WHO – Catholic at #15 Randolph-Macon
WHEN – Saturday, September 9 | 1 PM
WHERE – Ashland, Va. | Day Field
SERIES HISTORY – Randolph-Macon leads 26-15-1
The Yellow Jackets hold the series advantage over the Cardinals, dating back to their time in the ODAC together. Randolph-Macon has won eight of the last 10 meetings with Catholic proving victorious in 2015 and 2017. The Cardinals defeated the Yellow Jackets 28-20 in 2015 on the back of 300 yards and two TDs from
T.J. Tutone. In 2017, it was a 25-20 triumph with the Cardinals getting 265 yards and three TDs from
Alejandro Ros.
LAST WEEK – Catholic
Game Recap
Catholic won its ninth game in 11 tries against McDaniel on Friday night, taking a 27-0 halftime lead before closing out a 34-7 victory.
LAST WEEK – R-MC
Game Recap
#15 Randolph-Macon registered nearly 500 yards of total offense and held the Battling Bishops to 32 rushing yards as the Yellow Jackets posted a 51-9 opening-day victory at NC Wesleyan.
SERIES STANDOUTS
OFFENSE
- Alonzo Cooke – Caught seven passes for 207 yards and two TDs in a 56-28 loss to the Jackets. Cooke pulled down a 76-yard TD in the fourth quarter to make it a 49-28 game. In a 51-34 loss in 2011, Cooke also caught 10 passes for 165 yards and a score.
- Greg Cordivari – In the 51-34 thriller in 2011, Cordivari threw for 317 yards and three scores. Cordivari found Cooke for a 58-yard score to cut the deficit to 37-34 late in the third, but R-MC scored the final 14 points.
- T.J. Tutone – Tutone was an efficient 28-37 for 300 yards and two TDs in 2015's 28-20 victory. Tutone found Lucas Morley 10 times for 112 yards and two scores in the winning effort.
- Alejandro Ros – Ros got Catholic off to a quick start in a 25-20 victory over R-MC, throwing for 265 yards and three scores while adding 52 more yards on the ground. Ros threw a pair of first-half scores to put Catholic up 19-0 at the break and then added his final TD in the fourth to push the lead to 25-7.
DEFENSE/SPECIAL TEAMS
- Joe Mayer – In a 31-21 loss in 2009, Mayer racked up 16 tackles, two TFLs, and a sack, doing everything he could to keep the Cardinals in the game. Catholic led 14-10 into the second half before an interception return put R-MC on top 17-14 with 10:17 remaining in the third.
- Ross Sanford – In 2015's victory, Sanford made 13 stops, including 10 solo tackles, and added in an interception for good measure. Sanford added 16 more tackles in a 21-0 defeat the following season.
- Patrick Vidal – Made 12 tackles, added 3.5 TFLs, finished with three sacks, and forced and recovered a fumble in Catholic's 25-20 victory over the Yellow Jackets in 2017. For good measure, Vidal broke up a pass as well.
BALLERS BALL
Catholic senior wide receiver
Preston Jeffrey balled out in week one's 34-7 victory over McDaniel. The wideout was named the Landmark Conference's inaugural Offensive Player of the Week while earning recognition from the DC Touchdown Club after a five catch, 177-yard, 2 TD performance on Friday night. Jeffrey caught a pair of second quarter touchdowns, including a 93-yard bomb with less than a minute remaining in the half to give Catholic a 27-0 lead. Jeffrey registered his sixth career 100+-yard day and reached 20 touchdowns for his Catholic career. Jeffrey put up the fifth-most receiving yards of any Division III pass catcher in week one.
AIR RAID
Offensive Coordinator
Adam Shaker's debut was a success as the Cardinals threw for the eighth-most yards in the country with 392 on Friday evening. Senior starter
Madden Lowe returned after missing the final eight games a year ago and completed 26-of-38 passes for 389 yards and five scores. 11 different players caught a pass on Friday with Stetson transfer
Andrew Tabor leading the way with six receptions. Tabor finished with 78 yards in his Catholic debut. Jeffrey found the end zone twice, but
Nole Henry (4-37),
John Maynes (1-12), and
Malachi Hansen (1-10) each caught touchdown passes for Catholic in the victory.
FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING
Friday night saw a handful of firsts for Catholic players, on both the offensive and defensive ends. On defense,
Philip Walter and
Sean Holt each recorded their first career sacks. Walter finished with six tackles and 2.5 TFLs while Holt had five tackles and 1.5 TFLs. A slew of Cardinals made their first career tackles as well. Henry caught his first career touchdown while
Coby Oxendine,
Zach Williams, and
Cade Chrebet each recorded their first career collegiate carries.
PUTTING THE SPECIAL IN SPECIAL TEAMS
Catholic punter
Connor Gill got his senior campaign off to a great start, ranking 22
nd in the nation after week one in Punting Average with 41.6 yards per punt. Gill, serving as the kicker for the first time in his career, also made four-of-five extra points in his first foray into placekicking. Catholic was one of 11 teams nationally to not allow a punt return yard in its opener.
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 – After a 177-yard performance, Jeffrey is 118 receiving yards shy of 2,000 for his career and three receptions shy of 125.
- #8 Madden Lowe – Lowe tossed for 389 yards and five TDs in the season opener, leaving him just one touchdown shy of 35 and 264 yards shy of 4,000 for his Catholic career.
- #10 Carson Henry – Henry opened the season with five tackles and 2.5 TFLs, leaving him 26 shy of 150 stops in his career.
- #12 Mason Stillwell – Stillwell made two tackles and added his sixth career interception on Friday night. He is now just six tackles away from 100 for his career.
- #23 Luke Brautigan – Brautigan was all over the field on Friday, making 10 stops and adding a TFL. He is now 17 tackles away from 100 for his career.
- #33 Malachi Hansen – Hansen caught a 10-yard touchdown pass on Friday before exiting the game. He is 169 shy of 1,000 receiving yards for his career.
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
