JONESBORO, Ark. (9/2/06) ? Reggie Arnold rushed for 140 yards and scored a 17-yard touchdown in his first-ever collegiate football game to lead Arkansas State (1-0) past Army (0-1), 14-6, Saturday night in Indian Stadium.
Army got on the scoreboard first courtesy of a 26-yard field goal by Austin Miller in the first quarter with 8:19 showing on the clock. Arnold, a 5-9, 217-pound redshirt freshman, found his way into the end zone with 3:52 left in the second quarter for the score. Kicker Josh Arauco's extra point put the Indians on top, 7-3.
“Reginald Arnold stepped up big with 140 yards rushing on 25 carries for a 5.6-yard average,” said ASU Head Coach Steve Roberts. “That's just a heck of an effort for a freshman. I was very, very pleased with him. He held onto the football. He probably got a little tired. He broke some tackles and ran the football very hard.”
Despite a few mistakes, ASU appeared to dominate the game with tough defense and a solid offensive performance behind the efforts of the Indians' two quarterbacks, Travis Hewitt and Corey Leonard. The 6-1, 210-pound Hewitt started the ball game and Leonard, a 6-1 196-pound redshirt freshman came in on the Indians' third possession.
“I thought both of our quarterbacks played very well for their first start,” continued Roberts. “It was the first opportunity to get out on the field and have any significant action and action that was as pressure-packed as what it was tonight. I thought they really did a good job.”
ASU's other score came on a 10-yard run by Hewitt at the 11:54 mark in the third quarter. Miller added another field goal late in the fourth quarter to end the scoring.
ASU rolled up 319 yards of total offense including 222 yards on the ground and 97 yards through the air. Army finished the game with 164 yards of offense. Hewitt and Leonard combined to connect on 11 of 16 passes. Chris Miller led all Indian receivers with four catches for 21 yards. Army quarterback David Pevoto completed 12 of 23 for 95 yards and two interceptions and the Black Knights' ground game was led by Wesley McMahand with 13 carries for 35 yards.
Defensively, the Tribe was paced by safety Tyrell Johnson with nine total stops, followed by tackle Jamarrow James and linebacker Josh Williams, with seven each. Williams played his first game since the 2004 season. Free safety Jordan Murray led the Black Knights with 12.
Following the win, ASU students and fans stormed the playing field and easily tore down the goal posts on both ends. The incident was the first time in the stadium's 31-year history.
Arkansas State will travel to Little Rock next weekend to face Oklahoma State in War Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is 6:05 p.m.
Arkansas State vs. Army game statistics
