WIth game on the line, Arnold proves his worth

NATHAN MAX - For The Californian | Posted: Saturday, December 12, 2009 1:05 am

MURRIETA -- Winners want the ball when the game is on the line, as the saying goes. And Chaparral junior wide receiver Antoine Arnold showed why he is a winner in Friday night's CIF Southern Section Inland Division championship game.

Arnold, the Pumas' leading receiver, had been mostly shut down the entire game, and he didn't make any catches in the second half until late in the fourth quarter. But with the title on the line, and Chaparral needing to hold possession to kill the clock and secure a 13-7 victory, Arnold demanded the rock.

"They called a timeout, we came to the sideline, and he said, 'Give me the ball,'" Chaparral senior quarterback Mitch Glasmann said. "So coach said, 'All right. We're going to give him the ball.' Simple as that. He said, 'Give me the ball,' and we gave it to him."

Facing 3rd-and-17 from the Chaparral 13-yard line, Arnold ran a post pattern down the middle of the field. Glasmann connected with a perfect strike, in between two defenders, for an 18-yard gain and a first down with a little more than four minutes remaining.

"Basically, he said he was going to put me in the slot and run the post," Arnold said. "It's nothing new to me. Whenever I go out, I look for the first-down marker so I know where to cut and where to land. That's just what I did, and it worked."

Three plays later, Chaparral once again faced a third down. This time, it was 3rd-and-6 from the Chaparral 35-yard line. This time, Arnold ran an out pattern for a 12-yard reception and another first down. The two completions were Arnold's only catches of the second half, and they enabled the Pumas to run out the clock.

"I told my coach, 'I know I can run an out on this guy, I promise it will work and we'll get that ring,'" Arnold said. "He said, 'You know what, let's run an out. Let's go.' I was like, 'All right coach,' and I didn't let him down."

All in all, it was a fairly pedestrian game for the explosive, 6-foot-5, 185-pound receiver. Arnold finished with five catches for 68 yards, and he had difficulty fighting off Vista Murrieta cornerback John Hardy and the Broncos' defense all night.

Hardy covered Arnold like a blanket, frequently breaking up deep passes.

"I've got to give it to Hardy, he's a player," Arnold said. "He could play with me, but he can't match up with me."

It is almost ironic that, for a player who finished the season with 79 catches for 1,536 yards and 17 receiving touchdowns, it was two catches that weren't bombs and didn't finish in the end zone that may have been Arnold's most important of the season.

But Arnold wouldn't have had it any other way. He just wanted the ball in his hands when the game was on the line, and that's exactly what he got.

"Words cannot explain how I feel right now," Arnold said. "I've got this rush, and I just want to let it out."