JEFFREY REINHART jreinhart@LNPnews.com
COACH – Bruce Harbach (Just completed his 7th season; 63-22 overall).
SECTION 3 RECORD – 7-0 (champs).
OVERALL RECORD – 13-2 (Lost to Philadelphia West Catholic in the PIAA Double-A state semifinals).
RESULTS – Trinity (L 20-0), Ephrata (W 44-7), @ Manheim Central (W 21-8), Donegal (W 35-12), @ Lampeter-Strasburg (W 21-17), @ Pequea Valley (W 68-14), Northern Lebanon (W 61-0), @ Columbia (W 49-13), Annville-Cleona (W 55-13), @ Elco (W 42-7), Biglerville (W 42-14), Wyomissing (W 45-7), Middletown (W 41-0), Mount Carmel (W 41-28), Philadelphia West Catholic (L 37-14).
SIGNATURE WIN – It would be easy to pick the district-championship game or even the punch-you-in-the-mouth victory over Mount Carmel. But in my book, Catholic’s 21-8 win over Manheim Central takes the cake. It was on the road. It was Section 3 beating Section 2. It was Double-A beating Triple-A. Catholic held Central to 88 yards and three first downs that night – in a driving rainstorm on the turf in Manheim. The loss certainly motivated Central, which went on to run the table in Section 2 and make the District 3 Triple-A finals. Catholic remained hot, running the table in Section 3 and going all the way to the state semifinals. That game was billed as the L-L League Super Bowl – as will next year’s game, I’m sure. Week 3 in 2009 – Central at Catholic. I think I just officially kicked off the hype for that game.
POINTS FOR – 579 (38.6 per game).
POINTS AGAINST – 197 (13.1 per game).
SCORING MARGIN – Plus-382.
FUMBLES LOST – 10.
INTERCEPTIONS – 5.
FUMBLES RECOVERED – 10.
INTERCEPTIONS FOR – 20.
TURNOVER RATIO – Plus-15.
PENALTIES – 103 for 841 yards.
PUNTS – 34 for 36.7 average.
FIRST DOWNS – 247.
RUSHING YARDS – 2,641.
PASSING YARDS – 3,252.
TOTAL TEAM OFFENSE – 392.9 yards per game.
RUSHING YARDS AGAINST – 1,792.
PASSING YARDS AGAINST – 1,240.
TOTAL TEAM DEFENSE – 202.1 yards per game.
LEADING RUSHER – Jordan Stewart (170 carries for 1,001 yards, 5.9 avg., 15 TD).
LEADING PASSER – Kyle Smith (181-of-278 for 3,193 yards, 42 TD, 5 picks, 207.8 QB rating).
LEADING RECEIVERS – Travis Jankowski (57 catches for 1,192 yards, 20.6 avg., 20 TD), Tyler Purvis (55 catches for 1,158 yards, 21.4 avg., 12 TD).
FUN STAT – Several to pass along, so sit tight … QB Kyle Smith set five new school marks this season, including: most pass attempts in a season (278), most passing yards in a game (324), Most passing yards in a season (3,193), most TD passes in a game (6) and most TD passes in a season (42). Also, Travis Jankowski set the record for most receiving yards in one season. Jankowski also set the school record for most TD catches in a season (20). And Purvis set the program record for best punting average in one season (36.7). Yeah, Catholic punted every once in a while. What a season for these guys. Unforgettable.
MVP – Kyle Smith, junior QB. 3,193 passing yards … 42 TD passes … just 5 picks. ‘Nuff said. Barring anything goofy, he should/could finish his career at Catholic as Pennsylvania’s all-time career leader in passing yards and career touchdown passes. And that pretty much says it all.
