2009 Small School Player of the Year
Written by: David Mika on Tuesday, January 5th, 2010QB Kyle Smith, Lancaster Catholic
When it comes down to quarterbacks few states have the tradition Pennsylvania has. Hall of Famers like Joe Montana, Johnny Unitas, Dan Marino, Joe Namath and Jim Kelly all called Pennsylvania their home.
In Pennsylvania history, Quarterback Kyle Smith stands alone. Smith has thrown for 8,544 yards and 118 touchdowns in his career, both state records. Smith broke Pat Devlin’s state passing yardage record (8,162 yards) in the Crusaders’ 42-6 win over Delone Catholic.
Smith’s record-breaking season would add one more record to his brilliant carrier. Smith hit Kevin Cotchen with 1:01 remaining in the game to lift his team over West Catholic 23-21 in the Eastern finals. That touchdown pass was his 50th of the season, which is a state record.
Smith’s career will go down as one of the great careers any PA HS Football player has ever seen.
In the snowy state championship game, it was a Smith’s one-yard score in the third quarter that put Lancaster Catholic up 21-14 en route to the Class 2A state championship.
Smith finished the 2009 season with 2,757 yards passing.
