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The temperature hovered around 95 degrees as Kalen Petty stood on the Naperville Central practice field, staring across at Memorial Stadium, his back to a JUGS machine that would spit footballs into Tuesday afternoon's bright blue sky.

This was just after 3 p.m., some 30 minutes before the Redhawks would begin practice, and the field was empty except for teammate Riley O'Toole and offensive line coach Steve Kenyon, who loaded one football after another into the chute.

The preseason previews inevitably focus on the quarterbacks and running backs, and attention eventually shifts to the defense. But several season openers hinged on the third phase of the game - and that's why Central devotes part of every single practice to special teams.

The only reason Petty got onto the field to return two punts Friday night against Waubonsie Valley was because O'Toole, two-way player who already had a punt return for a touchdown called back, grew tired and began to cramp. Petty didn't expect it at all, and he immediately felt nervous. In a rush, he also forgot to ask which side the punt return was directed. The first varsity punt he ever fielded bounced off his shoulder pad and into his arms late in the third quarter.

That return netted only 1 yard, but the preparation was invaluable. Petty had adjusted to the spin off Mitch Ewald's right foot. The senior defensive back moved forward about 7 yards, squared up and this one came down perfectly.

"I saw all green (Waubonsie jerseys)," Petty said, laughing, "and I was like, 'Wow, how am I going to get out of this?'"

Petty could escape because he is a track sprinter who runs hurdles and qualified for the state finals last spring in the triple jump. He shook one defender on his right, cut one way and cut back another. Seventy yards later, Central led 24-7 with 7:31 remaining.

"He's a phenomenal athlete," Central coach Mike Stine said. "What he did, you can't coach. That's (a God-given) gift to be able to run like that. (He's) got that instinct."

That burst can't be taught, but Central still tries to simulate game speed with live 11-on-11 drills. Stine estimated the Redhawks spend 30 minutes of each practice on special teams. With 101 players on his roster, Stine's staff can form a scout punt return team, or an extra-point rush team. Stine rewards standout practice players with time Friday nights, but he also isn't afraid to use his starters on special teams.

"We always do special teams every day," Petty said. "We stretch and then we go into a special teams segment."

Week 1 only magnified its importance. Bartlett scored what turned out to be the winning touchdown after Glenbard North fumbled a punt return, giving the Hawks the ball 20 yards from the end zone. Bartlett scored a 28-21 upset and Glenbard North, a trendy choice to again make it to Champaign, tumbled from third to 18th in the Chicago Sun-Times poll.

A similar shift in momentum could be felt at Harshbarger-Welzel Field. The 2008 season was only minutes old when Neuqua Valley defensive back Owen Larson blocked a Naperville North punt and linebacker Will Konovsky returned it 37 yards for a touchdown to tie the game at 7 near the end of the first quarter.

Midway through the second quarter, Neuqua was set to pin North deep in its own territory, and maybe head into the halftime break trailing the defending Class 8A state champions only 14-7.

Instead, North linebacker Amas Gintautas broke through and blocked the punt, giving the Huskies the ball on their own 48-yard line with 5:39 to go in the half. One minute, 24 seconds later, North running back Nick Mlady had barreled into the end zone on a 5-yard touchdown run, and Neuqua wouldn't get any closer.

Frank Beamer built up Virginia Tech on those game-changing moments. After watching Deion Sanders and Florida State's overall team speed during a 41-14 loss in 1988, Beamer decided the fastest way to become an elite program was to create havoc on special teams.

No Division I program blocked more kicks than Virginia Tech in the 1990s, and the Hokies even began to call the punt-block team "Pride and Joy," according to an October 2007 Washington Post article.

That only made Saturday's opener all the more shocking. East Carolina's T.J. Lee returned his own blocked punt 27 yards for a touchdown with less than two minutes remaining to seal a 27-22 upset victory. Beamer Ball, The Associated Press wrote, was beaten at its own game.

And if Central's coaching staff needed another talking point for Week 2, they could have found one shortly after a 24-14 victory. That very same night Lake Park - Friday's opponent for the Redhawks - allowed a 97-yard kickoff return by Conant's Kendall Lane and a 2-point conversion in the second half of a 15-13 loss.

"We stress it every day, and we stress it from day one," Stine said. "It's a third of the game, so that's how we approach it."