BETHLEHEM, Pa.  – The Catholic football team hits the road on Saturday afternoon to begin the second half of the conference schedule against Moravian. This will be the fourth straight season the programs have met since the Landmark formed in 2023.

DIII SERIES HISTORY: Moravian leads 2-1

The Cardinals and Greyhounds had never met on the football field until joining the same conference three years ago as Moravian took the very first matchup 36-28 on October 7, 2023 on Cardinal Stadium. The last time the two teams met in Bethlehem, Moravian pulled out a convincing 34-14 victory where they put up over 400 yards of offense.

Catholic picked up its first ever win against Moravian last season at home in a thrilling 26-20 contest that ended in overtime. Charles Gulbin threw for 206 yards and three touchdowns, all of which were hauled in by Andrew Tabor, who caught six passes for 95 yards. The two connected for the game-winning touchdown from 14 yards away to secure the victory. Ryan Creston spearheaded the Cardinals defensive efforts as he led the team with nine tackles while also coming up with an interception in the red zone. 

LAST TIME OUT

Catholic recorded the first win in the Kory David era last week in a hard-fought battle against Western Connecticut, 28-27, to move to 1-6 on the season. The Cardinals rushed for a season-high 158 yards while averaging 5.3 per carry with Lamar West Jr. getting a bulk of the load. The freshman toted the rock 17 times for a career-high 145 yards to go along with a 67-yard touchdown run. 

Gulbin threw a pair of touchdown passes, making it three consecutive games with multiple touchdowns for him, as Nole Henry and Adrian Fresen were each on the receiving end of one. Keegan Eichert accounted for the other Catholic touchdown in the game on a four-yard dash to the left corner of the endzone, making it four straight games with a rushing touchdown for him. 

The Cardinals forced two turnovers on the defensive side of the ball highlighted by the first career interception for Jsai Smith, whose 53-yard return set the offense up inside the Wolves 10. Maximus Desir returned to the field and made an impact with a season-high nine tackles, including half a sack. Evan Chromy and Billy Turner both came up with eight tackles while Aaron Perkins and De'Marcus Rudd each notched their first sack of the season. The defense forced two key turnovers on downs on the final two West Conn drives to secure the one-point victory.

GROUND AND POUND

West Jr.'s 145 yard effort this past Saturday earned him Landmark Offensive Athlete of the Week honors making him the first Catholic player to do so this season. West Jr. is now the team's leading rusher with 262 yards on 39 rushes as he picked up his first career touchdown on Saturday. He has shined over the past two weeks with 215 yards on 23 carries to average 9.3 yards per rush. He currently ranks second in the Landmark in yards per carry on the season among players with 35 or more rushes this year. 

As a team after struggling to get the run game going early in the season, Catholic has rushed for over 100 yards in its last two contests against West Conn and Susquehanna. The Cardinals have scored five rushing touchdowns in conference play thus far which is tied for second-most in the Landmark. 

STAND OUT WIDE OUTS

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, five 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 three weeks but still sits at sixth in the conference in receiving yards with 285 on 28 catches. Despite missing two games, Boyd currently holds the 11th-most receiving yards in the league with 203 on 21 receptions. 

Despite not playing until the past two weeks, Henry has shot up the conference leader board in receptions as he 22 is tied for the seventh-most in the league. Two weeks ago against Susquehanna, he caught a career-high 13 passes, the most by a Catholic receiver since 2019. 


Catholic's passing attack continues to be one of the best in the conference this season with 220.3 yards per game in the air which ranks in a tie for second and it is third in the Landmark in passing touchdowns with 13. The Cardinals also enter the weekend as the third best unit in total offense in the Landmark.

FABULOUS FRESHMEN

The Catholic defense has had two freshman step in a huge way throughout the season in Turner and Smith as each are near the top of the conference in several statistical categories. Turner enters the weekend as the second-leading tackler in the conference with 64, just five off the leader. He ranks in the top 50 in the country in tackles among all Division III players. He is also tied for the lead in the Landmark with a pair of fumble recoveries on the season. 

Smith comes into the week as the league leader in pass break ups this season with seven while also being tied for second in interceptions with two. His nine passes defended on the season are tied for the 12th most in the country.

SCOUTING MORAVIAN

The Greyhounds are sixth in the Landmark Conference in total offense at 260.4 yards per game, and the squad is fourth in passing offense at 210.6 yards per game. Sophomore running back Dorian Thomas is fifth in the conference at 46.8 yards per game and tied for sixth in scoring at 5.1 points per game while junior quarterback Antonino Russo ranks fourth in passing yards per game at 200.2 and he is fifth the conference with a 115.5 efficiency rating and third in total offense at 200.4 yards per game. Senior wide receiver Avery Koser is tied for seventh in receptions at four per game and fifth in yards per game at 49.7 while junior wide receiver Josh Ludlow is sixth in receptions at 4.1 per game. Freshman Trevon Tyler ranks second in kickoff returns with an average of 26.6 yards per return while freshman punter Blake Caruso is seventh in the conference with an average of 33.3 yards per punt. 

Senior defensive back Aidan Lane is second in the Landmark Conference in tackles at 9.9 stops per contest, and he is tied for sixth in interceptions at 0.29 per game. Sophomore linebacker Jamie Gutridge is fourth in the conference at nine tackles per contest while sophomore linebacker Gerard Sheehan is 12th at 6.1 tackles per outing. Senior defensive lineman Kaelyb Barahona and sophomore defensive back Knowledge Young are tied for 13th in tackles at six per game, and Young is second in passes defended at 1.14 per game and tied for sixth in interceptions at 0.29 per contest. Junior defensive Jack Tosh is fifth in tackles for loss at 1.10 per outing.  

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.