Illinois Wesleyan 2007 Football Stories

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Illinois Wesleyan 2007 Preseason Information (pdf)

December 11
For the second straight year, wide receiver Martin Ceisel and defensive back Bo Osburn were selected as most valuable offensive and defensive players, respectively, for the 2007 Illinois Wesleyan football team. Ceisel, who also earned the team's "Best Skill" award, led IWU with 60 catches for 742 yards and eight touchdowns. Osburn, a first team all-CCIW selection, was fourth on the team with 66 total tackles including 41 solo, for the Titans, who finished 7-3 overall and earned a share of the CCIW championship for the first time since 2001. It is IWU's 13th league title. In other team honors, quarterback Kraig Ladd was selected as the "Most Improved Player", linebacker Dan Souder earned "Best Big Skill" honors and tackle Ray Krishock was named the team's "Most Valuable Freshman." Senior Rob Hoyland was chosen as the team's "Best Lineman" and junior Robert Beauchamp was the "Best Special Teams" player. Senior Charlie Welke was the winner of the "Doug Schmied Award", voted on by the coaches for loyalty, leadership, citizenship, most sports- and team-minded and attitude. The honor is named for Schmied, the IWU offensive lineman who passed away in 2005. Freshman receiver Sam Pranckus and sophomore lineman Mike Smith were the winners of the top offensive and defensive junior varsity player honors, respectively.

December 10
Illinois Wesleyan junior wide receiver Martin Ceisel (Deerfield, Ill., HS) was chosen to the second team while senior center Eric VanHise (Rochelle, Ill.  HS) and senior safety Bo Osburn (Morton, Ill., HS) were third team selections for the D3football.com all-North Region football squads. Ceisel led IWU with 60 catches for 742 yards and eight touchdowns. After three seasons he is fourth at IWU with 2,194 receiving yards and seventh with 145 catches. Osburn made 66 total tackles, including 41 solo, for the Titans, who finished with a 7-3 mark and shared the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin championship with a 6-1 record. Osburn also had an interception, a fumble recovery and made six tackles for losses totaling -23 yards. All three players were first team all-CCIW selections.

November 29
Illinois Wesleyan senior running back Marcus Dunlop has been chosen to the second team of the ESPN: The Magazine Academic All-America college football squads. Dunlop has a 3.96 grade-point average as a double major in economics and business administration (finance). He is a member of the Phi Kappa Phi and Omicron Delta Epsilon [economics] scholastic honoraries, is president of the campus chapter of the Risk Management and Finance Society and was recently honored as a Lincoln Academy of Illinois Student Laureate. With 2,649 rushing yards, Dunlop finished his career in second place all-time at IWU, behind only Kurt Swearingen, who ran for 2,772 yards from 1975-78. Dunlop is the school career leader in rushing attempts with 658, having bested the old mark of 604 by Britt Travis (1977-80) and his 222 yards vs. North Park in 2004 remains sixth most in an IWU single game.

November 14
Illinois Wesleyan’s Norm Eash, who led his team to a share of the league football championship, was named “Bob Reade Coach of the Year” in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin and 10 Titans earned all-league honors in voting by CCIW coaches Tuesday, Nov. 13. Named to the first team were senior defensive back Bo Osburn, senior defensive end Tim Wilkins, sophomore linebacker Nick Nikolich, junior wide receiver Martin Ceisel, senior running back Marcus Dunlop and senior offensive lineman Eric Van Hise. Selected to the second team were junior linebacker Dan Souder, junior defensive end Alex Holmberg, senior defensive tackle Rob Hoyland and sophomore offensive lineman Keely Flood. For Eash, it marks the fourth time he has won the league’s coaching honor as the Titans finished 6-1 after being tabbed seventh in the preseason coaches’ poll. Eash, whose 21-year CCIW record is 95-56-1, was also CCIW “Coach of the Year” in 1992, 1996 and 2001.

November 11
Illinois Wesleyan sophomore linebacker Nick Nikolich (Libertyville, Ill., HS) has been named "Defensive Player of the Week" in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin for his efforts in the Titans' 18-14 win over Wheaton on Nov. 10. Nikolich led the Titan defense with 15 total tackles, seven solo, and 1.5 tackles for losses of -2 yards. Nikolich, who fnished third in the CCIW with 69 total tackles, also forced a fumble as Illinois Wesleyan held the Thunder to 60 net rushing yards and 316 total yards, well below their CCIW average of 380.9.

November 10
The Illinois Wesleyan football team won a share of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin championship for the first time since 2001 with an 18-14 win over Wheaton on Saturday, Nov. 10 at IWU's Wilder Field. The Titans are 7-3 overall and 6-1 in the CCIW while Wheaton falls to 8-2, 5-2 CCIW with their second straight loss. Senior Marcus Dunlop rushed for 138 yards and a touchdown coming on a 30-yard run with 5:43 to play that put the Titans ahead to stay. Dunlop now has 2649 career rushing yards, second most in an IWU career. The Titans got 386 yards of total offense compared to 316 yards for Wheaton. Nick Nikolich led the Titans with 15 total tackles and Bo Osburn had 10. Kraig Ladd completed 18 of 42 for 238 yards and rushed for a 1-yard TD while Joe Duffy connected on field goals of 33 and 27 yards for IWU. Alex Pokorny scored on a 79 yard pass play for the Thunder and Noah Dreyer scored on a 7-yard pass from Sean Morris late in the third quarter.

November 8
Illinois Wesleyan senior running back Marcus Dunlop has been elected to the first team of the college division all-District V academic football squad and will join representatives of seven other districts on the ESPN: The Magazine Academic All-America national ballot. Dunlop has a 3.96 grade-point average as a double major in economics and business administration (finance). He is a member of the Phi Kappa Phi and Omicron Delta Epsilon [economics] scholastic honoraries and is president of the campus chapter of the Risk Management and Finance Society. An academic all-conference selection, he is a member of the IWU Student Athletic Advisory Council, Black Student Union and did summer internships at State Farm Insurance and PricewaterhouseCoopers. With 2,511 career yards prior to the Nov. 10 game against Wheaton, Dunlop is in second place all-time at IWU and needs 262 rushing yards to overtake Kurt Swearingen’s career total (2,772 yards, 1975-78). Dunlop is the school career leader in rushing attempts with 632, having topped the old mark of 604 by Britt Travis (1977-80).

November 3
The Illinois Wesleyan football team lost its first College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin game of the season, falling 23-7 at North Central in Naperville on Saturday, Nov. 3. The Titans and Cardinals are now 5-1 in the CCIW along with Wheaton, who lost 35-27 at home to Carthage on Nov. 3. The Titans trailed 10-0 in the third quarter before a 63-yard drive ended successfully as Kraig Ladd connected on a 6-yard touchdown pass to Tom Almanzo with Joe Duffy adding the extra point for the only Titan points of the day. Two fourth quarter IWU turnovers led to Cardinal scores. North Central had 356 yards of total offense and was sacked six times while the Titans had 247 yards as Ladd accounted for 187 of those yards on 19 completions of 33 atempts. IWU (6-3 overall) hosts Wheaton (8-1) next Saturday, Nov. 10 at 1 p.m.

October 27
Illinois Wesleyan remained undefeated in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin with a 20-14 win at North Park on Saturday, Oct. 27. The Titans are 6-2 overall and have won five straight for the first time since the end of the 2001 season. IWU got 142 rushing yards on 29 carries from Marcus Dunlop while freshman Bo Lanter had 93 yards on 17 carries with two touchdowns. Lanter scored in the second quarter and early in the fourth quarter and Kraig Ladd ran for a score in the third quarter. IWU led 20-0 before two Viking scores with less than 11:00 to play in the game. Ladd was 15 of 27 for 142 yards as the Titans amassed 387 yards of total offense while the defense limited North Park to 145 yards. Dan Souder had seven tackles and Bo Osburn made six total stops to pace IWU while Brian Smith had an interception. The Titans play next Saturday, Nov. 3 at 2 p.m. at North Central (6-2, 4-1 CCIW), a 31-15 winner at Augustana on Oct. 27.

October 21
Illinois Wesleyan junior wide receiver Martin Ceisel has been chosen “Offensive Player of the Week” in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin for his day in the 28-14 win Oct. 20 over Elmhurst. Ceisel made 12 catches for 162 yards, catching two touchdowns and rushing for a third. Ceisel got the Titans on the board with :10 left in the first half on a 13-yard pass from Kraig Ladd, then caught a 16-yard pass with 11:13 to play in the third quarter to help IWU to a 15-7 lead. With :29 left in the third, John Meacham ran 14 yards to the Bluejay 1-yard line when the ball popped out and into Ceisel’s hands as he carried it into the end zone for his third TD. Ceisel moved up to No. 5 in IWU records in both receiving yards (1974) and TD catches (23) and No. 10 in career catches (128). The win moves the Titans to 4-0 in the CCIW and 5-2 overall.

October 20
The Illinois Wesleyan football team stayed undefeated in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin with a 28-14 win over Elmhurst at IWU on Saturday, Oct. 20. The Titans got huge days from Marcus Dunlop, who rushed for 162 yards on 35 carries, and Martin Ceisel, who caught 12 balls for 162 yards and two touchdowns and recovered a fumble for another TD. John Meacham scored the other IWU touchdown on a 10 yard run. Kraig Ladd completed 20 of 30 passes for 224 yards and the two scores. Defensively Rob Hoyland had nine tackles to pace IWU while Andrew Dulaney and Charlie Welke each had seven tackles and Welke had an interception. Mike Ammirati had a quarterback sack for -15. The Titans are 5-2 overall, 4-0 in the CCIW, while Elmhurst falls to 4-3 overall and 1-3 in the league. IWU plays its next two games on the road, at North Park on Oct. 27 and at North Central on Nov. 3 before returning home to meet Wheaton on Nov. 10.

October 14
Illinois Wesleyan freshman linebacker Dan Rogers has been selected "Special Teams Player of the Week" in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin for his play in the Titans' 24-7 win over Millikin on Oct. 13. Rogers had six total tackles, including two solo, and recovered a fumble on a Millikin punt return with 4:54 to play in the game that gave the ball back to IWU, who scored a touchdown on a 26 yard pass from Kraig Ladd to Martin Ceisel three plays later. The Titans improved to 4-2 overall and 3-0 in the CCIW while Millikin falls to 2-4 overall, 1-2 CCIW. The Titans host Elmhurst at 1:30 p.m. next Saturday, Oct. 20 in the IWU Homecoming game.

October 13
The Illinois Wesleyan football team has won three games in a row for the first time since 2003 after a 24-7 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin win over Millikin, 24-7, on Saturday, Oct. 13 in Bloomington. The Titans got on the board early with a blocked punt recovered for a touchdown by Bret McWherter and an interception return for a score by Nick Nikolich within the first six minutes of the game. Alex Holmberg intercepted a pass, one of five picks for IWU on the afternoon, and returned it 25 yards before lateraling it to Nikolich who ran in 18 yards for his score.
The lone IWU offensive score came in the fourth quarter on a 26 yard pass from Kraig Ladd to Martin Ceisel with 4:27 to play. Earlier Joe Duffy booted a 36 yard field goal with 7:20 to play to put the Titans on top, 18-7.
Dan Souder had 11 tackles and two sacks and Nick Nikolich also had 11 tackles while Tim Wilkins, Robert Beauchamp and Holmberg also had sacks. On special teams Dan Rogers was all over the field with six tackles and a fumble recovery.
The Titans, who amassed 276 total yards to 256 for the Big Blue, improved to 4-2 overall and 3-0 in the CCIW while Millikin falls to 2-4 overall, 1-2 CCIW. The Titans host Elmhurst at 1:30 p.m. next Saturday, Oct. 20 in the IWU Homecoming game.

October 8
Sophomore lefthander Kraig Ladd (Shelbyville, Ill. HS) has been named "Offensive Player of the Week" in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin after his Illinois Wesleyan record-book entry day in a 35-31 win at Carthage on October 6. Ladd, who was also chosen as an "Offensive Player of the Week" in Don Hansen's Football Gazette, completed 27 of 37 passes for 404 yards and five touchdowns and had 52 rushing yards for a total offense day of 456 yards, second only to the IWU mark of 458 set by Brad Forsyth against Carroll in 1989. Ladd's 404 passing yards is the third most in an IWU single game, behind only John Rooney (426, Elmhurst 1983) and Chad Beaty (409, North Central 1997) and the 27 completions is the fourth best single game total. Ladd's .730 completion total is third best in an IWU game, behind two efforts by Lon Erickson (.871, 27-31 vs. Millikin in 1996 and .750, 21-28 vs. North Park in 1995).

October 6
Illinois Wesleyan sophomore Kraig Ladd (pictured) completed 27 of 37 passes for 404 yards and five touchdowns to lead the Titans over Carthage, 35-31, in Kenosha, Wis., on Saturday, Oct. 6. With 52 rushing yards, Ladd had 456 yards of total offense, second only to the IWU mark of 458 set by Brad Forsyth against Carroll in 1989. Ladd's 404 passing yards is the third most in an IWU single game, behind only John Rooney (426, Elmhurst 1983) and Chad Beaty (409, North Central 1997) and the 27 completions is the fourth best single game total. Jack Scalcucci made seven catches for 164 yards and two TDs and Martin Ceisel had 11 grabs for 123 yards. Scalcucci's total is fourth most in an IWU single game. Matt Sandrik also had two TD catches as the Titans accumluated 454 yards of total offense. On defense IWU was led by Nick Nikolich and Andrew Dulaney with nine tackles each and Robert Beauchamp had two quarterback sacks. The Titans improved to 3-2 overall and 2-0 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin while the Red Men fall to 3-2, 0-2 CCIW.

September 29
The Illinois Wesleyan football team rallied from a 13-0 deficit and scored a 22-19 win over No. 29 ranked and defending conference champion Augustana on Saturday, Sept. 29 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin opener for both teams in Bloomington. The Titans got 135 yards and two rushing touchdowns from Bo Lanter and a Martin Ceisel touchdown reception from Kraig Ladd with 7:53 left was the deciding touchdown, capping a 15-play, 98-yard drive that took 6:12. Lanter, who scored on TD runs of 57 and 3 yards, ran the ball seven times in that decisive drive. The Titans and Vikings are both 2-2 overall. For the Titans defensively, Nick Nikolich made 17 total tackles and Dan Souder had 11 and Brian Smith made 10 tackles. Augustana (0-1 CCIW) had 262 total yards to 208 for IWU. The Titans travel to Kenosha, Wis., next Saturday to play Carthage.

September 15
The Illinois Wesleyan football team let a 15-7 lead get away from it and lost, 25-15, in a nonconference game against No. 24-ranked Mount St. Joseph at Wilder Field.
The Titans opened the scoring with a touchdowns from Marcus Dunlop on a 1-yard run with 3:00 to play in the first quarter and added a two-point conversion to lead, 8-0. Mt. St. Joseph got a 40 yard run from Jake Davis for a score with 1:48 to play in the first. The Titans scored with 10:17 to play in the half on a Tom Almanzo catch of a 34-yard pass from Kraig Ladd. Kevin Koch kicked a 32-yard field goal with 6:47 remaining in the first half to cut the deficit to 15-10.
The Lions grabbed the lead with 12:36 on the third quarter clock when Mike Lovell rushed in from seven yards out, giving his team a 16-15 lead. The Mount would add a fourth quarter safety and a Palmer to tight end Marcus Pryor II seven-yard TD strike with 5:17, and Koch’s PAT kick, ended the scoring.
For Illinois Wesleyan, Ladd finished with 174 passing yards and Almanzo made a game-high seven catches for 69 yards. Charlie Welke and Nick Nikolich led IWU defensively with 12 tackles each.
Mount St. Joseph improved to 3-0 as they rolled up 282 yards of offense, recovered four IWU fumbles and took advantage of a bad snap on a punt for a safety. The Mount’s defense forced five fumbles and recovered four, had one sack and an interception while holding IWU to 90 yards rushing in 37 carries and four-of-14 third-down conversions. Erik Prosser led the Mount with 10 tackles while three other Lions’ defenders had seven tackles each. Lovell led the Mount with 86 yards rushing while Palmer was 14-of-30 for 143 yards, one TD and no interceptions. Jones and Pryor each had four receptions.
The Titans, now 1-2, have a week off next Saturday before opening College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin play at home against Augustana at 6 p.m. on Sept. 29.

September 8
The Illinois Wesleyan football team rallied from a 9-0 deficit to claim a 20-9 win over Olivet (Mich.) in a nonconference game on Sat., Sept. 8 in Olivet. Titan sophomore Kraig Ladd completed touchdown passes of 3 yards and 22 yards to junior Martin Ceisel and added another 3 yard TD pass to John Meacham. Ladd completed 15 of 31 passes for 148 yards and also rushed for 27 yards on eight carries. Senior Marcus Dunlop had 59 yards rushing on 23 carries as IWU had 198 total offensive yards. Dan Souder led the defense with nine tackles and Brian Smith had an interception returned for 40 yards. The Titans open their home season next Sat. (Sept. 15) with a 1 p.m. game against Mt. St. Joseph on McLean County Appreciation Day.

September 1
The Illinois Wesleyan football team lost a 24-6 decision to Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Sat., Sept. 1 in the season opener for both clubs. Coe led 17-0 in the early fourth quarter after touchdowns on a 51 yard punt return and a 92 yard interception return. The lone IWU score came on a Martin Ceisel reception of a 16 yard pass from Kraig Ladd with 6:55 to play in the game. IWU amassed 256 total yards to 170 for the Kohawks and were led defensively by Dan Souder, who had 15 total tackles with seven solo. Marcus Dunlop rushed for 71 yards on 26 carries. The Titans, who have now lost five straight season openers, play at Olivet (Mich.) on Sept. 8 at 12 p.m. (Central).

August 1
The Illinois Wesleyan football team has been picked seventh in the 2007 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin preseason coaches' poll. The Titans, who open their season on Sept. 1 at Coe College, got 16 points from the league coaches. Wheaton got six first place votes to finish first in the poll, followed by Augustana and North Central. IWU was 3-7 overall and 2-5 in the league last season.

July 5
The Illinois Wesleyan football team opens its 2007 season with its earliest starting date ever – on September 1 – at Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The Titans will then play at Olivet College (Michigan) on September 8 before their first home game on September 15 at 1 p.m. against Mt. St. Joseph. IWU begins league play on September 29 with a 6 p.m. home game against Augustana. The Titans return 38 lettermen from 2006 and look to improve on their 3-7 overall record (2-5 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin). Head coach Norm Eash has a 119-70-1 record in 20 seasons at his alma mater.