BLOOMINGTON - The "Green Swarm" is back, and linebackers Nick Nikolich, Dan Souder and Charlie Welke are leading a "party at the ball" for the Illinois Wesleyan defense.

"One of the first things on our goal board is the defense has to have 100 percent pursuit," said Welke, a senior co-captain from New Lenox. "So the more guys we have going to the ball and the more gang tackles we have, the better defense we're going to be."

The IWU defense has been very good, leading the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin in pass defense (118.8 yards per game) and ranking third overall (234.2) entering Saturday's 1 p.m. CCIW game against Carthage at Art Keller Field in Kenosha, Wis.

Nikolich, Souder and Welke have been the catalysts for the defense, which preserved Saturday's 22-19 home win over Augustana in the CCIW opener. The Titans held Augustana to 166 yards on the ground, well below the Vikings' league-leading average of 284.2, to even their record at 2-2 and stun the defending CCIW co-champions.

"I think the two things that come to mind are they are a very intense group and a very quick group," said IWU coach Norm Eash. "I wouldn't say they're physical, but they have tremendous intensity and quickness and all three of very athletic, too.

"They can change direction pretty quickly, and that makes it even harder for offensive linemen to block them. They have great football sense. They react quickly to what their reads are and they get to the football. None of them are lightning fast, but they're definitely football fast."

Nikolich, a sophomore from Libertyville who plays on the outside with Welke, is averaging a CCIW-best 10.5 tackles per game which he padded with a 17-tackle effort against Augustana.

"Probably the most physical (linebacker) is Nikolich and that's why we have him on the strong side," said IWU defensive coordinator Mike Wagner. "At the same time he's also got some speed. As a sophomore he's stepped into that role and done an outstanding job."

Nikolich passed much of the credit for the linebackers' success to the Titans' veteran defensive line.

"I think it starts with our game plan and the way our scheme is," Nickolich said. "What the guys up front are doing is huge, too. Our defensive line just eats up blockers and we're cleaning up the mess they make."

Souder, a junior from Elk Grove Village who plays middle linebacker, is second in the CCIW with an average of 10.0 tackles.

"It's his first year playing inside partly because we wanted to do some things coverage-wise we couldn't do with some of our past middle linebackers," Wagner said. "He gets to the pass route very well. With Dan in there we're allowed to do more of a true Cover 2 (scheme) because he can cover a seam down the middle of the field because he's so quick."

Souder said he has benefited from playing alongside Nikolich and Welke.

"It's a good feeling looking to my left and my right and having the confidence both of those guys are going to make plays and do their job every down," Souder said. "We've just been able to take advantage of that and make plays. We've been successful defensively as a whole because of that."

Welke, one of seven returning senior starters on the defense and the CCIW's fifth-leading tackler (8.0), has provided leadership for his younger teammates.

"Charlie is a very good leader by example," Wagner said. "He works very hard and he's very responsive to the coaches. He's a very loyal player for us. Every time we've asked him to do something he's had no problem stepping up and taking care of the job."

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Defensive stand

Here are the leading tacklers in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin:

Player…Team…Total…Ave/G

Nick Nikolich…IWU…42…10.5

Dan Souder IWU…40…10.0

Lucas DeJong…NP…36…9.0

Billy Lynch…AUG…35…8.8

Charlie Welke…IWU…32…8.0