Crusaders’ junior signal-caller takes on the New Era’s 5 Questions …
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Kyle Smith continues to amaze.
Lancaster Catholic’s scintillating junior lefty quarterback torched Annville-Cleona last Friday night, completing 10-of-16 passes for 196 yards and a school-record six touchdowns in the Crusaders’ runaway 55-13 win.
Catholic (6-0 Section 3, 8-1 overall) clinched at least a tie for the section crown with the win, and the Crusaders can win the championship outright with a win Friday at Elco (5-1, 6-3).
For his efforts, Smith – an Associated Press Double-A All-State pick last fall – is the New Era Player of the Week.
Through nine weeks, Smith is the L-L League’s top-ranked passer. He’s completed 99-of-160 passes for 1,783 yards with 25 touchdown passes against just three interceptions. He has not thrown a pick since Week 4. In fact, since Week 4, Smith has thrown 16 TD passes and no interceptions.
His QB efficiency rating is a gaudy 203.3.
College recruiters are already lining up to inherit Smith’s services. Smith participated in camps at Penn State, Pitt, Princeton and Duke this past summer, and it’s only a matter of time before the offers start piling up.
“He’s a great kid,” Catholic coach Bruce Harbach said. “He’s the kind of kid every coach would love to have in his program. Every time he steps on the field – practice, walk-through or in the summer – he wants to get better. He’s that kind of a kid. He’s a student of the game, and he makes everyone around him better.”
After studying Elco on film at the end of practice Monday, Smith sat down and tackled the New Era’s 5 Questions …
IF YOU BEAT ELCO ON FRIDAY, YOU WIN THE SECTION CROWN OUTRIGHT. HOW IMPORTANT IS THAT TO YOU GUYS?
“Our first goal is to win the section championships, especially this season after what happened at the end of last season (when Catholic lost to Northern Lebanon in Week 10 and had to share the crown with Lampeter-Strasburg). It left a bad taste in our mouth having to share it last year. … The only revenge would be to get the section title outright.”
YOU WERE LOCKED IN A TIGHT GAME AT THE HALF AGAINST ANNVILLE-CLEONA. WHAT HAPPENED IN THE SECOND HALF?
“We made some great halftime adjustments and the line came out and picked up the blitzes in the second half. That gave me time to get the ball downfield and make some big plays. … Every week you can throw out the records in Week 3. It’s a meat grinder. We get everybody’s best game every week. So we need to be focused on each game, one game at a time.”
INTRODUCE US TO YOUR OFFENSIVE LINE, AND GIVE THOSE GUYS SOME LOVE:
“The left tackle is Nick Schmalhofer, the left guard is Andrew Foltz, the center is Ben Wachsman, the right guard is Andrew Heise and the right tackle is Ross Hall. … We’re blessed to have a great offensive line. Those guys are the backbone of our football team. They might get overlooked because they don’t have any flashy statistics. But they grind it out for us.”
YOU HAVE ONLY BEEN PICKED OFF THREE TIMES ALL SEASON. DO YOU TAKE A LOT OF PRIDE IN NOT TURNING THE BALL OVER?
“I don’t want to cost my team the game by throwing a bad interception. I want to keep the ball in our hands and give us a shot to score every time we touch the ball. … That’s our goal: to score every time we have the ball; a touchdown or a field goal. And we have the confidence to do that.”
WHAT’S THE BEST ADVICE YOU’VE EVER RECEIVED, AND WHO GAVE IT TO YOU?
“My parents give me great quotes all the time about staying focused. They pound in family and education first, and taking care of what you have to do and everything will fall into place. That’s pretty much what I follow in football and in school work.”
