A Calvary Day underrated receiver delivers in win over Savannah Country Day
In an offense that includes some of the most pursued wide receiver recruiting prospects in the country, Calvary Day's Caden Arnold is sometimes overlooked.
But his close friend — Calvary's Tennessee-bound quarterback Jake Merklinger — always knows where to find him.
Arnold had another impressive performance Friday night as the senior reeled in eight receptions for a career-high 176 yards with a pair of touchdowns as the visiting Cavaliers rolled to a 49-0 Region 3-3A win over cross-town rival Savannah Country Day.
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In the second quarter, he took a pass on the right side of the field and eluded a pair of would-be tacklers as he waltzed down the right sideline for a 23-yard score.
In the third quarter, the slot man caught a short ball over the middle and found open space down the right sideline and his teammate Thomas Blackshear, the star receiver whose offers include UGA and Alabama, provided security on a 68-yard dash to the end zone.
"Caden had another phenomenal night, and he made up for a couple mistakes that I made," said Merklinger, who was 12 of 13 passing for 227 yards and the two scores, with a rushing touchdown. "He does such a great job in space and he has like this God-given sixth sense — he's super smart out there and an amazing athlete. I was throwing him four-yard passes and he takes them to the end zone."
Arnold said that Calvary had watched film and thought he might be able to find open space in the middle of the field against SCD (5-3, 3-2 in region).
"We thought I might be able to get open in the middle of the field, and if I got the ball I needed to make a play," said Arnold, who has 32 catches for 562 yards and nine total touchdowns on the season. "I've been playing with Jake (Merklinger) so long, I know how he reads defenses and I see the same things. He just gave me a look before a couple of those plays — we could visualize what was going to happen."
Junior Doopah Coleman, a junior receiver whose offers include Ohio State and Alabama, came back after missing the last three games and got into the mix with several touches. Coach Mark Stroud said they had Coleman on a pitch count as they look forward to bringing him back into the fold of the offense.
Brody Dawson returned a partially blocked punt 22 yards for the Cavs first touchdown and Trevor Strowbridge, Jordan Tillman and Chase Lucas also had rushing touchdowns for Calvary, which improved to 8-0 and 4-0 in region play.
Calvary Day, ranked No. 1 among Class 3A teams in the state by the AJC, will be on the road next week against Long County.
Dennis Knight covers sports for the Savannah Morning News. Contact him at Dknight@savannahnow.com. Twitter: @DennisKnightSMN
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Overlooked Calvary standout Caden Arnold stars in win over Country Day
