Full Game Notes are available as a PDF here.
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OPENING KICKOFF: Today's non-conference game marks the 25th meeting between McDaniel (0-0) and Catholic (0-0) in a series that dates back to 1912. The Green Terror leads the all-time series, 15-9. The Cardinals had won five of the previous six meetings before McDaniel took the last two meetings between the teams in 2017 and 2018.
WHEN LAST WE MET: McDaniel scored three touchdowns in the second quarter and pitched a second-half shutout to defeat Catholic 27-12 in the 2018 season opener. The Green Terror scored three touchdowns from inside the 10-yard line and each freshman kicker hit a fourth-quarter field goal. Davon Ingram caught five passes for a career-best 88 yards. Brady Berger threw for 226 yards, completing 27 of 45 passes to lead the Cardinals.
LAST TIME OUT: Johns Hopkins built a 14-point lead in the first 6:07 en route to a 42-0 win over McDaniel in the 2019 season finale. Kiree Moore led the Green Terror with 11 tackles. John Allan Furgeson (Damascus, Md./Damascus) completed 9 of 13 passes for 111 yards while Jevon Hamilton caught six passes for 96 yards. David Tammaro led the Blue Jays with 236 yards passing, completing 23 of 31 passes with three touchdowns. Harrison Wellmann had 10 catches for 89 yards and a score.
WITH HONORS: The Green Terror returns one of its two all-conference selections from 2019. Nah'shon Godfrey (Baltimore, Md./Archbishop Curley) was tabbed honorable mention. He finished third on the team with 64 tackles, including 47 solo stops. He broke up a team-best four passes and had three interceptions. He also had a forced fumble and fumble recovery to go with 1.0 sacks and 3.0 tackles for loss.
LEADING THE WAY: Mason Brown (Inwood, W.Va./Tuscarora [Md.]), John Allan Furgeson (Gaithersburg, Md./Damascus), Nah'shon Godfrey, and Orbell Keshishi (Silver Spring, Md./Blake) will all captain the squad in 2019. Godfrey is the only returning captain from the 2019 squad.
OPENING STATEMENTS: The Green Terror begins its 126th season of football this afternoon, entering play with a 66-53-6 record on opening day. In McDaniel's last year on the field in 2019, the Green and Gold opened with a 24-14 win over Misericordia at home. It was the only season since 2010 that Catholic has not been the opening weekend foe. The Green Terror and Cardinals renew their opening weekend rivalry in 2021 with an agreement slated to last no fewer than four seasons. Catholic is 5-3 in the opening weekend showdowns since 2011.
REUNITED, AND IT FEELS SO GOOD: McDaniel steps on the field for an actual game for the first time in 658 days. The last time the Green Terror laced them up for a game that counts was Nov. 16, 2019 at home against Johns Hopkins. McDaniel, along with the rest of the Centennial Conference, missed the entire the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic and opted not to play any sort of spring season. The team's last road trip was seven days before the Blue Jays' game in a night game at Susquehanna. You have to go back 672 days to find the last 1:00 kickoff for the Green Terror – Nov. 2, 2019 at Ursinus.
STARTING STRONG: Despite missing all of last year and a host of newcomers to the 2021 squad, McDaniel does return eight starters from the 2019 season – four on offense and four on defense. The offensive line is the most experienced group on the team with three starters back to anchor, including Tracey Easton (Waldorf, Md./North Point) at center. Jared Graybill (Havre de Grace, Md./Havre de Grace) is back at right guard while Orbell Keshishi returns at left tackle. Owen Reese (Forest Hill, Md./Calvert Hall) is back to reprise his role at tight end. On the defensive side, Sam Welcher (Clinton, Md./Gwynn Park) and Mason Brown return up front while Habeeb Baba (Bristol, Pa./Truman) and Nah'shon Godfrey (Baltimore, Md./Baltimore City College) are back in the secondary.
ON THE RUN AGAIN: McDaniel can count on some experience in the offensive skill positions, returning more than 32 percent of its offense from two years ago. However, the vast majority of those yards came from the backfield. Despite the loss of Perry Stefanelli and his team-best 459 rushing yards in 2019, the Green Terror returns the vast majority of its production from the running game in 2019. Nearly 52 percent (501 of 965) of the rushing yards return from 2019. McDaniel will, however, need to find new weapons in the passing game, returning just 18.8 percent (260 of 1382) of its receiving yards from two years ago. Owen Reese, a tight end, and Daqwan Hill (Germantown, Md./The Avalon School), a running back, accounted for more than two-thirds of that returning yardage.
MR. KICK-IT-ALL: The Green Terror is likely to rely on one man for most of its kicking responsibilities once again in 2021. Peyton Denlinger (Lancaster, Pa./Lampeter-Strasburg) handled all of the punting duties in 2019 – a role he is expected to reprise as a senior. He booted the ball 67 times for an average of 36.4 yards per punt, which ranked fifth in the conference. He had 14 punts inside the 20 and just four touchbacks with 20 fair catches. He was also 7-for-13 in field-goal attempts and 13-for-16 in extra-point attempts and is once again expected to be called upon in those situations.
NEW FACES: After not playing a game in 2020, Demarcus White had to assemble a virtually entire new staff prior to the 2021 campaign. Scott Browning returns to run the offense while White remains in charge of the defense and special teams. Tyrone Saterfield returns to the Green Terror sidelines as defensive line coach after serving on staff in 2017 and 2018. David Sartin comes to Westminster to take charge of the offensive line with more than 20 years of coaching experience. Cornell Wade and Brendan Webster round out the staff with charge of the running backs and wide receivers, respectively.
TERROR TIDBITS: McDaniel has no fewer than 66 players on its roster who were not part of the team the last time it played a competitive game. Nearly three-quarters (89 of 119) of the Green Terror has not taken a varsity collegiate snap… Fifteen of those found their way onto the opening weekend two-deep, including a pair of freshmen in the starting defensive lineup.
COACHES' CORNER: Demarcus White enters his third year in charge of the McDaniel program and second season with games. White went 3-7 in his first season at the helm after serving the previous three seasons on staff as defensive coordinator. Since arriving in 2016, his scheme has consistently put pressure on opposing offenses. In each of the previous three seasons, his defenses finished in the top six in the conference in total defense, pass defense and sacks. The unit produced 74 sacks and 20 interceptions in the last three seasons. He has helped produce five all-conference defenders in those three seasons, including a first-team selection in linebacker Jarius Ransom. He previously had stops at Iona, ASA College and Rutgers prior to his time on the Hill… Mike Gutelius returns for his fourth season at the helm, guiding the Cardinals to an 8-22 since taking over prior to the 2017 season. He joined Catholic with more than two decades of coaching experience that includes 14 years as a coordinator. A 1992 alumnus, he served the previous seven seasons as defensive coordinator at Lindsey Wilson, helping guide the program to three straight NAIA Football Championship Series appearances. He was selected as the 2015 American Football Coaches Association NAIA Assistant of the Year. Before Lindsey Wilson, Gutelius spent six seasons as Concord's (W.Va.) assistant head coach and defensive coordinator. Prior to Concord, he spent two seasons as defensive ends coach at Wingate. He has also coached at La Verne and St. Norbert. Additionally, Gutelius has also coached at Catholic, joining the staff immediately after graduation and spent one season as an assistant coach in 1992.
THE WORD ON CATHOLIC: The Cardinals enter the 2021 season having also missed the entire 2020 campaign. Catholic capped a 2-8 season in 2019 with a 28-13 victory at Maine Maritime to close the season on Nov. 16. The only other win of the year came two weeks earlier 31-27 at home against Norwich on a six-yard Trey Carson-to-Evan O'Donnell touchdown pass with six seconds remaining… The Cardinals are just 3-17 over their two seasons of competition. The team's last five wins have come against Norwich and Maine Maritime. The last win over a team other than one of those two squads was a 20-14 win at Coast Guard on Sept. 30, 2017… Catholic will have to turn to a new starting quarterback in 2021. Evan O'Donnell threw 47 passes as a freshman, including getting one start late in the season. He completed 53.2 percent of his passes for 438 yards and three touchdowns. Devin Miles also has experience under center, going 22-for-47 for 188 yards in 2019… The Cardinals have just one running back with a collegiate carry. Andrew Comeau toted the rock 59 times for 197 yards as a rookie in 2019. He also had 26 grabs out of the backfield for 143 yards as the leading returning receiver as well… Only three of Catholic's top nine tacklers are back on defense in 2019. Dieter Kerat had 57 stops, including four for loss, and two fumble recoveries from the linebacker position. Gabe Aparicio and Noah Miller are back in the secondary after 45 and 32 tackles, respectively. Aparicio also had two interceptions and two breakups while Miller had one pick in his rookie year.
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