During his postgame speech after Catonsville dismantled Eastern Tech, 38-17, for its sixth straight victory, Catonsville coach Rich Hambor told his players, "we have something special going on here."
A couple hours earlier, or shortly after game time, they also had something special going on — as in special teams.
Catonsville's Josh Hylton returned the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown and they hosts didn't stop there.
After the defense forced a punt, Deniko Carter returned it 65 yards to paydirt and the Comets (6-0) had a 13-0 lead less than three minutes into the contest.
"When I got it (opening kickoff), I just looked straight ahead and saw an opening and took it," said Hylton, who encountered one last obstacle in Eastern Tech kicker Jim Szamski. "I was moving so fast I couldn't even stop myself. He grabbed me and I just moved aside."
Carter, who won't hesitate to dance to the music during pre-game warm-ups, did a little shake and bake move before he took off for his punt return.
He caught the punt and traversed laterally twice before he turned upfield.
"I didn't really see any holes upfield and that's why I kept going back and forth," said Carter, who finally went north and south after he followed a block. "I saw one of my players (Joseth Hylton) lay a hit on the left side of the field and all I saw was the rest of the field so I just took it."
Along the way he stiff-armed a pursuer who tried to get in his way.
"That's my move," he said.
After Carter's touchdown, the Comets had scored its eight of their last nine touchdowns on plays over 50 yards, including 6 of 7 in the previous week's 50-14 win over Hereford.
"It's not a surprise," Hambor said. "It's great for the whole team and it's great for morale, because any time a guy touches the ball you just hold your breath."
On the Comets first offensive possession, they moved the ball 49 yards on strong running from tailback DeAndre Lane (10 carries, 108 yards) and fullback Julian Singletary (6 for 63), but it ended with a missed 24-yard field goal by Eric Medinger.
On the next Comet possession, Lane and Singletary carried the load on a 9-play 73-yard drive that included only one pass — a 14-yard slant from quarterback Aaron Jones to Carter.
Lane finished the drive with a 10-yard scamper and 19-0 lead with 7:12 left in the half.
"I was really happy with that drive because we needed to come out and run right between the tackles and get back to what we do," said Hambor.
Linemen Antoine Wright, Jon Reymann, Nathan Reeves, Brandon Dixon, Travis Davis and tight end Julian Jones were up to the task.
Lane added a 54-yard touchdown run and Josh Frazier's 63-yard fumble return, after a Lane hit, led to 13-yard touchdown pass from Aaron Jones to Sean Lipscomb as the Comets took a 32-0 lead into intermission.
Josh Hylton (4 carries, 85 yards) reversed his field and scampered 70 yards for the Comets final touchdown that gave them a 39-0 lead with 8:44 left in the third quarter.
Eastern Tech added three scores in the final 13:28 for the final margin.
It was the second week in a row the slaughter rule (35-point lead) running clock was invoked against a program that has been one of the best in the county in recent years.
Eastern Tech (1-4) won a state title in 2009 and went to the playoffs again last year, while Hereford had been to the playoffs 14 of the past 15 years.
"That's a good feeling, but you never expect it to happen," Hambor said.