Idaho State Fooled by Change-Up

Aaron Arnold didn’t expect the play to work. Marcus Brady likewise had his doubts.

But Jeff Kearin was certain of one thing.

“Aaron Arnold does what Aaron Arnold does,” said Kearin, interim coach for Cal State Northridge. “He’s been a big-play guy since we got him. It always comes back to, ‘Let’s get the ball to Aaron Arnold. Let’s throw it to him, hand it to him, kick it to him.’ ”

Arnold, a senior and Northridge’s career receiving leader, did a bit of everything Saturday, catching eight passes for 76 yards and scoring a career-high four touchdowns in the Matadors’ 41-27 Big Sky Conference victory over Idaho State at North Campus Stadium.

The handoffs were something new.

With Northridge leading, 34-27, and facing third and nine at the Idaho State 39 with 1:28 to play, Arnold took a handoff from Brady on a reverse and ran 39 yards for a touchdown. It was his third touchdown of the fourth quarter.

Five plays earlier, on first and 15 at the Northridge 32, Arnold ran the same play for a 15-yard gain to sustain what ultimately was an eight-play, 75-yard drive.

Arnold ran the play for a gain in the first half, although it was nullified by a penalty.

Kearin added the play to the Matadors’ repertoire this week. But Arnold, who had not scored a rushing touchdown since he played for Monroe High, had misgivings.

“During the week, I didn’t think that play was going to work,” Arnold said. “But we got two great blocks from Drew [Amerson] and Terrence Jones.

“We called a timeout. Coach Kearin wanted us to run [the reverse] but Marcus was seeing something else, I think. But it turns out they were in the perfect defense to run that play. So we stayed with it.”

Cornerback Chazz Moore jokingly said the play didn’t work in practice because Arnold was running against the Northridge defense.

Brady, who threw touchdown passes of 35, three and seven yards to Arnold, recognized the play would work--at the right time.

“I was kind of questioning it,” Brady said. “They kept bringing some guy up from that end. But then they didn’t and it looked like it would work.”

Arnold last week added to his long list of Northridge records, becoming the Matadors’ career leader in reception yards with 2,320.

Saturday, he raised his reception total to 166 and touchdown total to 26, both school records. He had touchdown receptions of seven and three yards in the fourth quarter and one of 35 yards in the second.