WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Catholic football team is back at home for another Landmark matchup against Moravian on Saturday afternoon. Kickoff is set for 12 pm on Cardinal Stadium versus the Greyhounds.

SERIES HISTORY

The programs have only met two times in their respective histories since the Cardinals joined the Landmark in 2023. The Greyhounds have won both matchups by scores of 36-28 and 34-14. This will be the second time that Catholic faces Moravian at Cardinal Stadium. 

THE LAST MEETING

The Greyhounds came away with a 34-14 victory over the Cardinals when these two teams met last season. Daequan Harvin put together a solid game on the ground for Catholic, rushing for 85 yards while averaging five yards per carry with a touchdown. Andrew Tabor led the team with five catches and also added a receiving touchdown in the fourth quarter.

Michael Hopkins and Lawson Haylock each had monster days defensively in the loss as Hopkins racked up a team leading 11 tackles. Haylock also reached double digits with 10 tackles including two tackles for loss and a sack. Tyler Donnelly was also active on the defense with eight tackles while also adding an interception, the lone turnover caused by the Cardinals in the loss.

LAST TIME OUT

The Cardinals edged out a 20-17 win over Juniata last week on Family Weekend to advance to 2-4 on the season and 1-1 in Landmark play. Chris Smith burst onto the scene for the Catholic offense with 18 carries for 108 yards, scoring the go-ahead touchdown with eight minutes left in the fourth quarter which led to a victory for the Cardinals. Charles Gulbin was sharp at quarterback for Catholic, completing 20 of his 27 throws for 212 yards and a pair of passing touchdowns. Gulbin also had two key third down conversions with his legs in the fourth quarter. The freshman three-headed monster was rounded out by Hayden Kennedy, who caught seven passes for 89 yards to lead Catholic in both categories which were career-highs for Kennedy.


Evan Chromy led the Catholic defense with a career-high 13 tackles, six of which were solo, with 1.5 tackles for loss and a forced fumble. Eric Islami added a season-high nine tackles while Ryan Creston and Hopkins each added eight. Hopkins also led the team with 2.5 TFL's. Ramonte Haigler came up with the game clinching play, an interception on the final Juniata drive of the game to seal the three-point win. 


ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

Chromy's 13 tackle effort earned him Landmark Defensive Athlete of the Week for the first time in his career. He became the first Catholic player to earn the award this season and the first since Sean Holt earned the honor on Oct. 21.

TEAM LEADERS

Gulbin has overtaken the team lead in passing yards after getting the start in the past two games with 505 and four touchdown passes. Harvin remains the team's leading rusher with 281 yards while averaging 5.5 per carry. Smith has 177 yards on the ground, averaging 6.5 yards per rush.

Nole Henry enters the game leading the team in receiving with 18 catches for 236 yards and two touchdown catches. Cade Chrebet also has 18 receptions on the year for 204 yards and a touchdown. Tabor hauled in two passes, including a touchdown, last weekend to reach 100 receptions for his career.

CARDINAL WEEKEND

At halftime of the game, Catholic will welcome back members of the 1989 football team to celebrate one of the most successful seasons in program history. The 1989 team posted the best varsity record since 1939, finishing the season 8-2 while setting multiple team records including most rushing attempts in a season and a single game.

SCOUTING MORAVIAN

The Greyhounds are still looking for their first win of the season, entering this weekend at 0-6. Moravian is coming off a loss to Wilkes last week, 26-7, which is the lone common opponent that the two teams have this season. 

Moravian is averaging 172.2 yards per game on offense to this point, with 116 of those coming through the air on average. The Greyhounds have started three different players at quarterback this season, but RJ Hart has seen the most action, throwing for 224 yards and two touchdowns. Avery Koser has been the favorite target at wide receiver as he leads the team with 17 catches for 232 yards and four touchdowns.

The Greyhounds have struggled on the ground this season, averaging 56.3 yards per game on run plays and just 1.9 yards per carry. Joey Richmond, Jed Bendekovits and Dorian Thomas all split the carries and all have just over 100 yards thus far this season.

Aidan Lane leads the Moravian defense with 44 tackles, 20 of which are solo and 2.5 TFL's. Nathan Carr leads the team in TFL's with 4.5 and 28 tackles in total.

Moravian is among the top teams in the country in net punting, ranking 17th in the nation. Their punter, Jack Corrigan is fifth in the country in punting averaging 44 yards per punt.