Arnold prepares for rival Bay

PANAMA CITY BEACH - One tangible Arnold took away from the fall jamboree was to catch the football. Whether it is being thrown by quarterback Johnny Gray, or carried by a player in an opposing jersey.

The biggest upside is that the Marlins survived a jamboree without losing a starter to injury, and will get one back for the season opener against Bay.

"It seems like every year," Arnold coach James Hale said of the injuries. "Last year, on the last play against Rutherford we lost starting tackle Cody Brooks. Then Jared Degler got hurt."

Brooks has returned to help anchor an experienced offensive line, but Degler, a linebacker, remains at least three weeks away since breaking an ankle last May in the spring game.

However, linebacker Chase Bennett, hurt in that same jamboree, returns at 7 p.m. Friday as the Marlins seek their first win in their brief rivalry with Bay. Both schools are Class 3A, but play in separate districts.

"Defense is a concern," Hale admitted. "We had Justin Tate playing linebacker (last week) and he's really a corner. We moved him back. Chase Bennett practiced Monday and Tuesday and we're going to hold him out the rest of the week.

"Having him back helps a lot. He knows the defense, he's a three-year player, and if he's healthy we can be a lot better on defense. He just knows what's going on out there."

Hale added that Gray threw the football well in halves against Rutherford and Mosley, but Arnold receivers didn't always do their job.

"We came up with something in practice to hopefully have the receivers focus a little better," Hale said. "We got to work on our passing game against Mosley. Johnny can throw the ball really well."

The key to Arnold's offense remains the Veer option attack. Hale is confident that the Marlins, with 1,200-yard rusher Jeremy Hester and bruising runner Chris Jackson joining Gray in a veteran backfield, can break a number of long gainers this season.

"We'll have negative plays, but sooner or later this offense is designed to break one," Hale said. "When they took away Hester, Johnny broke one" against Rutherford.

Hester added a 79-yard scoring sprint, and Hale said that right guard Chris Gipson, right tackle Ryan Johnson and tight end Kevin Bolter were effective in the jamboree. Sophomore Blake DeBoard, a transfer from Indiana, could be a find in the secondary.

Despite never having defeated Bay, Hale downplayed loading up emotionally for a county rival.

"We really haven't talked much about that," he said. "We've just been focusing on getting better. Us trying to improve."

The Tornadoes present a challenge with their team speed, especially to a defense trying to become a cohesive unit.

"I think they'll go back and run what they do best, the Wing-T package with the sweep to the strong side and the weak side. They've got great athletes like always with speed all over the field.

"If we're going to be good, we've got to play good defense. If we can do that, we have a chance to be a good football team."