JEFFREY REINHART jreinhart@LNPnews.com

Caught up with Lancaster Catholic sophomore QB Kyle Smith and a few of his Crusaders’ teammates this week. What a breakout season for Smith, who has settled into his role quite nicely, thank you. Big game on Friday: L-S at Catholic. How will the Crusaders’ super soph do? Read on: 

The quote stuck out like a sore thumb.

“Talk about poise for a sophomore,” Lancaster Catholic coach Bruce Harbach told reporters last Friday after his Crusaders rallied past Elco 31-14.

“He’s got a Chad Henne personality. He doesn’t get rattled.”

He is Kyle Smith, Catholic’s lefty sophomore quarterback, who has burst on to the Lancaster-Lebanon League scene after throwing for 874 yards and nine touchdowns in his first four varsity starts – leading the Crusaders to a 3-1 mark in the process.

Harbach was an assistant coach at Wilson for Henne’s freshman and sophomore seasons. Henne, who is the second-leading passer in L-L League history, is at Michigan now, and despite some injury woes, he’s one of the best quarterbacks in the nation, and will very likely hear his name called at the NFL Draft next spring.

And here’s Harbach, comparing and contrasting his 15-yeard-old, baby-faced first-year starter with one of the best quarterbacks to ever come out of the L-L League?

Hear him out:

“Kyle plays the game the way it’s supposed to be played — with a lot of intensity,” Harbach said before practice Wednesday.

“That’s exactly how Chad was when he was a sophomore. When I was at Wilson with Chad, he never came off the field all hyped up or jumping up and down. He’d come over and sit down – even after he threw a touchdown pass.

“Chad always had the same demeanor – on and off the field. Kyle is exactly the same way.”

Nobody can predict that Smith’s career will emulate Henne’s. But the kid sure is off to a great start.

“It’s a great honor to even be mentioned in the same breath as Chad Henne,” said Smith, who took over the reins from Nick Downey, who helped lead the Crusaders to the last two Section 3 titles and to the District 3 Double-A crown in 2005.

“Henne is a great quarterback,” Smith said. “He’s got great poise. I watched him when I was a kid, and now I watch him play for Michigan. He’s one of the guys I study and learn from.”

According to Harbach, Smith is a quick learner. He’s already a film-room junkie, and he’s constantly picking Harbach’s brain about defensive coverages and offensive schemes.

The hard work is paying dividends: Through four games Smith has completed 65 percent of his passes – 51-of-79 – and he’s thrown just one pick since Week 1, when Catholic dropped a gut-wrenching 15-14 non-league game to Trinity.

Having solid skill kids around him has helped, too. Senior wideout Kevin Gibbons leads the team with 21 receptions. Senior wideout Dan Sweigart has eight catches – two for touchdowns – and averages 16.9 yards per catch. And junior wideout Travis Jankowski averages 30.5 yards per catch, and five of his 10 receptions have gone for touchdowns.

“We’re all confident in Kyle’s ability,” Catholic lineman Nick Schmalhofer said. “He plays like a senior. And he’s not afraid to yell at an upperclassman if he’s doing something wrong. He’s a great leader. He motivates us. After our very first practice, we all sort of forgot that he’s only a sophomore.”

Smith is authoritative in the huddle. He has already earned the trust from his coaches to call an audible at the line. He’s got the arm strength to go deep. And he’s accurate.

“You come out of your break,” Gibbons said, “and the ball is right there.”

Smith will need to put the ball on the money Friday night, when Catholic welcomes Lampeter-Strasburg in what promises to be one heck of a Section 3 showdown.

The Pioneers (1-0 section, 3-1 overall) and the Crusaders (1-0, 3-1) have won four of the last five Section 3 championships – Catholic the last two; L-S shared a tri-crown with Cocalico and Columbia in 2002 and won it outright in 2003.

Friday’s game will go a long way in determining who will be the last team standing this fall. Columbia (1-0, 4-0) and Northern Lebanon (1-0, 4-0) should also have a major say.

But for Catholic and L-S, the two teams picked to be at the top of the Section 3 heap come Nov. 2, there is a ton riding on this game – perhaps the most anticipated L-L League game this season, and it’s only Week 5.

“It doesn’t get any better than this,” Gibbons said. “Section 3 will be a great race, and every week is a big game. You have to come to play every week. And we love that challenge.”

Smith said the challenge of playing quarterback and leading a team into battle intrigued him since he was a kid.

“That’s why I started playing quarterback in the first place – the challenge,” he said. “I like it when the game is on the line. When the game is on the line, I want the ball in my hands. That’s why you play quarterback.”

Smith is playing quarterback awfully well for Catholic. And you can throw the whole age thing and lack-of-experience thing right out the window. Smith spent countless hours behind the scenes with Downey and his backup, Chris Peyton, last year. He ran the scout team. He practiced against Catholic’s top-ranked defense.

So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Smith has a firm grip on piloting Catholic’s offense, which is averaging 328.8 yards per game – fifth in the league.

Meaning L-S corners Derek Lefever and Jonny Gainer, free safety Justin Taylor and nickel back G.J. Frankford could be busy boys on Friday, chasing Gibbons, Sweigart and Jankowski around while Smith does his thing in the pocket.

“Smith has four strong games under his belt, plus two scrimmages,” L-S coach John Manion noted. “And he’s got some weapons around him. I don’t think we’re going to rattle him because he knows what’s happening out there.”

Which comes back to poise, and Smith, like Henne, has that covered. And that makes Harbach a very happy coach.