That’s how long it took Cal Hayes Jr. to run back the opening kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown, and East went on to take a 49-0 victory over the hapless and winless Panthers.

“He (coach Jeff Safrit) told us to try to come out and set the tone,” said Hayes, a sophomore who returned a kickoff for a touchdown for the third time this season.

“When we saw we were going to receive, we talked to the receiving team. Danny(Misenheimer) said he was going to set some blocks, and we just took it back,” Hayes added.

The East speedster followed his blockers, found running room and was quickly gone down the right sideline. A week earlier, on a 95-yard kickoff return against Central Cabarrus, he was almost stopped before breaking loose.

“I didn’t get touched this time,” he said. “Last time they grabbed my foot.”

Coach Safrit said of Hayes’ kickoff return, “That’s pretty much like the other two that he’s run back.He got a couple of good blocks. He kind of looks for a little seam, and, when he sees it, he turns it on. He just continues to make big plays for us.”

East got two other first-half touchdowns on Hayes’ 44-yard run and fullback Jason Powles’ 1-yarder to take a 21-0 halftime lead.

“I don’t think we played as good as we could the first half, but I think we came out and played good the second half,” said Hayes, who wound up with 254 all-purpose yards, including 141 on kickoff returns and a team-leading 94 yards rushing on eight carries.

The Mustangs improved to 1-1 in the 3A South Piedmont Conference and 3-2 overall, while Piedmont slipped to 0-2 and 0-5.

Thomas Hendrickson, who starts at defensive end and backs up Hayes at halfback, scored three of East’s four second-half touchdowns on runs of 15, 14 and 25 yards, and reserve halfback Antwan Blakeney got the final score on a 10-yard run.

East’s other points came on quarterback Drew Davis’ 2-point conversion run and five extra-point kicks by Hunter Kepley.

Meanwhile, East’s defense limited the Panthers to five first downs, minus 32 yards on the ground and 19 total yards.

CodyMerrifield, a 230-pound lineman, was in on a couple of big defensive plays. He intercepted a first-half pass, running it back 69 yards to the the Panthers’ 1 to set up Powles’ TD. Later, he recovered a fumble following a hit by Hendrickson to set up a second-half score.

Chris Faavesi and Misenheimer had sacks for 11 and 9 yards in losses, respectively.

“I think that’s the best we’ve played defensively,” said Safrit.

“Piedmont’s got a few athletes. Nothing good has happened for them. I thought they played as good as they could play in the first half. I feel like he (coach David Smith) was probably pleased. If we don’t have that interception (byMerrifield), it’s a two-touchdown game at the half — because of penalties.”

Penalties were definitely a factor. The Mustangs were flagged 16 times for 144 yards.

Wide receiver Brent Lambert, who went out with an injury in the first half, was victimized the most by penalties. He had a 36-yard TD reception called back by a holding penalty in the first quarter, a leaping 14-yard reception nullified by another holding penalty on the same series and a 42-yard punt return nullified by an illegal block by the Mustangs before his runback.

“That hasn’t been happening to us, and I’m not that concerned,” said Safrit of East’s 16 penalties. “Maybe we got them all out in one night. I wasn’t happy when it happened. That really put us in a hole. We ended up with first and 25, I think, three times.

East was penalized 10 or more yards seven times and got hit for more than 15 yards twice on holding infractions behind the line of scrimmage.