WASHINGTON, D.C.  – The Catholic football team returns to Cardinal Stadium after back-to-back road contests to take on 22nd-ranked Susquehanna for Family Weekend at 12 pm on Cardinal Stadium. This weekend will be just the fourth all-time meeting between the two programs.

DIII SERIES HISTORY: Susquehanna leads 3-0

The two programs had never met before on the gridiron until the River Hawks joined the Landmark in 2023 and they have enjoyed three victories over the Cardinals over the past three seasons. In the last matchup, Susquehanna came away with a 69-13 victory in which they finished the game with 546 yards of total offense. 

The last time the two teams met in Cardinal Stadium, Susquehanna walked away with a 48-14 victory in which it out-gained Catholic 589-266.

LAST TIME OUT

Catholic opened up conference play on the road against Lycoming and wound up dropping the contest 49-25. Charles Gulbin got his first start of the season at quarterback against the Warriors and finished the game going 31-for-49 for a career-high 271 yards and a touchdown. His best receiver on the afternoon was Adrian Fresen, who hauled in 11 passes for 104 yards, both of which were career-highs. Bobby Hartman also caught a career-high eight passes and also scored the first touchdown of his career.

Billy Turner once again had a stand out effort on the defensive side of the ball, leading the team with eight tackles, including seven solo. He also added a tackle for loss and came up with the first interception of his career, while John Brown finished with a career-high seven tackles, including a tackle for loss. 

CONFERENCE LEADERS

The Cardinals as a team enter the weekend as the leading passing attack in the Landmark on the season thus far, averaging 235.2 yards per game through the air. Their nine passing touchdowns on the season rank second in the conference only behind the River Hawks. 

Hartman has been one of the top receivers in the conference thus far as he has caught 29 passes, which tops the Landmark, while he sits at fourth in the conference with 295 yards. Fresen is also top 10 in both receptions and yards in the Landmark with 20 catches for 184 yards on the season. 

Turner remains to be one of the top tacklers in the Landmark this season as he sits in the top five with 46 to lead the team. Jsai Smith is tied for fourth in the conference in pass deflections this season with four. 

SCOUTING SUSQUEHANNA

The River Hawks are coming off a bye week, but in their most recent game against Christopher Newport in Week four they suffered a 21-0 defeat. Matt Surtz led the River Hawks' rushing attack with 79 yards on 17 carries, while Sam McCracken added 30 yards on three attempts and Drew Hutchins contributed 21 yards on eight carries. Tommy Wright completed 13-of-30 passes for 153 yards, while Frankie Williams added one completion for four yards. Robert Stolfa led the receiving corps with two catches for 59 yards, including a 34-yard reception. Jimmy Fusaro added three catches for 34 yards.

Wright enters the game as the second leading passer in the Landmark this season with 890 yards while leading the conference in passing touchdowns with 10. The River Hawks have three different receivers in the top 10 in the Landmark in receiving yards. Susquehanna also comes in as the top rushing team in the conference with 177.8 yards per game on the ground. 

The River Hawks also have the top defense in the Landmark allowing just 255 yards per game and 4.2 yards per play. They have also allowed just 339 yards on the ground thus far 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.