BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University football team travels to Carthage College Saturday, Oct. 21, for a College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin bout. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
Illinois Wesleyan and Carthage each carry 1-5 overall records (1-4 CCIW) into the weekend. The Titans travel to Kenosha on the heels of a heartbreaking, 20-18, at North Park. On the flipside, the Firebirds are coming off a 50-13 setback at No. 13 Wheaton, Oct. 14.
Fans can tune into a video broadcast provided through NPU athletics, while live stats will also be available for the contest. Links can be found on the football schedule page of iwusports.com.
ALBIN POPS OFF: Senior captain Seth Albin erupted for a career-high 174 rushing yards on 28 carries at North Park, Oct. 18. It marked the first 100-yard rusher of the season for the Titans and just the second of Albin's career.
Moreover, Albin's 174 rushing yards are the second-most by a CCIW student-athlete this season. His 28 carries in the game are the most in the league this season.
SCOTT WITH THE STUFF AND SCORE: A key special teams play by Jahari Scott put the Titans on the board first Saturday, Oct. 14, at North Park. The sophomore blocked a punt and then carried it into the endzone for the game's first touchdown. It marked the first blocked punt by the Titans since Oct. 22, 2022 when Nick Edelen and Josh Hlavacek stuff boots against Carthage. Additionally, it was the first blocked punt returned for a touchdown since Robert Neidballa did so against Augustana, Sept. 28, 2019.
TITANS IN OCTOBER: The Titans have compiled a 102-56 (.646) record in the month of October under Norm Eash. More recently, over the past six seasons, IWU is 26-7 in October.
NICE NOGUEZ: A consistent force for IWU in special teams, junior Matthew Noguez came through with a career-best 69-yard punt against North Park, Oct. 14. The field-flipping punt is the longest by a Titan since Andrew Iwaskiewicz registreed a 65-yard boot against North Central Sept. 17, 2016. Noguez now ranks seventh on IWU's list of longest punts.
FACING THE FIREBIRDS: The Titans have faced the Firebirds 64 times ahead of Saturday's showdown in Kenosha. The series, which began in 1926, has seen IWU compile a 45-19 edge against Carthage all-time since winning the initial meeting, 6-0.
Illinois Wesleyan has won 11 of the past 13 meetings, including a 55-0 shutout at Tucci Oct. 22, 2022. The Titans carried a 38-0 lead into halftime and never looked back as IWU finished with 462 yards of total offense. Charlie Hamilton caught a game-high nine passes for 106 yards with three touchdowns, while Payton Gerberding was on the receiving end of two TDs. Josh Hlavacek and Owen Phaby led a defense which collected 12 TFLs.
WINNING TRADITION: Veteran head coach Norm Eash is one of just two active coaches nationally in NCAA Division III with 200-or-more career wins. Eash, who has won 225 games as the head man at his alma mater, ranks second in the country among active Division III head coaches. Across all NCAA divisions, Eash is seventh trailing Alabama's Nick Saban (286), North Carolina's Mack Brown (280), LSU's Brian Kelly (278), Sam Houston's K.C. Keeler (259), and Bethel's Steve Johnson (248), Harvard's Tim Murphy (229).
TEAM AWARDS - WEEK FIVE: Seth Albin, Artist Benjamin, Arthur Chatt, and Jahari Scott were IWU's week six team MVPs as voted by the team. Albin was named Offensive MVP, with Scott garnering Special Teams MVP honors. Benjamin and Chatt were co-defenensive MVPs. Matt Gordon (co-offense), Joe Brummer (co-offense), Nathan Schmidt (co-defense), and Mo Khalil(co-defense) were voted scout players of the week. Connor Sweeney was the recipient of the Titan Award.
ON THE HORIZON: The Titans return to Tucci next weekend, Oct. 28, for their penultimate home game of the season. IWU hosts Augustana Saturday, Oct. 28, for a 1 p.m. kickoff to close out the month.
