Top 5 Catonsville Football Moments of the Season

The Catonsville Comets' best football season in school history came to a close Friday to Old Mill.

Here are sports editor David Snyder's top plays of the season.

5. Comets quick start versus Franklin. I’m combining two plays into one moment here because they took place one right after the other. Catonsville wasted no time jumping all over the Indians in what was anticipated to be a competitive, close game. On Franklin’s opening play, a simple draw, Sean Lipscomb—as if he knew what was called—darted into backfield and crushed Indians fullback Shaquille Melvin, forcing the ball loose. Fellow defensive lineman Antoine Wright pounced on the ball to get Catonsville’s offense on the field quicker than anyone expected. Three players later, Deniko Carter made one of his most impressive catches of the season, leaping over Franklin’s Ian Thomas to haul in a touchdown pass from Aaron Jones. The Comets never looked back en route to a .

 4. Julian Singletary makes his presence felt at Poly. Probably one of the most overlooked parts of the Comets offensive success was the play of fullback Julian Singletary. Although DeAndre’  Lane had one of his biggest games of the year in the , Singletary got into the act as well, rushing 11 times for 106 yards and a touchdown. However, this run (around the 4:25 mark) turned an already pumped sideline into an absolute frenzy. Watch as Singletary squares up a defender and completely bowls him over on the way to a long gain. Now, that’s a fullback. While the Comets sideline, and its huge fan base, were loud the whole game, that specific run drew as big of a reaction as any play.

 3. Julian Jones’ game sealer at Woodlawn. Against a pesky Woodlawn squad, Catonsville probably played one of its sloppier games of the season. But, with the Warriors down just two scores in the fourth quarter, the senior defensive end terminated any hopes of a Woodlawn comeback. With the Woodlawn quarterback wrapped up but still fighting for yards, Jones crashed in to cause a fumble, but his contribution was hardly over. Call it luck or call it skill, the fumbled ball bounced right back up to Jones who sprinted some 65 yards to the house to put the game away. Using his track speed, Jones outran several Warriors players who had an angle on him. It also set up this from photographer Ed Davis.

 2. DeAndre’ Lane’s huge performance against Hereford. I’ve never seen an opposing coach as visibly angry after a game as Hereford’s Steve Turnbaugh. His team’s inability to clamp down on Lane was probably a big reason why. In arguably his most electric night of the season, the junior tailback carried 10 times for 201 yards and scored on touchdown runs of 64, 64 and 58 yards. He also picked off a pass, scored on a 75-yard punt return and had a second return touchdown called back on a questionable penalty. On one of the touchdown runs, a Hereford defender had a clear, lined up shot on Lane near the sideline, and the running back completely juked him out of his shoes. Flashy moves, stiff arms, and overall speed, Lane had everything working during the Comets .

1. Joe Tebo’s interception return touchdown against Paint Branch. No moment made me more thrilled to be on Catonsville’s sideline than this one. Trailing 9-0 and the Comets having faltered three times on offense, Catonsville desperately needed a big play for this game not to get out of reach—even if it was only the first quarter. Julian Jones hit Panthers quarterback David Smith as he made his throw and the ball popped high in the air. Tebo camped under it and, behind a convoy of teammates, raced into the end zone to swing all the momentum back on Catonsville’s side. I remember standing on the sideline trying to scribble the details of the play into my notebook as Comets players jumped for joy around me. While the Comets certainly never doubted themselves, that play made them feel a whole lot better about their chances of winning their first playoff game, which they went on to do, .