With one picture-perfect spiral that knifed 31 yards through an angry wind and wound up in the arms of wideout Tyler Purvis late in the first half, Kyle Smith broke Pat Devlin's state record for career passing yards.
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And broke the back of Delone Catholic's football team.
"We knew he was good," Squires coach Steve Wiles said. "Obviously, he's the leading touchdown passer in the state for a reason. He's money … . An amazing kid."
Lancaster Catholic's senior quarterback went into Friday night's District Three Class AA championship game 160 yards shy of the state mark of 8,162 fashioned by Devlin, the former Downingtown East star.
Amid severe winds that whipped through Hersheypark Stadum in swirling gusts of up to 45 mph and sent the wind chill temperature plummeting to 32 degrees, Smith completed nine of his first 10 passes for 162 yards and four touchdowns, the last the aforementioned 31-yarder to Purvis that gave him a state record 8,166 career passing yards and gave the Crusaders a 35-0 lead with 2:44 left.
In the first half.
Catholic went on to cruise past Delone, 42-6, invoking the mercy rule at halftime.
"(The cold wind) didn't really affect us at all," Crusader coach Bruce Harbach said. "Kyle has a very strong arm. We knew we could throw those 5- and 15-yard patterns and we did.
"(Repeating as district champs) is what we coaches talked about all week. When I heard the kids talking about it too, I told our coaches, 'We got this.'"
The title marks the second straight and fifth overall for the Crusaders (12-1), who became the first team in program history since the 1982-83 squads to repeat as district champions.
"Back-to-back is special," said Smith, who finished the night 10 of 16 for 170 yards, with four TD passes and one interception, and also rushed for 44 yards on 7 carries. "I can't think of a better group of guys to share it with."
And the career passing record?
"I really wasn't thinking about that," said Smith, who praised Harbach and offensive coordinator Bill McDonald for their diversified game plan. "It's special to share it with guys like Devlin and Pat Bostick."
If Smith, who now has 8,173 passing yards, wasn't thinking about the career mark, his teammates were.
"Kyle's a great guy, he deserves everything he gets," said running back Jordan Stewart, who ground out 122 yards and two TDs on 21 carries and has now rushed for a school record 1,401 yards this season in just 11 games.
"He's the leader of this team," said Hans Kessler, who made his presence felt at linebacker and blocking back. "Kyle's the best. He's a great guy."
Fronted by center Michael Meck, guards Andrew Heise and Caleb Rudy, and tackles David Anater and Adam DePietro, the Crusaders set an early tone by running Stewart six times on their game-opening 10-play, 65-yard drive. Smith converted two third down passes, the latter a seven-yarder to Purvis (6-96) that marked the first of their three scoring connections.
"We had a tough challenge in front of us, so it was important to start the game strong," said DiPietro. "That (first drive) set the tone for the whole game."
Catholic scored on each of its first five possessions. Touchdown passes from Smith to Purvis covered 7, 19 and 31 yards, and there was also a 40-yard strike to Quinn Houser. Smith now has 46 TD passes this season against just five picks. Stewart added a leaping plunge to paydirt from the 1.
By halftime, the Crusaders held huge advantages in first downs (17-2) and total yards (301-40). They were 4-for-6 on third down conversions; 2-for-2 on fourth down.
"They're a very big, physical team," said Wiles. "They controlled the line of scrimmage."
"Our offensive line did a great job," said Stewart, who closed the night's scoring with his 20th rushing TD of the year, a 12-yard sprint late in the fourth quarter. "We came out and pounded it."
Delone (10-3) was seeking a Class AA-best seventh title, but the Squires' vaunted Wing-T ground game was stifled by Catholic's defense and by the lopsided score. Thousand-yard back Dusty Reed was limited to 67 yards on 11 carries, 22 of those coming on a third quarter run after the mercy rule had kicked in.
"We've faced the Wing-T so many times, our kids know how to defend it," Harbach said. "It's nothing new."
Kessler agreed. "Dusty Reed is a great player," he said. "But we know the Wing-T by heart."
They also know there's more work to do. The Crusaders advance to next Friday's 7 p.m. state playoff in Shamokin's Kemp Stadium opposite the winner of today's District Four title game between Lewisburg (11-1) and Loyalsock (9-3).
"It's very special (to repeat)," DiPietro said. "But we can't stop and think about that. We've got a couple more games to go."
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