Antolin gives ‘Cats relief

Oklahoma sophomore DeMarco Murray isn't the only former Bishop Gorman running back making a name for himself at a major college football program playing for a coach named Stoops.

Arizona freshman Keola Antolin -- who replaced Murray as the Gaels' leading rusher last season and led them to a state title -- is coming off a breakout game for the Wildcats, coached by Mike Stoops, younger brother of Sooners coach Bob Stoops.

Antolin, 18, replaced Arizona leading rusher Nic Grigsby early in the Wildcats' 42-27 home triumph over then-No. 25 California on Saturday and responded with career highs of 21 carries, 149 yards and three touchdowns.

"It was crazy," Antolin said after practice Tuesday. "It was a big game, too, against the top-25 team in the nation. I didn't expect to go in, but they called my number and continued calling my number. I kept it up and we came out with the win."

Antolin, who had a long run of 59 yards and averaged 7.1 yards per carry against Cal, also returned four kicks for 79 yards and caught one pass for nine yards in the top performance of his young college career.

"If they need me to step it up, I'll step it up," said Antolin, who was named the Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Week. "I was very confident. Once the first hit came, the butterflies went away. When I scored that first touchdown, that was everything."

Grigsby, a sophomore who leads Arizona in rushing with 627 yards, was benched against the Golden Bears after fumbling on his first carry.

Antolin, who entered the game with 25 carries for 66 yards and one TD this season, scored shortly after entering the game, on a 20-yard scamper up the middle, to tie the score at 7.

Less than two minutes later, he powered his way into the end zone from 11 yards to give the Wildcats a 14-7 lead.

"His run down at the goal line was very powerful against some very physical linebackers," Stoops said.

Despite standing just 5 feet 8 inches and weighing 180 pounds, Antolin said he enjoys banging his way between the tackles.

"With my height I'm low to the ground, so it's a lot harder to tackle me," Antolin said. "I definitely get banged up, but it's a good feeling."

Antolin's style appears to be the perfect complement to the shifty Grigsby.

"I think we needed that, a little bit of power and pop in the inside run game," Stoops said. "That's not really what Nic does. Nic is a slasher. Nic gives you a lot of excitement back there.

"Keola's a little bit more of a downhill, inside-the-tackle runner."

Antolin, whose 1-yard plunge in the third quarter gave Arizona the lead for good, at 28-27, rushed for 1,048 yards and 10 TDs last year for the Gaels -- rumbling for 203 yards and three TDs in the state-title win over McQueen.

In college, Antolin said "the speed's a lot different" and "the holes close quickly." But he is adapting well to the next level.

"I'm still a freshman, I'm still learning and there are things I've got to work on," he said. "The guys are helping me a lot. I'm just going to learn from Grigsby and get some more experience."

The sudden emergence of Antolin can only help Arizona (5-2, 3-1 Pac-10) heading into Saturday's home game against No. 6 Southern California (5-1, 3-1). The Wildcats and Trojans are locked in a four-way tie atop the Pac-10 with Oregon and Oregon State.

"It's a big game, for first place in the Pac-10," Stoops said. "I don't think any more really has to be said. Our kids know we haven't accomplished anything yet."

While Grigsby will remain Arizona's top tailback for at least another week, USC coach Pete Carroll said his defense also expects to see Antolin on Saturday.

"Both guys are like lightning in a bottle," he said. "They're terrific open-field runners, great speed. I can't imagine (the Wildcats) being more excited than they are about what happened last weekend, seeing the production they got out of that new guy (Antolin). They've got a great 1-2 punch, however they want to do it."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.