WHO – Catholic vs. McDaniel
WHEN – Friday, September 1 | 7 PM
WHERE – Washington, D.C. | Cardinal Stadium
BLACK OUT CARDINAL STADIUM
We want you all wearing BLACK on Friday night! Please help us fill the Cardinal Stadium stands and wear black!
T-SHIRT TIME
The first 150 students in attendance on Friday night will receive a FREE black T-shirt with the Cardinal head compliments of Catholic Football.
SERIES HISTORY – McDaniel leads 14-11
McDaniel holds the all-time edge in the series history, but the Cardinals have held the upper hand of late, winning seven of the last 10 contests, dating back to 2011. The two teams met in 10 of the last 12 seasons, with the 2019 and 2020 seasons (wiped out due to COVID-19) being the only exceptions. The Cardinals have outscored the Green Terror 324-259 over the 10-game span. Catholic's 48 points in 2013's 48-16 victory remain the most points scored by the Cardinals in a season-opener.
SERIES STANDOUTS
OFFENSE
- Greg Cordivari – Threw for 459 yards and 3 TD's in a 39-36 comeback victory in 2011. At the time, it was the most passing yards ever allowed by the Green Terror and was the most by a Catholic passer since Keith Ricca threw for 530 in 2008. Threw for 312 yards and four scores in a 45-28 victory in 2012.
- Alonzo Cooke – Caught eight passes for 127 yards and 2 TD's in 2011's comeback victory. Caught seven passes for 156 yards and 2 TD's in 2012.
- T.J. Tutone – Tossed for 120 yards and two scores while rushing for 44 yards and a touchdown in 2013's 48-16 victory. Threw for 356 yards and four touchdowns, including the game-winning score to Lucas Morley in 2015's 34-33 thriller.
- Lucas Morley – Caught 13 passes for 210 yards and four touchdowns, including the game-winner in 2015's 34-33 thriller. Caught six passes for 43 yards and two touchdowns, the game-tying and game-winning touchdowns, in 2016's 28-21 overtime victory.
- Madden Lowe – Completed 41 passes for 433 yards and five scores in 2021's 40-7 win over the Green Terror. Added 237 yards and two scores in 2022's 37-27 victory.
DEFENSE/SPECIAL TEAMS
- Ben Powers & Drew Papas – Powers blocked an early third quarter punt leading Papas to recover it in the end zone for the lone touchdown of the quarter, giving Catholic a 31-16 lead.
- Anthony Albanese – Totaled seven tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, and 2.5 sacks in 2013's 48-16 victory.
- Dave Zarkoski – Made 13 tackles, including two tackles for loss in 2015's 34-33 victory. Added nine tackles and a PBU in 2016's 28-21 win.
- Ross Sanford – Made 10 tackles, 1.5 TFLs, and a sack in 2016's 28-21 win.
- Jake Ballard – Made a game-high 16 tackles, added 1.5 TFLs and added a sack in 2018's 27-12 loss.
COMEBACK KIDS – Read last year's recap
HERE.
The Cardinals proved resilient in the season opener at McDaniel on September 3, 2022, overcoming a 20-3 deficit with 8:49 to play in the second quarter. Junior signal-caller
Madden Lowe orchestrated an eight-play, 92-yard drive that culminated in an 18-yard touchdown pass to
Preston Jeffrey with 2:23 remaining in the first half to narrow the gap to 20-10.
Lowe's second touchdown of the contest came with 8:19 remaining in the third quarter as he found
John Maynes for a 20-yard score to cut the McDaniel lead to three. Less than three minutes later after a big gainer to Jeffrey,
Kevin Licciardi ran it in from three yards out to put the Cardinals on top 23-20 with 5:46 left in the third.
Catholic's fourth and fifth consecutive touchdowns came in the fourth quarter as
Jared Colletti ran one in from nine yards out before Licciardi added his second touchdown of the contest to make it 37-20 with 3:27 remaining in the contest. The Green Terror scored on a three-play, 77-yard drive as Trent Gaskins punched it in with 2:18 remaining, but the Cardinals walked out of Westminster as comeback winners, 37-27.
Lowe threw for 237 yards and two touchdowns while Jeffrey caught eight balls for 126 yards and a score. Defensively,
Michael Hopkins made 10 stops and
Mason Stillwell added nine.
Luke Brautigan intercepted a pass while
Malachi Hansen forced a fumble on a Catholic punt.
For McDaniel, Gaskins ran for 52 yards and three touchdowns to lead the offense. Hunter Sigler pulled in six catches for 121 yards for the Green Terror. Defensively, Mike Dunn made eight tackles while Earl Spicer, Sam Welcher, Mamut Conteh each recorded a sack.
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.
MILESTONE MADNESS
- #2 Preston Jeffrey - With 117 career receptions for 1,705 yards and 18 scores, the Carrollton, Va. native is eight receptions shy of 125, 295 yards shy of 2,000, and two touchdowns shy of 20 for his career.
- #8 Madden Lowe - With 12 career starts under his belt, the senior quarterback enters the 2023 season just one touchdown shy of 30 and 653 yards shy of 4,000 for his Catholic career.
- #10 Carson Henry - After tying for the team lead with 82 tackles in 22, the junior linebacker from Port Jervis, N.Y. is 31 tackles shy of 150 for his career.
- #12 Mason Stillwell - With 62 tackles as a sophomore, the junior defensive back from Annapolis, Md. is approaching 100 for his career, sitting just eight shy heading into the opener.
- #23 Luke Brautigan - The senior backer is 27 tackles shy of 100 for his career after chipping in with 33 stops in 2022.
- #33 Malachi Hansen - The junior speedster is 179 yards shy of 1,000 for his career after a breakout sophomore campaign with 554 yards and six touchdowns.
BOWL ELIGIBLE
After earning an invite to the New England Bowl Series in 2022, marking the first Catholic football bowl appearance since 2008, the Cardinals are looking to return to postseason play once again in 2023. The Landmark Conference and Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) have joined together in a four-year bowl series partnership. The Chesapeake Bowl Challenge will begin in 2023 with the top seed in the ODAC hosting the second seed from the Landmark while the top seed from the Landmark hosts the second seed from the ODAC. When the announcement was made, Gutelius added "The Chesapeake Bowl Challenge matchup series between the Landmark and ODAC is something we are very excited about. Our football team was a member of the ODAC for a very long time and has a history of great games against many of those schools. This announcement between our two conferences is almost the best of both worlds. We will get to live in the Landmark Conference like all the other sports here at Catholic, but we will occasionally get to see some old foes from the ODAC. I think it will be a really good setup for both conferences."
TALKIN' BALL W/ COACH GUT
