Special Teams Down Eastern Tech at Catonsville

With 9:05 to play in the first quarter Thursday night, the Eastern Tech defense took field for the first time—only it was already trailing 13-0.

Catonsville’s special teams units didn’t even give them a chance to get their feet wet.

The Comets' Josh Hylton opened the game with a dazzling 95-yard kick return and fellow senior Deniko Carter took a punt 65 yards to the house as Catonsville stormed out to a 32-0 halftime lead en route to a 39-17 victory.

Catonsville’s DeAndre’ Lane led all rushers with 108 yards and two touchdowns, while Hylton added 85 yards on just four carries and a score of his own—a 70-yard scamper on the third play of the third quarter to put the Comets (6-0) up 39-0.

Eastern Tech (1-4) was led by quarterback Kyle Bosserman who carried 10 times for 52 yards and scored twice on runs of 35 and 3 yards. Wing back Francis Massally added another 62 yards on seven rushes.  

However, the Mavericks offensive output came well after the game was out of reach.

“At the end of the day, if you don’t give up a punt return and kick return, maybe it’s different, [but] they are awfully good,” Eastern Tech coach Marc Mesaros said of Catonsville.

“I think we played hard until the very end and tried to put ourselves in the best position to win. I thought our quarterback played a great game, I thought our running backs played a great game and our o-line did a good job. We are getting better every week.”

While the Mavericks did get their offense rolling a bit in the second half, Catonsville’s defense was stout in the first two quarters, forcing three punts and one turnover.

Two plays later, Aaron Jones rolled out and zeroed in on wide receiver Sean Lipscomb who caught the pass in the flat and turned up the sideline for a 14-yard touchdown to put Catonsville on top 32-0 with about a minute to play before the half.

While Mesaros said his defense played well in practice against a scout offense mimicking the Catonsville playbook, he admitted there really is no way to prepare for the Comets’ quickness across the board.

“It’s hard to replicate what they do at practice,” Mesaros said. “It kind of gives you a fall sense of security because you stop it in practice but the game speed is a totally different level. Catonsville is a good team.

"They are impressive. We are going to have to pick it up a little more if we want to stay in games with teams like that.”   

Meanwhile, the Comets, who have rushed for over 650 yards in the last two games, continue rolling through a daunting schedule with only four regular season games left to play.

As far as how the campaign is going to finish up, Hylton offered this projection: "I think we’re going to finish out the [regular season] strong,” he said, “get to the playoffs, finish that off strong, then win states.”