WHO – Catholic at Wilkes
WHEN – Saturday, November 4 | 12 PM
WHERE – Wilkes-Barre, Pa. | Schmidt Stadium
WATCH | LIVE STATS
LAST WEEK –
Catholic 26, Keystone 14 | Wilkes 7, #12 Susquehanna 34
Catholic football overcame a 14-0 deficit to snap a four-game losing skid and pick up its first-ever Landmark Conference victory, 26-14, over Keystone on Saturday afternoon. The Cardinals put up nearly 500 yards of total offense in the victory as they improve to 3-5 on the season.
Zach Williams had a career day on the ground for Catholic, rushing for 124 yards and two touchdowns while
Madden Lowe threw for 307 yards and two scores of his own.
With the score tied at seven after the first quarter, host No. 12 Susquehanna University scored 27 unanswered points on way to a 34-7 Landmark Conference victory over the Wilkes University football team Saturday afternoon at Amos Alonzo Stagg Field.
The Colonels suffered their first Landmark defeat falling to 3-5 overall and 3-1 in conference games. Susquehanna remained unbeaten on the year moving to 8-0 overall and 4-0 in league play, taking sole possession of first place in the process.
Catholic Game Recap | Wilkes Game Recap
BACK TO WINNING WAYS
The Cardinals put an end to a four-game losing streak on Saturday, picking up a road win at Keystone. Three of Catholic's four losses came by just one score during the stretch before a 12-point victory over the Giants. Catholic overcame a 14-point deficit to pick up its first-ever victory in Landmark Conference play.
Catholic was dominant statistically against the Giants, bettering Keystone in total first downs (32-19), rushing yards (191-90), passing yards (307-228), total yards (498-318), and time of possession (35:51-24:09). Catholic had six drives of nine or more plays and ate up more than 4:24 in clock on six different occasions.
Four different Cardinals had between 49 and 61 receiving yards while seven different players had at least 21 yards.
OPPOSITES ATTRACT
Catholic and Wilkes both enter the Colonels' Senior Day contest on Saturday with records of 3-5. However, both teams have gotten there in very different ways. Catholic comes into the game 1-3 in Landmark Conference play with a 2-2 record in non-conference play while the Colonels dropped their first conference game of the season on Saturday and sit at 3-1 in the Landmark. The Colonels opened the season on a four-game skid before winning three straight while Catholic started 2-1 before dropping four-in-a-row prior to Saturday's victory.
Similarly, the teams get the job done in different ways on the offensive end. Wilkes ranks second in the Landmark with 187.5 rushing yards per contest while Catholic sits at the bottom with 81 yards per game on the ground. On the inverse, Catholic sits atop the Landmark with 291.6 passing yards per game while Wilkes throws for just 175.8 yards per contest.
100-YARD RUSHERS
Williams toted the rock 25 times for a career-high 124 yards and two scores on Saturday, marking his second career 100-plus yard rushing day. Williams, getting the first extensive work of his career in 2023, has three games this season with more than 100 yards from scrimmage and four games with at least 86 total yards.
The senior back from Cincinnati, Ohio had his first career 100-yard day on September 16 in a win over SUNY Morrisville, rushing for 101 yards on 21 attempts while adding a reception for 10 yards. The next week against Alfred, Williams carried it 25 times for 92 yards. He also added 16 yards through the air on three catches. On just nine touches against Moravian, Williams gained 86 yards and scored a touchdown in a 36-28 loss to the Greyhounds.
Catholic had just one 100-yard rushing performance in 2022 with
Kevin Licciardi rushing for 134 yards at Norwich.
LANDMARK LOVE
Catholic has earned a pair of Landmark honors through four weeks with
Preston Jeffrey earning Landmark Conference Offensive Player of the Week (Week 1 vs. McDaniel) and
Aidan Long earning Landmark Conference Defensive Player of the Week (Week 3 at SUNY Morrisville). Jeffrey caught five passes for 177 yards and two touchdowns in the season-opening victory vs. McDaniel while Long returned an interception for a touchdown to seal the deal at Morrisville in week three. Catholic also has a number of athletes placed in the top-three in statistical categories in the conference.
MILESTONE MADNESS
- #2 Preston Jeffrey – As the veteran receiver continues to blow through career milestones in 2023, he is now approaching another. Jeffrey needs just 72 yards to reach 2,500 for his career.
- #8 Madden Lowe - Lowe surpassed 5,000 yards for his Catholic career, now sitting with 5,278 in 20 games played. He is four passing touchdowns shy of 50 for his career and two touchdowns shy of 50 total as a Cardinal.
- #10 Carson Henry – Henry is up to 175 career tackles with 56 so far this season. With two games remaining, he needs 25 stops to get to 200 for his career.
- #33 Malachi Hansen – Hansen is 30 yards shy of 1,000 for his career and one TD shy of 10 after grabbing five receptions for 49 yards at Keystone.
PRESEASON POLL
Catholic University football was picked to finish third in the inaugural seven-team Landmark Conference Football preseason poll it was announced earlier today. The Cardinals posted a 6-5 record under
Mike Gutelius in 2022, earning a bid to the New England Bowl Series, the program's first trip to a bowl game since 2008.
Catholic nabs third-place in the poll with 25 points, finishing behind 22nd-ranked Susquehanna (36 points) and Wilkes (31 points). Lycoming (22 points), Moravian (15 points), Keystone (11 points), and Juniata (7 points) round out the coaches poll.
COORDINATION IS KEY
Mike Gutelius' staff will feature two new coordinators in 2023 with the departures of Max Drisko (OC) and Kevin Hubbard (DC) to the Division I level.
Adam Shaker was announced as the program's offensive coordinator back in March after a three-year run at Mississippi State under the late Mike Leach. In 2022, Shaker served as the Bulldogs' Assistant Wide Receivers Coach, taking over as the Wide Receivers Coach for the 2023 Reliaquest Bowl versus Illinois.
Shaker started as an Offensive Fellow and moved up to Offensive Quality Control Assistant before taking on a major role with the wide receivers. He helped develop standout pass catcher Makai Polk who caught 105 balls in 2021 to lead the SEC.
Prior to his time at Mississippi State, Shaker coached the receivers and acted as the Special Teams Coordinator at Concord University in West Virginia. He served in the same role at Southern Virginia and made stops during his career at Virginia, Brigham Young, Georgetown, and Old Dominion.
Entering his sixth year on the staff,
Brandon Beech was promoted to Defensive Coordinator this summer, returning to the defensive side of the ball after a stint with the offensive line. Beech and Gutelius will work hand-in-hand on the defensive game planning.
Beech served as the program's Defensive Line Coach in 2020 and the Defensive Backs Coach from 2018-2020. Prior to joining Gutelius at Catholic, Beech was the defensive coordinator at Dalton L. McMichael Sr. High School in 2017 and 2018.
MEET THE STAFF
The 2023 Catholic University Football Staff is as follows:
ALL-REGION RETURNER
Junior wide receiver
Malachi Hansen is back after a standout campaign on both offense and special teams. Hansen, a Philadelphia, Pa. native, was named a Third Team All-Region 1 selection in 2022 by D3football.com.
Under Special Teams Coordinator
Jonathan Rutledge's tutelage, Hansen has proved to be a dynamic returner in his first two seasons as a collegiate athlete. Hansen was also an All-NEWMAC First Team selection as a returner after combining for more than 850 return yards, ranking him in the top-five in Division III. Hansen ranked in the top-50 nationally in All-Purpose yards per contest when adding in his 554 receiving yards.
A FRESH START
As noted above, Catholic was picked to finish third in the Landmark Conference's inaugural preseason poll. This will be the first season in which football is a sponsored sport in the conference thanks to the additions of Wilkes and Lycoming as full-time members, and Keystone as an affiliate member for football.
With the addition of football, 23 of Catholic's 25 intercollegiate programs will all compete under the Landmark Conference umbrella. The Cardinals previously spent five seasons in the NEWMAC, setting the program record for All-Conference selections in back-to-back seasons with 10 in 2021 and 12 in 2022.
