WESTMINISTER, Md.  – The Catholic football team begins the 2026 season on the road at Kenneth R. Gill Stadium against McDaniel with kickoff scheduled for 7:30 pm. The Cardinals and Green Terror will square off for the sixth consecutive season in week one. 

DIII SERIES HISTORY: Catholic leads 11-10

The Cardinals have had success against the Green Terror in recent years, winning four of the last five matchups dating back to 2021. In the matchup last season, Catholic pulled out a narrow victory in a defensive battle that ended with a Brent Fardette III 35-yard game-winning field goal to secure a 10-7 victory. The Cardinals have won six of the last 10 contests with the largest win coming in 2021 when they rolled to a 40-7 win. 

Evan Chromy led the defensive charge for the Cardinals in the victory last season with nine tackles, including two TFL's as the team held the Green Terror to 257 yards and only 135 yards through the air (5.4 Y/A). Catholic opened the ballgame with a seven play 61-yard touchdown drive, capped off by Brady McBride finding an open receiver in the back of the endzone for a 15 yard score. The Cardinals also milked 6:06 off the clock on the final drive of the game to set up the game-winning field goal.

Catholic is 5-5 all-time when facing McDaniel on the road, but dropped the previous road matchup 7-3 in 2024. The Cardinals largest road victory over the Green Terror was 48-16 back in 2013.

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. 

ON THE OFFENSE

Catholic returns three quarterbacks from a season ago who saw game action, Kevin Barton, Charles Gulbin and McBride. Gulbin led the team in passing yards and touchdowns a season ago with 1,065 yards and nine touchdowns in eight games played. McBride also played in eight games and passed for 476 yards and two touchdowns while Barton finished with 199 yards and three touchdowns.

To go along with the quarterbacks, Nole Henry returns as the top pass catcher from a season ago as he hauled in 29 passes for 388 yards and three touchdowns. He went for career-highs in receptions and yards against Juniata last season with 6 catches for 78 yards and three touchdowns. In the running game, despite losing its top rusher from a season ago, Chris Smith returns after averaging 5.5 yards on 34 carries with a touchdown in his freshman season. The freshman had a breakout performance against Juniata last season with 108 yards and a touchdown in a 20-17 victory for Catholic. Keegan Eichert and Kyle Comstock both also return in the backfield as guys who saw significant playing time last season.

ON THE DEFENSE

On the other side of the ball, the Cardinals top tackler from a season ago returns at linebacker in Chromy. The senior was top 10 in the Landmark in tackles last season with 74 and was also top 10 in the conference in TFL's with nine. Maximus Desir also returns at linebacker after totaling 39 tackles in his freshman campaign. Up front, Matt Ragusa was tied for second on the team in sacks and fourth in tackles for loss. 

On the back end for Catholic, Ryan Creston returns at safety after being a key contributor last season with 39 tackles and an interception. Creston shined against Moravian last season with nine tackles and his lone interception as the Cardinals pulled out an overtime victory. 

ALL-LANDMARK RETURNERS

Both Chromy and Ragusa earned All-Landmark honors last season for the defense with Chromy landing a spot on the Second Team. Ragusa was an Honorable Mention All-Landmark honoree and it was the first All-Landmark nod in the career of both players.