PLAYER PROFILE : Arnold Keeps Foes on Run

Monroe High quarterback Aaron Arnold, who glides around the football field with style and efficiency, smiles and reveals an intimate detail about himself.

“I love to stuff the run,” he says.

Granted, Arnold is talking about playing football on his video system, but he still isn’t what you might call a typical quarterback. His practice pants get dirty.

And he loves running the option for the Vikings (8-3), who will play Bell (5-5-1) tonight at 7 in a City Section 3-A Division quarterfinal at Bell High.

In a game last month against Van Nuys, Arnold carried five times for 211 yards and four touchdowns.

“They were keying on [running back] Jason Anderson,” Arnold said modestly. “They left me wide open. They weren’t expecting me to run, I guess.”

Opponents should expect Arnold, a 6-foot-1, 170-pound senior, to be a threat passing the ball too.

In a first-round playoff victory over Venice, Arnold completed eight of nine passes for 165 yards and a touchdown and ran seven times for 87 yards and two touchdowns.

“I’ve had some outstanding quarterbacks that have gone on to play at college and Aaron ranks right up there with them,” Monroe Coach Fred Cuccia said.

“Aaron can hurt teams by running, throwing or handing the ball off . . . and making the right read.”

Arnold has paced the Vikings to an average of 350 yards a game, best among City teams in the region.

And he is a leader in other sports as well, competing on the track and basketball teams.

But the ultimate competition for Arnold would be the 3-A football title game. “We have the attitude to win the championship,” Arnold said. “But if we don’t play to our capability, we don’t stand a chance.”