WASHINGTON, D.C.  – The Catholic football team returns to Cardinal Stadium for the first time in the 2026 season on Saturday afternoon to take on Carnegie Mellon at 12 pm. This will be the first meeting between the two programs since 2013.

DIII SERIES HISTORY: Carnegie Mellon leads 3-2

In a series that dates back to 1992, the Tartans hold a slight edge in the all-time series by three games to two over the Cardinals. Carnegie Mellon won the first matchup between the programs 28-12 but the teams have split the last four meetings.

Catholic came away with a 19-7 victory over Carnegie Mellon the last time the program's met 14 years ago. The scoring began on a blocked punt by Leif Colberg for the Cardinals that was returned nine yards for a touchdown to make it 7-0. Peter Rosa knocked in a pair of field goals from 27 and 35 yards to help Catholic take a 13-7 lead into halftime. The final blow for the Cardinals came in the third quarter on a seven yard touchdown pass to secure the 12-point win.

LAST TIME OUT

Catholic opened the season last Friday against McDaniel on the road and came up short with a 13-7 loss to fall to 0-1 on the season. Brady McBride got the start at quarterback and finished 17-for-33 for 148 yards with one touchdown and one interception. The Cardinals lone score came on a 4th and 14 when McBride slung a 24-yard touchdown pass to Jake Melograna up the far sideline, which was Melograna's first career touchdown reception. Adrian Fresen also had a solid performance with career-highs in both receptions and yards with seven snatches for 68 yards.

All 13 points allowed by the defense came in the second quarter but the Cardinals held the Green Terror to 269 yards of offense and just four yards per play. McDaniel was also held to just 3-for-14 on third down and Catholic also came up with two fourth down stops on the plus side of the field and came up with one turnover. 

Billy Turner turned in an impressive collegiate debut, leading the team with nine tackles and two hits on the quarterback. Sean Finan and Ryan Creston each finished with seven tackles as well to help the defensive effort. Finan, Turner, Matt Ragusa, Josh Hunt and Daniel Moore all had tackles for loss for the Cardinals defense. 

SCOUTING THE TARTANS

Carnegie Mellon is coming off a season-opening loss at home to the preseason eighth-ranked team in the country, John Carroll, 17-7. The Tartans were held to just 115 yards of offense and were 2-for-12 on third down and a solid defensive effort kept them in the game throughout regulation. The lone score of the game came on defense for Carnegie Mellon with a scoop and score from Nick McCullough to go along with a Tai Mann interception.

The Tartans are coming off a 6-5 season a year ago and they picked up a bowl victory over Misericordia in the Centennial-MAC Bowl series, 24-17. Carnegie Mellon was picked to finish second in the Centennial preseason poll and came into this season receiving votes in the AFCA preseason top 25. 

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.