THE GAME: District 3 champ Lancaster Catholic Crusaders (14-1 overall; Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 3 outright champs) vs. Greensburg Central Catholic Centurions (13-2 overall; WPIAL Interstate Conference), PIAA Double-A state championship game.
WHERE: Hersheypark Stadium.
WHEN: Saturday, 1 p.m.
LIVE BLOG: Keith Schweigert will be blogging live from this game at LancSports.com. So if you can't get to Hershey on Saturday, kindly find Keith online, where he'll provide instant updates and analysis, and take your questions and comments.
ON THE TUBE: The game will be broadcast live by PCN-TV. The game will also replay on Dec. 19 (4 p.m.), Dec. 20 (midnight), Dec. 20 (8 p.m.), Dec. 21 (2 p.m.), Dec. 25 (3 p.m.) and Jan. 1 (6 p.m.)
NOTABLE: First state championship appearance for both programs. … Lancaster Catholic is No. 1 and Greensburg Central Catholic is No. 2 in the latest Harrisburg Patriot-News state rankings. … Lancaster Catholic is the fourth L-L League team to qualify for a state championship game, joining Manheim Central (2003, 2004, 2009), Conestoga Valley (1991) and Wilson (1989).
THE COACHES: Lancaster Catholic is coached by Bruce Harbach (9th season; 77-23 overall). … Greensburg Central Catholic is coached by William "Muzzy" Colosimo (15th season; 124-42 overall).
KEY STATS: Lancaster Catholic's key stat is 50 — senior QB Kyle Smith has 50 TD passes this season (a new state single-season record), and his 50th TD toss (to Kevin Cotchen) was the game-winning play with 1:01 to go in the Crusaders' 'East' final win over Philly West Catholic. … Greensburg Central Catholic's key stat is 28 — the Centurions have 28 interceptions; their secondary will be tested against Smith, the state's career leader in passing yards and TD passes.
LANCASTER CATHOLIC STAT PACK: Leading rusher — RB Jordan Stewart (225 carries for 1,527 yards, 6.8 avg., 20 TD); Leading passer — QB Kyle Smith (164-of-260 for 2,722 yards, 50 TD, 6 picks); Leading receiver — WR Tyler Purvis (60 catches for 1,057 yards, 17.6 avg., 17 TD).
GREENSBURG CENTRAL CATHOLIC STAT PACK: Leading rusher — RB David Miller (306 carries for 2,431 yards, 7.9 avg., 38 TD); Leading passer — QB Trent Hurley (112-of-217 for 1,879 yards, 18 TD, 6 picks); Leading receiver — WR Evan Marshall (48 catches for 919 yards, 19.1 avg., 10 TD).
ABOUT LANCASTER CATHOLIC: Crusaders have outscored their opponents 597-196 (plus-401), which is an average score of 39.8 to 13.1. … 264 first downs. … 22 punts for 36.9 average per boot, but Lancaster Catholic hasn't punted since its District 3 Double-A semifinal game against Middletown. … 83 penalties for 626 yards; the Crusaders had zero flags against in the state semifinal win over Philly West Catholic. … Lancaster Catholic has 19 giveaways and 28 takeaways for a plus-9 in turnover ratio. … Crusaders have the No. 1 defense in the L-L League, allowing 202.2 yards per game (1,434 rushing yards and 1,599 passing yards against). … Offense is averaging 366.7 yards per game, with 2,645 rushing yards and 2,855 passing yards total. … Jordan Stewart's 1,527 rushing yards and 20 rushing TD are single-season program marks. … Tyler Purvis leads all L-L League receivers in catches (60), receiving yards (1,057) and TD catches (17). Purvis went over 1,000 receiving yards for the second season in a row.
ABOUT GREENSBURG CENTRAL CATHOLIC: Centurions' 13 wins are a school record … Miller's 2,431 rushing yards are a single-season school mark, and he's rushed for a school-record 3,926 career yards — so he'll need 74 yards vs. Lancaster Catholic to hit 4,000 rushing yards for his career. … Miller has 41 total TD this season — a school record — and he's scored 76 career TD, six shy of tying the school record. … Miller also has 23 catches for 352 yards and three TD out of the backfield. … Hurley's 1,879 passing yards are a school record, as are his 3,323 career passing yards. … DB Zach Guiser has a team-best eight picks. … DT Pat Mahoney has two picks and a team-high 10 sacks. … K Brian Gongware has 58 extra points and two field goals. … Centurions are riding an 11-game winning streak after a 2-2 start.
QUOTABLE: Greensburg Central Catholic coach Williams "Muzzy" Colosimo — "Offensively, (Lancaster Catholic) does a lot of things and they cause a lot of problems with formations. (Kyle Smith) has a strong arm; he's one of the best quarterbacks we'll see this season."

Sports writer Jeffrey Reinhart can be reached at jreinhart@LNPnews.com or 291-8777.