Lancaster Catholic's football team sees itself as a family.

Not a family quite in the mold of the Sopranos, though the Crusaders did respond to one of their members — running back/linebacker Trevor St. Clair — going down by knee-capping York Suburban, 48-21, Friday night in their District Three Class AA playoff opener at Rossmere Stadium.

Quarterback Kyle Smith achieved a career first by rushing for more than 100 yards (119) and passing for more than 300 (303) while accounting for four scores. Running back Jordan Stewart pounded out 130 yards and three touchdowns and Catholic's defense pitched a second-half shutout to seal the deal.

"We're one big family," center Michael Meck said. "When someone in your family goes down, it really hits you. We went out and did this for him."

St. Clair was lost to a severe ankle injury on a  7-yard carry late in the first quarter. The extent of his injury wasn't immediately known by Crusaders' coach Bruce Harbach.

What was known was the emotional impact St. Clair's injury had on his squad.

"We're a tight family," Harbach said, "and when something like (St. Clair's injury) happens to somebody in your family, you lose focus. Three big plays killed us."

He shrugged at the run of misfortune.

"Friday the 13th, I guess."

Indeed. The defending District Three Class AA champs took a series of hits from underdog Suburban, which rode big plays of 55, 74 and 52 yards to three straight scores.

"It's hard seeing one of your brothers hurting," Smith said. "We went up to him and told him we were playing the rest of the game for him.

"That's what families do."

The two-time All-State selection led the way, and his career night helped the Crusaders (10-1) advance to next Friday's semifinals opposite No. 5 Middletown.

The Blue Raiders (8-3) upset No. 4  Trinity, 11-3, to earn a playoff rematch with Catholic. The Crusaders blew out Middletown 41-0 in last year's final.

"From what I hear, Middletown's a good team," Meck said. "We'll study them this week, work hard and come out ready to play."

It's a formula that worked to near-perfection early against Suburban (7-4). Smith's 42-yard scoring sprint, aided by a crushing block from St. Clair, gave Catholic a 7-0 lead just seven plays in.

Tyler Purvis's circus catch of a Smith pass from 26 yards out late in the first quarter made it 14-0, and the Crusaders pushed their advantage to 21 on the first play of the second quarter, when Smith found Seth Graham for an 11-yard score.

"It's tough to play against him but it's also fun to play against him," Trojan coach Bill Kerr said of Smith. "It was a challenge."

If it all seemed too easy, it was.

Thousand-yard back Cody Waltimyer keyed Suburban's startling comeback.

The flashy senior's 55-yard reception set up QB Jordan Knaub's 11-yard score. Waltimyer (7-85) followed with a 74-yard TD run, and Catholic's defense was further shocked when Knaub connected with Nathaniel Cross for a 52-yard score.

"We didn't want to see halftime," Kerr said after his squad rallied to cut its deficit to 28-21 at the break. "We were making big plays; we had the momentum."

Catholic knew it.

"We had to pull together," Meck said. "As a family."

The Crusaders did. Their defense shut out Suburban in the second half, and Meck and linemates Ross Hall, Andrew Heise, Caleb Rudy, Jamie Pashuck and tight ends Adam DePietro and Andrew Millay opened avenues of daylight for Stewart.

Reverting to power football, the 195-pound junior ripped off scoring runs of 61, 6 and 3 yards.

"This was a team win all the way," Harbach said. "When  you play this way for one of your soldiers, that's big."

It's what families do.