Arnold is just 5-foot-9 and 165 pounds, but packs a big punch and carries a heavy a load for the 4-1 and No. 6 Bombers. It was Arnold, who has rushed for more than 800 yards already this year, that scuttled the Rockets with his first carry of the game, a 71-yard touchdown run. From there, he was slowed to a trot, but finished with 183 yards on the ground and caught a big 28-yard pass on fourth down to help Ballard knock off No. 10 Crittenden County 25-6.
Crittenden (3-1) was well aware of the highly-skilled running back's penchant for breaking big plays, but few expected it to happen so quickly. On the game's very first snap, Arnold took the ball on a counter play, didn't find running room off left tackled so he bounced swiftly outside and went three-quarters of the length of the field in a flash. Automatically, the Rockets were down by a touchdown and dealing with Arnold's omnipresence on the football field.
From there, Crittenden's persistently-stingy defense kept a tight leash on the Bomber senior, but the mere threat of him handling the ball was enough to give Ballard an edge in this game of chess on Ballard's wet and foggy field. The game went into halftime with Ballard leading 6-0 thanks to a goal-line stand by the Rocket defense late in the first period that stopped Arnold at the one-yard line.
Minus Arnold's game totals, Crittenden's defense was nearly spotless, holding the rest of the Bombers to just 37 yards on the ground and 23 in the air. A mistake here and a missed assignment there spelled the difference.
"We just made too many mental mistakes," Rocket coach Al Starnes said. "You can't do that and expect to beat a good football team.
"They just beat us up front," Starnes added.
The Bomber front five bottled up Crittenden's ground game, holding Rocket runners to just 105 yards. It was junior quarterback Sean Thompson who led the team, breaking loose on busted pass plays or keeping for short gainers. He finished with 52 yards on 10 carries. Fullback Jared Asbridge came in next with just 29.
"There just aren't any holes to run through," halfback Demetric Moss said, who finished with only 15 yards on six carries.
Ballard went ahead by two touchdowns early in the third period, but Crittenden finally found some offensive momentum after being held to just one first down in the entire opening half. Thompson connected with tight end Zack Beverly for an 11-yard scoring pass that pulled Crittenden within 12-6 early in the fourth quarter, but Ballard responded immediately with a 70-yard scoring drive to silence the comeback.
Late in that Ballard scoring drive, Rocket safety and backup quarterback Cody Hunt was taken off the field in an ambulance. Preliminary indications were that Hunt would be okay, but he was unconscious for a time on the field. His absence would loom large late in the game when Thompson, the starting quarterback, was knocked out of the lineup and freshman Austin Berry went in and threw an interception that was returned for a TD on the first play.
The game was much closer than the final score might indicate. It was a one-touchdown contest until the final minutes when Ballard capitalized on some Rocket mistakes as they tried to catch up in a hurry.
It was Ballard's third straight win over the Rockets, a team that had dominated the Bombers for the last two decades. Prior to last year, when Crittenden lost to Ballard twice, including once in the playoffs, the Rockets had lost only once to the Bombers in 20 years.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Crittenden County 0...0...0...6
Ballard Memorial 6...0...6...13
SCORING PLAYS
B-Letiz Arnold 71 run (pass failed) 11:40, 1st
B-Chad Myatt 23 pass from Jason Hurt (pass failed) 9:54, 3rd
C-Zack Beverly 11 pass from Sean Thompson (kick failed) 9:54,
4th
B-Arnold 5 run (P.J. McGregor kick) 4:39, 4th
B-Aaron Potter 60 interception return (kick failed) :30, 4th