Snow may have blanketed the field, but it was nothing compared to what the Lancaster Catholic defense did to the Greensburg Central Catholic offense when it needed it most.

After giving up a pair of early touchdowns, the Crusader defense shut down the Centurions over the final 37 minutes, lending more credence to the adage that defense, does indeed, win championships.

Thanks to the smothering defensive effort and a pair of unanswered touchdowns from a grounded offense, Lancaster Catholic downed Greensburg, 21-14 Saturday morning in the PIAA Class AA championship game at snowy Hersheypark Stadium.

"This is the most incredible feeling I've ever felt," Crusaders senior Tyler Purvis said. "I can't even put it into words right now."

It's the first state football crown for the Crusaders (15-1), who won their 13th game in a row to become only the second Lancaster County football team to ever win a PIAA title.

Quarterback Kyle Smith remembers watching Manheim Central win the first one in 2003 in very similar near-blizzard conditions.

"I never would have believed that I'd be standing here with my teammates hoisting that state championship trophy over my head, so it's really something special," Smith said. "It's unbelievable. We've been working for over a year to get here. To be part of this is really something special."

The game, moved up three hours, was played in a driving snowstorm with Hersheypark grounds crew members doing their best to constantly clear the hash marks, goal lines and yard markers in 5-yard increments from sideline to sideline.

"I was a little concerned coming into the game, but as soon as we I stepped on to the field and I started warming up, I realized that the conditions weren't going to be that big of a factor," Smith said.

The less-than-ideal conditions did keep Smith's aerial assault in check. For only the fourth time in his record-setting gridiron career, Pennsylvania's most prolific passer ever did not throw a touchdown pass here Saturday.

The whiteout conditions wouldn't allow it, but as it turned out, the savvy southpaw didn't have to. Instead, he engineered an offense that relied heavily on the ground attack and the legs of Jordan Stewart, Quinn Houser and Smith, himself, who each scored a rushing touchdown.

"We called on it a lot today because of the bad weather," Smith said of the ground game. "Jordan stepped up and our line has been dominating all year, so it's really special to have such a running back on your team that can take over for you in conditions like this."

Stewart rushed 17 times for 40 yards, while Smith picked up 28 yards on 15 carries and Houser had 72 yards on four tries. In all, the Crusaders rushed for 129 yards on 38 carries.

Smith, meanwhile, was only able to complete four of nine passes for 35 yards.

"Obviously we couldn't throw the ball like we wanted to throw the ball, but I thought we had a pretty good running game," Crusader coach Bruce Harbach said. "Stats don't matter right now. We put the ball in our playmakers' hands and let them do their thing."

Greensburg (13-3) scored on its first two possessions, both on runs by quarterback Trent Hurley. Following Hurley's 7-yard TD scamper on the game's opening drive, Lancaster answered in electrifying fashion.

On the first play after the kickoff — and 20 seconds after the Hurley score — Houser took a jet sweep and went dashing through the snow, untouched down the left sideline for a 62-yard, game-tying touchdown.

The Centurions regained the lead, 14-7, on the ensuing drive on Hurley's 4-yard scoring dash. The drive, though, was not without controversy. On third-and-11 from the Lancaster 21, the Crusaders were whistled for a pass-interference penalty, which gave Greensburg new life and a first down at the Lancaster 10.

David Miller, Greensburg's all-time leading rusher, ran for 104 yards on 30 carries, while Hurley rushed for 39 while throwing for 71 more.

"We did what we wanted to do," Greensburg coach Muzzy Colisimo said. "We threw the ball, we ran the ball, we had success doing a little bit of everything, just as they did."

Stewart, who fumbled late in the opening quarter, redeemed himself when he capped a 15-play drive with a 1-yard TD plunge that tied the game, 14-14, with 5:31 left in the first half.

"I knew I couldn't get down on myself," Stewart said. "Running the ball was a little challenging and it was hard to get our footing, but we all did our parts and now we're state champs. That's a great feeling."

Following the Stewart TD, the Crusader defense began to clamp down on the Centurions. Two plays after the score, Rhys McCall picked off a Hurley pass at the Lancaster 43. While the Crusaders could not take advantage, they did pin the Centurions at their own 2-yard line thanks to a 47-yard punt from Purvis.

In the second half, Purvis boomed one 59 yards and, once again, pushed the Centurions back to their 2.

"They were huge field positions," Harbach said of the Purvis punts. "You get down to the [2]-yard line, if they're going to drive [98] yards, they deserve to beat us."

The Crusaders scored the game-winning touchdown on their first possession of the second half. Aided by a pair of Greensburg offside penalties, one on third-and-5 and the other on fourth-and-1, Lancaster put together a 12-play scoring drive, capped by Smith's 1-yard keeper.

Following the all-important Geoff Arentz PAT, the Crusaders led 21-14 with 5:29 left in the third.

During the drive, Smith completed an 11-yard pass to Purvis, who made a spectacular catch from his knees after slipping in the snow.

It turned out to be the final completion of Smith's remarkable high school career. He goes down as the state's all-time leader in yards (8,544) and touchdowns (118). His 50 TD passes this season is also a state record.

"I said earlier that I'd trade all three of my individual records for a state championship," Smith said. "I never imagined that it would feel this good.

"It means the world to me. The school and the community have been great to me, so to give back like this is really something special, and I'll never forget it."

 Early in the fourth quarter, the big plays kept coming from Purvis. Following his 59-yard punt, he made a game-saving tackle on Miller, who broke free on a 24-yard run from his own 13.

"I was lucky to time it right," Purvis said of the shoestring tackle. "I got his ankle, tripped him up and that's basically what saved the game. I didn't think about it then, but now that I look back, it was a big tackle."

Later in the drive, Purvis broke up a pass on third-and-5. The Centurions did eventually pick up the first down, but the drive stalled at the Lancaster 23.

The Centurions got the ball back with two seconds to go and had one final chance. From the Lancaster 45, Hurley's Hail Mary pass was finally batted down by — you guessed it — Purvis at the goal line.

"Two of my defenders went up for it and they tipped it in the air," Purvis said. "I saw the guy behind me and it looked like he was going to catch it, so I darted over there and smacked it to the ground.

"I was not letting anyone catch that ball. That was for the state championship."