BLOOMINGTON, Ill - Fresh off a convincing season-opening win, the Illinois Wesleyan University football team sets its sights on the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin portion of its 2022 slate. The Titans (1-0) begin league play Saturday, Sept. 17, when they travel to McCully Stadium for a 6 p.m. showdown with 10th-ranked Wheaton College.
Illinois Wesleyan picked up its first season-opening win since 2017 Saturday, Sept. 10, with a dominating 45-21 win over Ohio Wesleyan University at Tucci Stadium. The Green and White scored in every phase of the game thanks to a pick-six, blocked field goal returned for a touchdown, and several offensive scores. Meanwhile, the Thunder are 0-1 on the season after a stunning 17-16 loss at Trinity (Texas), Sept. 10. The setback dropped the Thunder from sixth to 10th in the D3football.com Top-25.
Fans can tune into a live audio broadcast with Eric Stock calling the action on the field alongside Joel Swanson. Live stats and a live stream will also be available for the contest. Links can be found on the football schedule page of iwusports.com.
IL>OH: IWU moved to 21-15 (.571) in opening-day games under Norm Eash. With their 45-21 victory over Ohio Wesleyan, Illinois Wesleyan notched its first season-opening win since defeating UW-Whitewater 17-10, Sept. 2, 2017.
PLAYAS OF THE WEEK: The duo of Anthony Wachal Jr. and Frank Roti earned a spot on D3football.com's Week Two Team of the Week after their special teams play on Saturday in the Titans' win over Ohio Wesleyan. Roti, a linebacker, blocked an OWU field goal attempt in the third quarter. Wachal grabbed the ball and ran it back for an 85-yard touchdown.
Wachal, a senior, was also named the CCIW Special Teams' Player of the Week. It is the first weekly award of Wachal's career. In addition to his 85-yard touchdown on Saturday, Wachal added four tackles, a pass breakup, and an interception to his stat line.
RUSHING ATTACK: The Titans recorded three rushing touchdowns by three different players in its 45-21 rout of Ohio Wesleyan, Sept. 10. Junior Seth Albin rushed up the middle for a touchdown early in the second quarter to tie up the score at 7-7. Quarterback Ryan Saxe rushed for five yards late in the second quarter to put the Titans up 21-7. Finally, senior Zach Bozarth rushed for a four-yard touchdown as the clock expired and sent the Titans into halftime with a 28-7 advantage.
In all, IWU saw eight different players record a carry. Meanwhile, the game marked the first time the Titans saw three different players register rushing scores since Oct. 30, 2021 when Anthony Marre (3), Seth Albin (1), and Wesley Watson (1) scampered into the endzone in a 56-6 pummeling of North Park.
A PICK SIX MADE FOR AN ARTIST: Sophomore defensive back Artist Benjamin painted a perfect picture of the Titan defense's progress under second-year defensive coordinator Matt Williamson Saturday, Sept. 10, against Ohio Wesleyan when he snagged an interception in the second quarter and ran it back for a touchdown. Benjamin grabbed one of the two Titans' interceptions on the day, and ran 28 yards back to the endzone to put the Titans up 14-7, a lead IWU would never relinquish.
STEPPING IN AND STEPPING UP: With first string quarterback Jay Lemenager going down in the first quarter on Saturday against Ohio Wesleyan, sophomore Ryan Saxe stepped into the QB role and conducted the Titan offense. Saxe went 13-for-18 in the passing game for a total of 162 yards and one touchdown. Saxe led the Titans' running game as well, rushing for a game-high 55 yards.
CCIW OPENERS: The Titans are 22-12 in CCIW openers under head coach Norm Eash, including a 10-game winning streak from 1995-2004. The last time the Titans won a conference opener was in 2018, when Illinois Wesleyan took down Wheaton, 24-14, at Tucci Stadium. The 2015 season was the last time IWU won a CCIW opener on the road as the Titans defeated Carthage 21-17.
ALL-TIME CLASHES WITH THE THUNDER: In a series dating back to 1922, Wheaton holds a 35-29-2 all-time advantage over the Green and White. The Titans have won 11 times when the two have met in Wheaton, Ill. IWU's most recent road win came in the 2017 season when the Green and White won a defensive battle, 14-10. The Titans last defeated the Thunder on Sept. 15, 2018 at Tucci Stadium, 24-14.
WINNING TRADITION: Veteran head coach Norm Eash is one of just three active coaches nationally in NCAA Division III with 200-or-more career wins. Eash, who has won 219 games as the head man at his alma mater, ranks third in the country among active head coaches.
ON THE HORIZON: The Titans return home next weekend, Sept. 24, for IWU's Homecoming game against Carroll University. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
HOME COOKING: The Titans are 121-49 (.712) at home since Norm Eash became head coach in 1987. IWU has won 20 of its past 25 home games dating back to the 2016 season. In fact, Illinois Wesleyan has posted a winning record at home in each of the past five seasons dating back to the 2017 campaign.
LONGEVITY IN LEADERSHIP: Illinois Wesleyan Head Coach Norm Eash is one of the longest tenured head coaches in all of Division III. Now in his 36th season at the helm of the Titans, Eash is the second-longest tenured head coach in the nation behind only Rick Giancola (Montclair St. - 40 seasons).
BIG SHOES TO FILL: Last season, the Titans started five seniors on the offensive line and had one of the most experienced units in the nation. This season, the Titans will welcome new faces to the top of the depth chart. Junior Connor Sweeney has assumed duties at center, with freshman Alejandro Valdez and sophomore Dylan Meyer playing left tackle and left guard, respectively. Seniors Holden Smith and Jackson Joyce are in the mix for right guard, while sophomore Caleb Heims will take over the role of right tackle.
QB1: The Titans saw a competition at quarterback this preseason, with sophomore transfer Jay Lemenager emerging as QB1 in his first season at Illinois Wesleyan.
Lemenager, who also served as a relief pitcher on IWU's baseball team last spring, transferred after one semester at Division III powerhouse Mount Union. He is the first lefty slinger for the Titans since Kraig Ladd in 2009.
ALL-CCIW DUO RETURNS: IWU returns two key pieces from the 2021 roster in Conor Murphy and Charlie Hamilton. Murphy, a Second Team All-CCIW awardwinner on the defensive line last season, appeared in 10 games for the Green and White. He was named to the D3football.com Team of the Week, Oct. 5, and was later voted the team's Defensive MVP. Murphy finished 2021 ranked fourth in the CCIW in sacks, tied for fourth in forced fumbles, and ninth in TFLs.
Hamilton was one of the top receivers in the CCIW last season. In 10 games, he hauled in 798 yards on 52 catches, including a team-best eight touchdowns. He posted four 100-yard receiving games and finished fifth in the conference in yards per game, sixth in total receiving yards, and eighth in receiving TDs. The Springfield, Ill. native was also a Second Team All-CCIW pick.
CCIW PRESEASON POLL: Illinois Wesleyan was predicted to finish sixth in the annual CCIW Preseason Coaches Poll. IWU's 45 points were behind North Central (81), Wheaton (73), WashU (63), Augustana (47) and Carroll (47).
SIDELINE ADDITIONS: The Green and White welcome two new coaching additions for the 2022 season. Dru Richardson will serve as an assistant coach for defensive backs, while Mike Yarosz is a graduate assistant primarily working with wide receivers.
Richardson previously coached at Berry College and Ohio Northern University, as well as Roosevelt University-Chicago. Most recently, he was the defensive backs coach at Berry, where he also ran the strength and conditioning program.
Yarosz got his coaching start at his alma mater, William Paterson University in Wayne, N.J. There, he served as an assistant coach working with the quarterbacks, wide receivers, defensive line, and special teams throughout his tenure.
