DePauw) and Sept. 9, 2000 (Washington U. at IWU). The IWU season in 1965 started on Sept. 25 with a home game against Illinois State.

PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN: Junior Eric Esch (Bloomington HS) was chosen to the first team of the preseason Division III All-American squads named by D3football.com. He was a D3football.com first team All-American as a return specialist last season and was chosen to the second team of the Division III all-North Region squad by Don Hansen’s Football Gazette. In 2004 Esch finished second in the national Division III statistics with a 20.6 punt return average and brought back two for touchdowns. His 80-yard punt return for a TD against Chicago on Sept. 25 is tied for the third longest in school history. Esch was a first team all-CCIW selection and was twice chosen as the CCIW “Special Teams Player of the Week.”