This post will probably make Kyle Smith uncomfortable.

Lancaster Catholic’s sensational senior quarterback normally sidesteps praise as though it were a blitzing linebacker. I’ve probably interviewed him 100 times since he first stepped under center for the Crusaders as a sophomore, and I’ve never once heard him accept a compliment without quickly passing the credit along to his teammates. Though he plays the most glamorous position on the field, Smith is the ultimate team-first guy.

But let’s face it: It’s nearly impossible to conceive of Lancaster Catholic winning the state championship this season without Smith calling the signals. Saturday’s 21-14 victory over Greensburg Central Catholic capped his brilliant three-year career as the Crusaders’ starting quarterback and provided a perfect ending to his record-breaking season.

The most impressive thing about Lancaster Catholic’s victory on Saturday is how the game was won. The snowy conditions — thanks for ignoring common sense by deciding not to postpone the game, PIAA — meant that the Crusaders had to scrap about half of their playbook. They simply couldn’t call as many pass plays as they would have liked.

On paper, at least, that was a huge advantage for Greensburg Central Catholic. Indeed, to hear how they players were whooping it up when they arrived at the stadium and saw the ground covered in white, the Centurions certainly thought so.

But even though was held to season lows in completions (four) and passing yards (35), Smith was still a factor in the game. Two of those completions came on the Crusaders’ decisive scoring drive — one to Purvis, who made a circus catch while slipping to the ground, and another to tight end Andrew Millay to give the Crusaders a first down inside the GCC 10.

Smith capped that march himself, stretching the ball across the goal line on a quarterback sneak from inside the 1. Initially, he appeared to be stopped short, but he willed himself forward and got the ball across the line just before his knees hit the ground to give the Crusaders their first lead with 5:29 left in the third quarter. 

Catholic’s defense did the rest. Though Greensburg’s star running back, David Miller, eclipsed the 100-yard mark and the Centurions wound up outgaining the Crusaders in total yards, Catholic kept them off the scoreboard for the final three quarters.

As the Crusaders and their ecstatic fans celebrated with the championship trophy on the Hersheypark Stadium sidelines, Smith paused to reflect on a brilliant 16-week campaign. Though he never admitted it prior to the season, it was clear that winning a state title was his ultimate goal, ever since the Crusaders bowed out in last year’s semifinal round.

That’s why Smith decided to forgo most of the individual quarterback camps this summer, preferring to attend 7-on-7 camps and summer workouts with his teammates. That decision could ultimately cost Smith an athletic scholarship at a big-time college program — something he’s certainly talented enough to warrant.

The gold trophy he and his teammates earned on Saturday vindicated that decision. And Smith said it was worth it.

“I knew that the entire season,” he said. “It doesn’t take a state championship for me to realize that the right thing to do was to stay home and work out with my teammates. I’m actually glad I did. I got to form a special bond with them, one I’ll never forget. This is just icing on the cake for me, really. They worked so hard, and I’m just glad I could be a part of it.”

Smith’s lack of scholarship offers has been one of the biggest mysteries of the season. It’s been written about and talked about to death, and yet we’re no closer to an answer. He’s got offers on his plate from Richmond and Akron — respectable schools, certainly, but a kid with Smith’s size, talent and brains should be buried under a pile of recruiting letters and scholarship offers by now. Getting an offer from the University of Georgia to join the team as a preferred walk-on is a start, but there should be some concrete offers coming his way.

Smith said all season long that the recruiting would take care of itself — he had a football season to concentrate on. Now that the season’s over, I’d expect him to start getting serious about his college plans. And, perhaps, some coach somewhere will see the talent L-L League fans have been marveling at for the last three years and come to his senses.

But no matter where he winds up playing next fall, Smith’s legacy in the L-L League and in the Pennsylvania record books remains secure. He broke three state records this season: career passing yards (8,544), career touchdown passes (118) and TD passes in a single season (50).

More importantly, he helped Catholic become the second L-L League team to win a state title, joining Manheim Central (which won its first crown in Snow Bowl I back in 2003). Catholic, Central (three times), Conestoga Valley and Wilson are the only L-L League teams to make it to the championship game.

The L-L League has produced some great quarterbacks over the years. Two L-L alums — Wilson grads Kerry Collins and Chad Henne — are currently on NFL rosters, and Henne’s a starter. Then there’s the other QBs in the pantheon: Jeff Smoker, Pat Bostick, Matt Nagy, Perry Patterson, Jordan Steffy — it seems like a new superstar comes along every two or three years.

Of all the QBs listed above, Smith played for the smallest school, and went up against a Section 3 schedule. For those who argue he doesn’t belong among the elite of Pennsylvania signal-callers, that’s the only ammunition available.

The point can be argued to death. My take is simple: Talent is talent. And in his three years here, Smith was clearly one of the best.

I hope you took the under if you were betting on this one.

It’s 10 p.m. in Chocolatetown, about a half-hour after Manheim Central’s surprising 10-7 loss to Selinsgrove in the PIAA Class AAA championship game. I say surprising not because the Seals won, but because of the final total.

“If you had told me before the game that we would hold them to 10 points, I would’ve said ‘Great — we won,’” said Central coach Mike Williams after the game.

Alas, it didn’t turn out that way for the Barons. They led by a touchdown at halftime and by three points after three quarters, but allowed the Seals to stage a late scoring drive and take the lead with 1:47 left.

It was a fantastic effort by both teams, but as Williams said, only one got to leave with the gold trophy and an undefeated record. The Seals captured their first title and finished 16-0.

And, really, it was hard not to be happy for them. This is a team a lot like Central was in 2003 — one that overcame a crushing number of state-playoff disappointments to finally reach the summit. The Seals were as good as advertised — especially on defense. They hit the Barons hard, got them out of their comfort zone on offense and forced them to make fast decisions.

Still, Central had its chances to win. Enough chances that they’re probably kicking themselves right now. They had excellent field position for most of the first half, yet came away with just one touchdown. They were driving for what would have been a decisive score in the third quarter, only to cough up the ball inside the Selinsgrove 30. They had a couple of potential big gains on pass plays denied when the Seals jarred the ball loose with a series of hard hits. And their offense, harassed by the swarming Seals all night, managed just 191 total yards.

It wasn’t enough despite a valiant effort by the Baron defense, which held the Seals to just 10 points. Not bad when you consider Selinsgrove scored 670 points prior to tonight. And Central made several big plays themselves, forcing two interceptions — one in the Baron end zone — and two crucial sacks.

Williams was quick to credit Selinsgrove for its gritty effort — “The better team won” is how he phrased it, over and over again – but he also acknowledged that his team did not put forth its best effort. And that hurts, especially at this stage of the season. No one wants to walk out of their final game feeling like they left plays on the field.

But this loss won’t diminish Central’s accomplishments — another perfect regular season, a 16th district title and a third trip to the finals.

It will just take a while for the Barons to forget the sting of this loss and realize that.

Coming tomorrow: Lancaster Catholic will try to bring home one state title back to Lancaster County when the Crusaders face Greensburg Central Catholic in what will likely be another Snow Bowl. Here’s hoping the Crusaders get at least a quarter or two of decent conditions, because it will be awfully hard to pass the ball in the midst of a Nor’easter, and I think they’ll need to. Greensburg Central Catholic has got to be loving this forecast — it plays right into their hands.

There’s no arguing that moving tomorrow’s playoffs games in the hope of avoiding the bulk of tomorrow’s snowstorm is a no-brainer. But why not move the games to Sunday and hope to avoid the whole thing altogether?

LancSports.com’s Jeff Reinhart spoke to Melissa Mertz, assistant executive director of the PIAA, and found out why.

Mertz said the PIAA wanted to avoid a repeat of the 2003 championship weekend, when it made the decision to postpone Saturday’s games until Sunday on Friday night — and then watched as the snow ended on Friday and Saturday was beautiful and clear.

The PIAA was in a tough spot today and made the best decision it could under the circumstances. Of course, it looks like both games will now be played in at least some snow — and the AAAA final could be a complete whiteout if the storm arrives as forecasted — but that’s what happens when you’re still playing football a week before Christmas.

Now, if you want to second-guess the PIAA’s decision to extend the season this far, I’m all ears. But I can’t argue with the call they made tonight.

Hopefully, for Lancaster Catholic’s sake, at least some of tomorrow’s championship game will be played in decent conditions, because the Crusaders want to pass the ball. We all remember how the pass game looked against Loyalsock two weeks ago, and tomorrow’s storm could be worse.

We’ll see how it works out.