Calendar Turns to November: Afternoon action is on deck for all 10 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) football teams on Saturday afternoon. It’s week 10 of the NCAA Division III season and the penultimate week of conference competition.
 
Saturday’s Schedule -- Nov. 5, 2022
#1/1 North Central at Illinois Wesleyan, 1 p.m.
#15/20 Wheaton at #25 WashU, 1 p.m.
Carthage at Augustana, 1 p.m.
Carroll at Millikin, 1 p.m.
Elmhurst at North Park, 1 p.m.
 
Nationally Ranked Bout in St. Louis: Two programs appearing in the national rankings will square off in St. Louis when Wheaton, ranked #15 by D3football.com and #20 by the American Football Coaches Association, travels to St. Louis to visit WashU, currently ranked #25 by D3football.com. It’s the third game this season between two nationally ranked CCIW squads.
 
Elsewhere, North Central takes the nation’s top ranking and its 24-game regular-season win streak to Bloomington for a 1 p.m. kickoff at Illinois Wesleyan. Augustana hosts Carthage, Carroll travels to Millikin and Elmhurst is the visitor for its matchup with North Park. All five games are slated for 1 p.m.
 
National Press For Binkowski, Again: For the second time this season, Carroll defensive back Jake Binkowski was selected as a member of the D3football.com Team of the Week. The sophomore from Pulaski, Wis. returned a 99-yard pick-six in Saturday’s win over visiting Carthage.
 
Binkowski, who also earned his first career CCIW Defensive Student-Athlete of the Week award on Monday, returned the interception for a touchdown in the final minute of the first half, allowing the Pioneers to take a 31-0 cushion into the locker room. CU went on to win the contest 59-14, its second consecutive victory over the Firebirds, to retain the Old Musket trophy.
 
The Pioneers have now earned four D3football.com Team of the Week selections in 2022 – Binkowski (twice), Jaxon Case and Will Campbell.
 
Big Quarterback Numbers: Last Saturday’s CCIW schedule brought a trio of strong performances at the quarterback position. 
 
Carroll’s Josh Raby, the league’s Co-Offensive Student-Athlete of the Week, set a new CCIW high for 2022 with 420 yards of total offense in the Pioneers’ 59-14 win over Carthage. Raby finished 28-for-40 for 337 yards and three touchdowns through the air. He also ran nine times for 83 yards and four rushing touchdowns. He joined Augustana’s Tyler Rivelli (twice) and WashU’s Kenneth Hamilton as CCIW players to find the end zone at least four times in a game this season.
 
In Naperville, CCIW Co-Offensive Student-Athlete of the Week Luke Lehnen was all over the field for North Central in its 59-0 shutout of North Park. He picked up his second 100-yard rushing game of the season – the only CCIW quarterback to reach that milestone in 2022 – with 102 yards and three scores last weekend. He was also efficient through the air, completing nine throws for 141 yards and two touchdowns.
 
Despite Saturday’s loss, North Park quarterback Matt Eck was a big producer for the Vikings in Naperville. The sophomore from South Bend, Ind. completed 32 passes against the Cardinals, most by a CCIW player this season. He finished the day with 269 yards. His effort allowed NPU to equal Wheaton’s 32 completions at Carthage on Oct. 15 for the most by a CCIW team this fall.
 
Historic North Central Stand Continues: North Central’s 59-0 win established a new program record for the Cardinals, who have now shutout four consecutive opponents since their 73-0 win at Carroll on Oct. 8. The last points allowed by NCC were in the fourth quarter of the Little Brass Bell game versus Wheaton on Oct. 1.
 
The NCAA Division III record for consecutive shutouts is six, set by Plymouth State in 1982 and matched twice by Mount Union in 2007 and 2012.
 
Bluejays Shine on Special Teams: Elmhurst came up short in its bid to take down WashU last Saturday, but special teams was a bright spot for EU. The Bluejays blocked three kicks in the contest against the Bears. 
 
A 42-yard field-goal try in the first quarter was blocked by Brett Von Schwedler. Later in the quarter, Jeremy Inniss got a piece of the Bears’ 25-yard try.
 
Midway through the second quarter, it was the punt unit that got into the action when Quintin Perry blocked a WashU punt that the Bluejays recovered at the Bears’ 30-yard-line. The play set the table for a 30-yard touchdown throw from Matt Xiques to Jacob Cockrell.
 
Gable Fills the Stat Sheet: Elmhurst senior linebacker Bryce Gable, who will enter Saturday’s game at North Park ranking first in the league and 11th in Division III with 6.2 solo tackles per game, registered 17 tackles for EU against WashU last week. It was the highest total by a CCIW player in a game this season.
 
Now in his third season, the Grandville, Mich. native leads the conference and ranks 13th on Division III’s active career list with 265 stops. His 5.82 career solo tackles per game ranks fifth on the active list among all three NCAA Divisions.
 
#1/1 North Central at Illinois Wesleyan, 1 p.m.: Top-ranked North Central (8-0, 7-0 CCIW) can clinch at least a share of its second consecutive CCIW title and league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division III playoffs on Saturday when Illinois Wesleyan (5-3, 4-3 CCIW) hosts the Cardinals at 1 p.m. at Tucci Stadium.
 
NCC led 42-0 at halftime of its 59-0 win at North Park last weekend, led by Luke Lehnen’s 141 passing yards, 102 rushing yards and five total touchdowns. Sam Taviani led the defense with 11 total tackles and 1.5 of NCC’s seven tackles for loss, while Jahmar Daniel, Zack Orr and Garrett Fiduccia had interceptions.
 
It’s Senior Day for Illinois Wesleyan, which will aim to win six games at home in the same season for the first time since 2017. The Titans lost 24-21 at Augustana last Saturday. Quarterback Jay Lemenager threw for a touchdown and ran for one as well, while kicker Andrew Stange was selected CCIW Special Teams Student-Athlete of the Week after making two field goals.
 
North Central has won 11 in a row in the series with the Titans, including last season’s 55-7 triumph in Naperville on Oct. 23, 2021. Lehnen threw for 229 yards and three touchdowns while Ethan Greenfield ran for 199 yards on the ground.
 
Illinois Wesleyan leads the all-time series with North Central, 38-30-3, since the first game between the two schools in 1945. IWU’s last win over the Cardinals was a 28-22 double-overtime decision in Bloomington on Oct. 31, 2009.
 
#15/20 Wheaton at #25 WashU, 1 p.m.: Wheaton (6-2, 6-1 CCIW) hits the road for its longest road trip since its Sept. 10 trip to San Antonio when the Thunder visits WashU (7-1, 6-1 CCIW) for a 1 p.m. kickoff at Francis Olympic Field in St. Louis. The winner of Saturday’s game will secure sole possession of second place in the CCIW standings and retain a Week-11 opportunity to share the league’s regular season championship.
 
Wheaton didn’t move in either set of national rankings after last Saturday’s 69-3 win over Millikin. The Thunder outgained the Big Blue 598-86, led by 288 passing yards and four touchdowns from Will Bowers and 166 rushing yards and three scores from Giovanni Weeks. The Thunder have won four in a row, all by a margin of at least 35 points.
 
Matt Rush threw for 301 yards and four touchdowns to lift WashU to a 49-6 win at Elmhurst last week. The victory allowed the Bears to earn their seventh win of the campaign and move back into the D3football.com Top 25. WashU remained unranked in the AFCA poll but are the second team receiving votes outside the Top 25.
 
Saturday’s game in the Gateway City is the 18th all-time matchup between the Thunder and Bears since 1961. Wheaton is 12-5 all-time against WashU and has won two out of three since the Bears joined the CCIW in 2018. WC won last year’s matchup 40-10 on Oct. 2, 2021, a contest in which Giovanni Weeks rushed for 188 yards and two touchdowns.
 
Carthage at Augustana, 1 p.m.: Augustana (5-3, 4-3 CCIW) will host Carthage (2-6, 2-5 CCIW) Saturday afternoon at Charles D. Lindberg Stadium in Rock Island. 
 
It’s the final home game of the year for the Vikings, who are 2-2 on their home field this season. Augustana trailed by two scores at halftime last weekend and responded with a 24-point second half to overcome Illinois Wesleyan, 24-21. Craig Shelton caught two touchdown passes for the Vikings, including the go-ahead 28-yard score from Cole Bhardwaj with 13:55 left in the fourth quarter. AC has now won two in a row and three of its last four since its 70-0 romp at Millikin on Oct. 8.
 
The Firebirds will play on the road for the third consecutive week on Saturday. Carthage is looking to return to the win column for the first time since securing consecutive road wins at Elmhurst (Oct. 1) and North Park (Oct. 8). Last week, Alex Jarvis compiled 76 receiving yards and caught a 68-yard touchdown throw from Cristian Beltran in the Firebirds’ 59-14 loss at Carroll. Jalen McDonald had an interception and Jake Tomczak picked up nine total tackles.
 
Augustana leads the all-time series with Carthage, 67-18-4, and its 68 wins in the series are the most over any opponent in the Vikings’ history. The Firebirds won four in a row from 2015 through 2018, but Augie has won each of the last two, including last fall’s 42-14 decision in Kenosha on Oct. 30, 2021 when Bhardwaj threw for 275 yards.
 
Carroll at Millikin, 1 p.m.: Millikin (3-5, 2-5 CCIW) plays its fifth and final contest in Decatur this fall when the Big Blue welcomes Carroll (5-3, 4-3 CCIW) for a 1 p.m. start at Frank M. Lindsay Field.
 
Carroll retained possession of the Old Musket for the first time since 1996 in the Pioneers’ 59-14 win over Carroll last Saturday at Schneider Stadium. CU compiled a season-high 515 yards of total offense, led by 420 yards of total offense from Raby and 142 receiving yards and two scoring catches from Austin Eichstaedt. Carroll has alternated wins and losses over the last seven weeks and will try to win on the road for the third time in 2022.
 
The Big Blue has won three out of four at home this season with victories over Greenville (Sept. 3), North Park (Sept. 24) and Elmhurst (Oct. 22). Millikin lost 69-3 at Wheaton last week. Josh Grant made 10 tackles, all unassisted, while Alexander Perkins logged 2.5 sacks and returned an interception 80 yards in the first quarter that led to an MU field goal from David Ramirez.
 
Saturday’s matchup is the 46th all-time between Carroll and Millikin, a series MU leads 28-16-1. The Big Blue has dominated the series recently, winning seven of the last eight since 1989, including all five matchups since the Pioneers returned to the CCIW in 2016. Last season, Marion McGhee’s 1-yard touchdown plunge – his fifth score of the night – capped an 11-play drive early in the fourth quarter to lift MU to a 32-25 win under the lights in Decatur on Sept. 25, 2021.
 
Elmhurst at North Park, 1 p.m.: The Holmgren Athletic Complex in Chicago will play host to Saturday’s tilt between Elmhurst (0-8, 0-7 CCIW) and North Park (0-8, 0-7).
 
The Vikings lost last week at North Central, 59-0. For the season, North Park’s Jaydin Miller paces its defense, as his 0.81 sacks per game are fourth-most in the CCIW and 40th-most nationally. On the offensive side, Matt Eck is one of only 54 quarterbacks in Division III with at least 1,800 passing yards (1,879).
 
Despite the Bluejays’ 49-6 home loss to WashU last week, there were many bright spots on the defensive side. Bryce Gable had 4.5 of EU’s 12 tackles for loss. The defensive front combined for five sacks and the secondary broke up eight WashU passes. For the full season, Jeremy Iniss is the national leader in passes defended with 2.6 per game.
 
Elmhurst owns a 41-18-2 record against North Park since 1960, but NPU is riding a four-game win streak over the Bluejays for the first time ever. The Vikings won last season’s meeting 45=3 in Chicago on Oct. 23, 2021. North Park led 32-0 at halftime and Eck finished with 359 passing yards and two touchdowns.