Keystone Oaks QB named MVP
Alex Smith earned Almanac MVP honors for a season that saw him establish school and district records. He passed for over 3,000 yards and rushed for 1,117 more. For his career, he he passed for 5,126 yards and 50 TDs.
Alex Smith attempts to elude a Beaver Falls defender during WPIAL semifinal playoff action.
Alex Smith rushes for a touchdown in a 77-49 loss to Beaver. In the game, he set a WPIAL record for yards in a single game with 653 total.
Alex Smith had just finished his workout, traveled home, showered and prepared for bed. It’s all part of the off-season training the Keystone Oaks High School quarterback is doing in preparation for the next step in his football career.
He hopes to quarterback Duquesne University to the heights he has taken the Golden Eagles. With Smith at the helm, KO made back-to-back playoff appearances and reached the WPIAL semifinals for only the second time in school history. In the process, Smith shattered several school records.
Hence, there is no room for basketball this winter for the 6-4, 195-pound senior.
“No basketball,” confirmed the previous letterwinner. “I just felt it would be better not to take time off from football and get started on my four years at Duquesne.”
Smith already has the Dukes’ playbook. And, in addition to routinely lifting and doing agility drills, he is working after school with KO skipper Greg Perry. The pair practices together, five to six days a week for two to three hours.
“Yeah, that’s a long time,” Smith agreed but added, “Coach Perry is part of the family. He’s my third dad,” he said, noting he has his “real” dad and a stepfather. “I am truly grateful to Coach Perry because working with me has taken a lot of his time, time he could be spending with his family or on other things. But, I have been successful because of the countless hours I have worked with him. Because of him, I am the player I’ve become.”
Under Perry, Smith certainly became one of the best players in the WPIAL and Keystone Oaks history. In fact, he became the first player in the district to throw for 3,000 yards and rush for 1,000 more. He also set a new single-game yardage record in the WPIAL with 653 total in a 77-49 loss to Beaver.
“The Beaver game was the highlight of the season,” Smith said. “It was the craziest game I’ve ever played in.”
This fall, Smith put up some crazy stats. He rambled 1,118 yards for 19 scores and passed for 3,061 yards and 34 touchdowns, tops in the district. For his career, he passed for a record 5,126 yards and 50 TDs. He finished with 1,651 career rushing yards and 29 scores.
“I’m not sure anyone had a better year than Alex,” said Perry. “He has school records for season and career yardage plus career touchdown passes. He’s been pretty impressive breaking Greg Dapper’s record for yardage and Kobe Phillippi for TDs.”
The Almanac and area coaches concurred as Smith has been named the 2016 Most Valuable Player. He headlines the 34th edition of The Almanac’s Premier Pigskin Performers.
“That’s awesome to hear,” said Smith. “I never expected (MVP) at the beginning of the year but I guess as the season progressed I thought maybe. It’s a huge accomplishment.”
Throughout his scholastic career, Smith has been all about accomplishments. He played behind Phillippi, who set the standards for him. “I watched Kobe as a freshman and a sophomore and, at the time, I didn’t know whether or not I could do what he could do,” said the 17-year-old son of Malyndi and Tyler Smith. “But it’s awesome knowing that I did and knowing my name has a place in KO history.”
Smith’s name could have been bigger in WPIAL lure had the Golden Eagles not given up a touchdown with 20 seconds to play in the semifinals. KO lost, 28-21, to Beaver Falls. The Tigers eventually won the district title as well as the PIAA championship. In the loss to the Tigers, Smith has a season-low output, 16 completions on 35 attempts for 176 yards and two, first-half touchdown aerials.
The loss to Beaver Falls, says Smith, is his lone “regret” in his scholastic career.
“We did not play up to the potential we played all year,” he said. “I overthrew my receivers and on one TD pass (attempt) I was too short.
“We could have but didn’t. That’s a whole different story and you can’t dwell on what could have been. It could have been us if we had played better, worked better as a team like we had to beat them but one player did not make us not win.”
Beaver Falls had the one player that all recruiters sought. Donovan Jeter committed to Michigan. Of the 6-6, 260-pound defensive tackle, Smith said he was just another opponent. “. I didn’t look at him as a guy that could kill me. He’s a big-time player but I treated him as if he was like anyone else I played all year.”
Smith just wishes he could have treated the WPIAL semifinals as just another game. He admitted to being “a little” nervous.
“It was the highest, pressure game I had competed in but I learned from it. You got to let it roll off your back. It’s just a high school football game and you can’t let it overwhelm you because there are more important things.”
After he matriculates from KO in June of 2017, Smith has mapped out a few of those more important things. Academically, he plans to major in forensic sciences with the hopes of eventually entering law school. Athletically, he hopes to fill Dillon Buechel’s shoes. The former Montour standout became the Northeast Conference passing leader with 10,320 career yards. He also ranks among DU’s all-time leaders in completions, passing yards and touchdown passes.
“Duquesne has some pretty high records set by Dillon,” Smith admitted. “In four years, I’ll see what I can do up there. I can’t slack off now.”