WASHINGTON, D.C.  – The Catholic football team prepares to take on Western Connecticut in another Landmark Conference bout for Cardinal Weekend at 1 pm on Cardinal Stadium. This will be the second conference contest between the two programs since the Wolves joined the Landmark last season.

DIII SERIES HISTORY: Western Connecticut leads 2-1

This is a series that dates back to a 19-3 Catholic victory over West Conn on November 11, 1990, which was the last time the two programs met in DC. The Wolves and Cardinals squared off again the next season as West Conn pulled off a slim 23-21 victory to even the all-time series back up at one. 

The series was revived last season when the Wolves knocked off the Cardinals 52-19 in what was the first conference matchup that the two programs have played. Kevin Barton had a hand in all three Catholic touchdowns on the day as he threw for a career-high three passing touchdowns with Nole Henry hauling in one of them.

LAST TIME OUT

Catholic suffered a defeat to 22nd-ranked Susquehanna in its week six matchup, 45-21, after falling into a 28-0 hole in the first half. In the loss the Cardinals rushed for a season-high 103 yards as a team, just under five yards per carry, with Lamar West Jr. leading the way, totaling 70 yards on six rushes. 

Charles Gulbin slightly eclipsed his career-high in passing yards with 279 yards through the air on 36 completions which included a pair of passing touchdowns. Henry made his return at wide receiver for the Cardinals and he hauled in the most passes by a Catholic player since 2019 with 13 receptions for 90 yards and a score. Adrian Fresen added the other receiving touchdown, the first of his career, and also totaled a game-high 94 receiving yards. Keegan Eichert added the other touchdown for the Cardinals on an eight-yard run, his third consecutive game with a touchdown run. 

Billy Turner led the game in tackles with a 10 tackle performance, his third game with 10 or more tackles on the season. Four other Cardinals finished in a tie for second with six tackles each and the team forced a season-high four turnovers, bringing their season total to nine, including an interception by Jsai Smith which was the first of his career. 

THREE-HEADED MONSTER

The Cardinals air raid offense has paid dividends for the receivers room this season as the team has three players in the top 10 in the Landmark in receiving yards; Fresen, Bobby Hartman and Hunter Boyd. Hartman is the conference leader in receptions with 37, eight more than the next closest player, while sitting at third in the league in yards with 353.

Fresen has done the bulk of his damage over the past two weeks but still sits at fifth in the conference in receiving yards with 278 on 25 catches. Despite missing two games, Boyd currently holds the eighth-most receiving yards in the league with 203 on 21 receptions.

Catholic's passing attack continues to be the best in the conference this season with 242.5 yards per game in the air which is 20 more yards per game than the next closest team and it is tied for second in passing touchdowns. The Cardinals also enter the weekend as the third best unit in total offense in the Landmark.

FRESHMAN PHENOM

Turner continues to turn heads on the defensive side of the ball as the leading tackler on the Cardinals this season, while ranking third in the conference in that category. His 56 tackles also ranks in the top 50 in the nation in that category.

SCOUTING THE WOLVES

West Conn enters Saturday's game with a 2-2 record on the season and coming off a bye week. The Wolves picked up their first Landmark win of the season last time out with a 29-0 victory over Moravian. Their other victory came back in week one against William Patterson by a score of 27-17. 

The Wolves are currently second in the Landmark in both scoring (22.8 PPG) and total (356.8 YPG) offense only trailing Susquehanna in both categories. Quasim Benson has received the bulk of the carries for West Conn this season and he has delivered the third-most rushing yards in the league this season with 294 and four rushing touchdowns. Through the air, the Wolves starting quarterback Dylan Jackson leads the conference in yards per game with 232.5 while completing 65 percent of his throws. He has tossed four touchdowns to interceptions thus far this year.

Defensively, the Wolves rank third in the conference in yards allowed per game and fourth points per game allowed. Luis Jaquez has been a force rushing the passer for West Conn this season, pacing the Landmark with five sacks on the season thus far and as a team it leads the conference in sacks with 11. Corey Rock-Blanco and Jordan Tyler have each recorded a pair of interceptions on the season.

A NEW REGIME

2026 marks the beginning of a new era for Catholic football as Head Coach Kory David will take the reins of the program in his first season as a head coach. David joins Catholic after spending the previous two seasons as the Defensive Coordinator and Linebackers Coach at Eastern University. During the 2025 season, David coordinated a defense that led the MAC Freedom in scoring, rushing, passing and total defense, helping the program earn an automatic bid into the NCAA Playoffs with the first MAC Championship in program history. The Eagles came away with a 28-24 victory over Franklin and Marshall to advance to the Sweet 16 which was the first postseason victory for the program. David along with the rest of the Eastern staff was named the 2025 MAC Coaching Staff of the Year after putting together a 10-2 season.

David also brings along two new coordinators with him in Shawn Glosek and Drew Ehrlich who both come to the district from Washington and Jefferson. Both coaches helped the Presidents to an 8-3 record last season with a PAC championship and a trip to the NCAA Tournament. 

PRESEASON POLL

The Cardinals were picked to finish fifth in the Landmark in this season's preseason poll, earning 14 points coming in front of Moravian and Juniata. 

The reigning three-time conference champion Susquehanna were picked to once again win the Landmark crown, capturing 34 points in the poll and four of the possible six first place votes. Lycoming finished second in the poll and received two first place votes while Wilkes rounded out the top three with 29 points.