BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University football team's 2023 season will come to a close Saturday, Nov. 11, with a Senior Day contest against Elmhurst University at Tucci Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m., with Senior Day recognition slated to begin earlier.
Illinois Wesleyan looks to end the season on a high note following a lopsided loss at No. 1 ranked North Central, Nov. 4. The Titans enter the weekend 2-7 on the season and 2-6 in league play following the 83-26 loss to the Cardinals. Elmhurst also finds itself at 2-7 on the season, its highest win total since 2017, but is just 1-7 in CCIW games. The Bluejays come to Bloomington following a 31-8 defeat at the hands of North Park, Nov. 4.
Eric Stock and Joel Swanson will call the action on the field for the IWU live stream as well as the radio broadcast, while live stats will also be available. Links can be found on the football schedule page of iwusports.com.

SENIOR SENDOFF: Illinois Wesleyan will recognize its 12-man senior class prior to Saturday's game. The Titans will celebrate the careers of seniors Kevin Graham, Seth Albin, Arthur Chatt, Maguire Pallissard, Mark Matos, Joshua Klein, Connor Sweeney, Goerge Assalley, Brandon Chavez-Jimenez, Matt Young, Joel Baer, and Matthew Morrow.

BATTLIN' THE BLUEJAYS: The Titans have an overall 57-12-1 record against the Bluejays. The first meeting between these two teams was in 1930 in Bloomington, Ill., which saw a 13-7 IWU victory. The Titans have won the past eight matchups with the Bluejays and 14 of the past 16 meetings between to the two foes.
    Last season, the Titans erased a 14-0 first-quarter deficit to clip the Bluejays, 21-17 in Elmhurst. A pair of touchdown catches by Charlie Hamilton leveled the score before Ian Kroemer's one-yard run put the Green and White up 21-14 with 11:35 to play. Elmhurst capped off a 10-play drive with a 35-yard field goal, but IWU held on for a 21-17 victory as Josh Hlavacek's late sack proved key.

OLD FACES, NEW PLACES: A pair of former Titan assistant coaches will be donning Elmhurst blue across the field Saturday, when IWU takes on the Bluejays.
    First-year EU Head Coach Mike Murray, a 1984 IWU graduate, was a four-year letterwinner in football and baseball for the Titans. He was a two-time All-CCIW pick in baseball and received All-CCIW Honorable Mention status in 1983. After his playing days, Murray began his playing career as the Titans' defensive coordinator from 1987-96, helping IWU to conference titles in 1992 and 1996. Murray returned to Illinois Wesleyan again first serving as offensive coordinator before returning to the defensive side of the ball.
    Elmhurst defensive coordinator, Dru Richardson, will also make his return to Tucci this Saturday. Richardson served as IWU's defensive backs coach for the 2022 season.

HOME COOKING: The Titans are 125-54 (.698) at home since Norm Eash became head coach in 1987. IWU has won 24 of its past 34 home games dating back to the 2016 season.

TWO FOR 100: Junior wide receivers Myles Kee and Trevon Moore each eclipsed 100 receiving yards in IWU's game against No. 1 North Central, Nov. 4. Kee hauled in a team-best four catches for a game-high 158 yards, while Moore finished with three catches for 103 yards, including a 76 yard reception. Kee found the endzone twice, for TDs of 54 and 66 yards, while Moore recorded one touchdown.
The game marked the first time multiple Titans finished with 100+ yards receiving since Oct. 22, 2022 when IWU accomplished the feat against Carthage. Payton Gerberding popped off for a career-high 126 receiving yards, while Charlie Hamilton caught nine passes for 106 yards.

IWU IN NOVEMBER: Illinois Wesleyan has posted a 47-37 record under longtime head coach Norm Eash in the month of November.

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 227 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 (288), North Carolina's Mack Brown (281),  LSU's Brian Kelly (279), Sam Houston's K.C. Keeler (260), and Bethel's Steve Johnson (251), Harvard's Tim Murphy (230).

TEAM AWARDS - WEEK NINE: Myles Kee, Zach McNees, and Joe Gaskill were IWU's week nine team MVPs as voted by the team. Kee was named Offensive MVP, with McNees garnering Defensive MVP honors and Gaskill getting the special teams nod. Carson Green (co-offense), Matt Gordon (co-offense), Jaden Preston (co-defense), and Adam Richter (co-defense) were voted scout players of the week. Dermot Smyth were the recipients of the Titan Award.

LONGEVITY IN LEADERSHIP: Illinois Wesleyan Head Coach Norm Eash is one of the longest tenured head coaches in all of college football across the NCAA. Now in his 36th season at the helm of the Titans, Eash is the second-longest tenured head coach in the nation behind only Al Bagnoli (Columbia - 40 seasons). Notably, of the most experienced coaches nationally, Eash is the only one with 34+ years of experience coming at one institution.