WASHINGTON, D.C. - Riding a two-game winning streak, Catholic hits the road to take on Alfred on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at Yunevich Stadium in Alfred, N.Y. 

SERIES HISTORY: Alfred leads 1-0

TWO'S A STREAK

With a 28-27 victory over SUNY Morrisville on Saturday, Catholic made it two straight victories in non-conference play. SUNY Morrisville's (1-1) last second field goal attempt was blocked by the Cardinals as Catholic (2-1) held on to defeat the Mustangs 28-27 on Saturday afternoon at Cardinal Stadium. 

Catholic opened up fast, scoring 21 first quarter points to jump out to a 14-point lead after 15 minutes of action. The Cardinals went 74 yards on four plays on the opening drive of the game with Zach Williams punching it in from six yards out to open the scoring.

Gulbin completed 24 passes for 303 yards and two scores to lead Catholic in his first career start. Harvin rushed for 53 yards and a score despite missing a quarter-plus with an injury. Hansen caught five passes for 117 yards an a score, giving him his first 100-yard receiving game since November 12, 2022 vs. Springfield. Anthony Giordano grabbed seven passes for 60 yards. 

Defensively, Sean Finan finished with a team-high 11 stops for Catholic and added a pass break-up as well. Michael Hopkins and Mason Stillwell each totaled eight tackles while Hopkins and Brendan Smith combined on a sack. Smith also forced a fumble in his first appearance of the season.

Full Game Recap HERE.

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION

Alfred comes into the contest fresh off a bye after opening the season 1-1 with a win versus Landmark Conference foe Juniata. The Saxons opened the season with a 10-7 loss at Hobart before responding with an offensive explosion that saw them put up 64 points in a 64-28 win versus the Eagles. 

Leading 9-7 after the first, Alfred outscored Juniata 55-21 over the final three periods. 

The Saxons (1-1, 0-0 Empire 8) scored their most points dating back to the 1933 season as part of their winning efforts. 

Alfred University was led by Chris Kelly, who totaled 357 passing yards along with four touchdowns. The passing yards for Kelly marked the fourth-most in a single game in program history. Dion Anderson enjoyed a historic game that included 10 receptions, 279 receiving yards and three touchdowns. Anderson set the program record for most receiving yards in a single game for AU. Max Freeman IV  led the backfield with 117 total yards to go with a pair of touchdowns. The defense was led by Braden Heim and Landon Spencer, who finished the game with 18 combined tackles for the Saxons. 

Alfred vs Juniata Game Recap HERE. 

LAST YEAR'S MEETING

On a nasty weather day in D.C., the Catholic University Cardinals fell 9-6 to the Alfred Saxons on Saturday afternoon at Cardinal Stadium. Catholic falls to 2-2 as it enters Landmark Conference play next weekend at Susquehanna. 

Trailing 9-6 with 7:25 remaining in the contest, Catholic started with possession on its own 31-yard line after forcing an Alfred punt. The Cardinals started to matriculate the ball down the field, short gain after short gain. A holding penalty set up a third-and-20 from the Catholic 41. The Cardinals handed the ball off for minimal gain, but the Saxons jumped offsides, bringing Catholic five yards closer to the mark. Madden Lowe hit Preston Jeffrey for a 14-yard gain, setting up a fourth-and-one that Lowe converted with a three-yard scamper. 

Now on the move in Alfred territory, Zach Williams dashed forward for nine yards on second-and-12 before picking up five more to give the Cardinals another first down at the Alfred 25. Catholic lost four yards on first down before getting back to the original line of scrimmage on second down. Lowe found Andrew Tabor for seven yards on third down, but the Cardinals remained three yards short of the sticks at the Alfred 18-yard line. Mike Gutelius ran the clock to 25 seconds and sent out Connor Gill, who accounted for all of Catholic's points on the day, for a 35-yarder, but the kick sailed left and the Saxons hung on for the victory. 

WEEK THREE STANDOUTS

• Joey Gulbin | Graduate | Quarterback - 24-31, 303 yards, 2 TD
• Daequan Harvin | Sophomore | Running Back - 13 rushes, 53 yards, 1 TD
• Malachi Hansen | Senior | Wide Receiver - 5 receptions, 117 yards, 1 TD
• Sean Finan | Sophomore | Linebacker - 11 tackles, 1 PBU
• Michael Hopkins | Junior | Linebacker - 8 tackles, 0.5 sacks, 0.5 TFLs
• Sean Holt | Senior | Defensive End - 6 tackles, 0.5 TFLs, 1 FF

DAZZLING DEBUT

The first two appearances of graduate QB Gulbin's career could not have gone better. Through two games, the Fordham transfer had completed 71.6 percent of his throws (48-67) for 594 yards and accounted for six total touchdowns. He averages 297 passing yards per contest. 

In his Catholic debut vs. Capital, Gulbin entered on the second drive and tossed for 291 yards and three touchdowns while sneaking in a fourth TD on the ground. In Saturday's victory, he upped his career-high passing total to 303 while tossing two touchdowns in the victory over the Mustangs. 

Gulbin joins a list of strong recent quarterback debuts. In 2022, in his first extended time on the field, Nico Casares threw for 448 yards and 5 touchdowns at MIT before following it up with 278 yards and two scores vs. WPI. In 2021, Madden Lowe debuted with 433 yards and five touchdowns vs. McDaniel before a 285-yard performance with a TD vs. Randolph-Macon. 

THREE'S COMPANY

With a victory on Saturday in New York, Catholic would start 3-1 for the first time since 2016. A win would also give the Cardinals a three-game win streak during the season for the fourth straight year. Catholic won three in a row in 2021, defeating MIT (23-13), WPI (30-7), and Coast Guard (30-7) before falling in a thriller to Merchant Marine. In 2022, the Cardinals ripped off five straight victories, defeating MIT (42-7), WPI (24-21), Coast Guard (24-17), Merchant Marine (41-33), and Norwich (31-14) before falling to Springfield in the de facto NEWMAC Championship game. Last year, Catholic ended the year on a three-game heater, defeating Keystone (26-14), Wilkes (40-35), and Juniata (34-20). 

SPREADING THE LOVE

So far in 2024, all five of Gulbin's touchdown passes have been caught by different players. The Cardinals have also had 12 different pass catchers in three games this season with five different players logging five or more receptions to this point. Malachi Hansen, Daequan Harvin, Andrew Tabor, Cade Chrebet, and Zach Williams have each found the end zone through the air. Anthony Giordano leads the team with 16 receptions while Hansen leads the way with 235 yards. Tabor is seven yards from giving Catholic three players with 100+ yards receiving. 

SPECIAL TEAMS -- SPECIAL PLAYERS

Catholic graduate punter Connor Gill ranks in the top 10 nationally in punting average at 43 yards per punt in 2024. The veteran has punted 14 times with a long of 55, forcing three fair catches, downing three punts inside-the-20, and unleashing a pair of 50+ yard punts. Gill has also drilled a 43-yard field goal and is 4-4 on extra points in 2024. For his career, Gill is 11 punts shy of 100 for his career, averaging 39.6 yards per punt over the course of his career. Gill had recorded multiple 50+ yard punts in each of the last three seasons. 

MILESTONES REACHED

Henry joined the 200 tackle club in week one at McDaniel, logging 11 stops to give him 202 for his career. Henry reached double digit tackles for the first time since September 23, 2023 vs. Alfred. Henry now has four games with 10 or more tackles for his career. 

Senior captain Stillwell reached 150 career tackles with four in the opener. The senior safety had a career-high 62 tackles in 2022, following it up with 55 stops last season. He also has six career interceptions. 

Junior linebacker Hopkins went over 150 tackles for his career with eight versus Morrisville on Saturday. He has 21 tackles on the year, raising his career average to 6.4 tackles per game. He recorded a career-high 78 tackles in 2023. 

Hansen's 46-yard touchdown reception on Saturday marked the 10th of his career. He has a receiving touchdown in each season of his career with a career-high six of them coming in 2022. 

MILESTONE WATCH

• #11 Anthony Giordano is 152 yards shy of 1,000 for his career after logging a career-high 379 yards on 40 catches a year ago. He is up to 130 yards through three games in 2024. Giordano is also eight receptions shy of 100 for his career. 
• #33 Malachi Hansen is five receptions shy of 100 for his career and 162 yards shy of 1,500 receiving yards. 
• #21 Zach Williams has logged 991 yards from scrimmage for his career (761 rush, 230 receiving) leaving him just nine shy of 1,000. 

WHAT'S NEW IN '24

The Catholic football staff will feature some familiar faces in new roles this season. Former Assistant Head Coach & Special Teams Coordinator Jonathan Rutledge earned a promotion to Associate Head Coach and will take over play-calling duties as the program's offensive coordinator in 2024. 

Also moving up the ranks is seventh-year assistant Brandon Beech who will serve as Assistant Head Coach in 2024 after taking over as the Defensive Coordinator in 2023. 

Also joining the staff for the upcoming season is George Coles who will coach the offensive line after leading the running backs at Wilkes University in 2023. Coles helped develop All-Landmark First Team running back Elijah Jules and helped the Colonels to a bowl game in '23. 

Catholic will feature fresh faces at several key positions on offense in 2024 after the departure of Madden Lowe, Preston Jeffrey, Javier Oliver, Grant Wicks, and John Diaz. Defensively, Catholic will look to replace the production of Luke Brautigan in the front seven. Also departed are Aidan Long and Jack Baldridge from the back end. 

THE NEWCOMERS

The Cardinals welcome 34 new faces into the program and welcome back one old face in 2024. The freshman class includes: Julian Fresen (QB), Augustine Howard (WR), Tyler McVicker (DT), Omid Aliaskari (DB), Khamari Wilson (RB), Ja'Khi Boulware (DB), Latevias Cunningham (DB), Carter Virsik (DB), Malachi McIver (WR), Isaiah Green (WR), Roman Landamia (RB), George Mekras (RB), Justin LaMorte (K), Duron Bruce (DB), Caden Lopez (LB), Daniel Moore (LB), Alexander Saunders (LB), Charles Beckwith III (LB), Jake McGowan (DE), Gavin Drescher (DT), Mark Enamorado (DE), Ethan Carmichael (OL), James Varellas (DE), Dalton Orsak (TE), Shan Azamy (WR), Adrian Fresen (WR), Jake Melograna (WR), Tory Scott (DE), and Storm Haney (DT). Other newcomers include: Daequan Harvin (RB), Tabari Muhammad (WR), Joshua Mun (RB), Hugh Connell (DE), and Joe Gulbin (QB). Returning back after a year away from the team is Nicholas Chang (DB).

WE'RE BACK!

While a number of key pieces are gone, Catholic returns a strong core from last year's 5-5 team. Leading rusher Zach Williams returns for a fifth year after a breakout campaign that saw him total over 800 yards from scrimmage and score five touchdowns. 

Despite losing 871 yards from Jeffrey, Catholic returns 2,180 receiving yards, including seven players who logged at least 150. Anthony Giordano is the top returner with 379 yards, Tabor returns the most receptions with 59, and Maynes returns the most touchdowns with five. 

Hopkins (78) and Carson Henry (72) return, giving the Cardinals their top two tacklers back. Henry also led the team with 14.0 TFLs. Conor Jennings is back after a strong freshman campaign that saw him log 32 tackles, 7.5 TFLs, and 4.0 sacks. Eight of Catholic's 10 interceptions a year ago return with Hopkins, Tyler Donnelly, and Ryan Creston each logging two. Stillwell captains the defense along with Henry in 2024. 

Catholic returns plenty of experience on special teams as both Connor Gill and Andrew Petrino are back in 2024. Gill made six field goals a year ago and averaged 39 yards per punt while Petrino made two field goals and was a perfect 9-9 on extra points. A three-time all-conference returner, Hansen is also expected to return kicks and punts in 2024. 

SUCCESS IN THE CLASSROOM

After the 2023 season, Catholic placed a program-record five student-athletes on the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team. To be eligible for nomination, a student-athlete must; be at least a sophomore academically and athletically, maintain at least a 3.50 cumulative grade point average, play in at least 90 percent of the team's games OR start at least 66 percent of the team's games. 

Earning the honor for Catholic were Samuel Dumas, Giordano, Hopkins, Connor James, and Wicks. Dumas, Giordano, and Hopkins are all back and will have a chance to be in the mix for the honor again this season. 

.500 OR BETTER

Catholic has finished each of the past three seasons with a winning percentage or .500 or better. After a 2-5 start, the Cardinals rallied to finish 5-5 to keep the streak alive, giving them three such seasons in a row for the first time since Tom Clark did it seven years in a row, finishing in 2001. 

Catholic went 6-4 in 2021, 6-5 in 2022, and 5-5 in 2023. The Cardinals spent the 2021 and 2022 seasons in the NEWMAC before the Landmark launched its inaugural football season this past year. The Cardinals reached the New England Bowl in 2022. Gutelius has four seasons of .500 or better ball under his watch, matching Dave Dunn. 

HALL OF FAME REPRESENTATION

On September 20, former running back Matt Taylor will be inducted into the Catholic Athletics Hall of Fame. An All-American in 1996, Taylor is second in program history with 3,802 yards and 52 touchdowns. He holds the program record with 22 rushing touchdowns in a single season. He joins former teammates Kevin Ricca (Class of '20 inductee) and Jeff Clay (Class of '16 inductee) in the Hall of Fame. 

ALL-CONFERENCE RETURNERS

Catholic returns four players from the seven that earned all-conference honors in the first season of Landmark football. Stillwell, a senior captain, was a first-team all-conference defensive back in 2023 after totaling 55 tackles, an interception, a fumble recovery, and six PBUs. For his career, Stillwell has 147 career tackles, six interceptions and 16 PBUs. 

A second-team linebacker in 2023, Henry is back as well after tallying a career-high 14 TFLs to go with 72 tackles and two sacks. Henry is nine tackles shy of 200 for his career. 

Fellow linebacker, Hopkins, was an All-Landmark Honorable Mention choice at linebacker. As a sophomore, he led the team with 78 tackles, adding seven TFLs, and picked off two passes. Playing in all 21 games of his career, he has totaled 133 tackles and 13.5 TFLs. 

Finally, despite missing time, Hansen was respected as an all-conference return man, marking the third straight year in which a conference honored his return ability. He averaged 32 yards per kick return in the eight games he saw action in.