Patriots soar against Little Rock Hall

Patriots soar against Little Rock Hall

The mercy rule came into effect on Marion’s first drive of the second half as Jacob Green dropped a 47yard bomb into the hands of Taylor Brown

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They scored early. They scored often. And, with almost 400 passing yard and five touchdowns through the air, the Marion Patriots (2-3 overall, 1-1 6A Conference) flew past the Little Rock Hall Warriors (1-4, 0-2) 55-19 on their way to their first conference victory of the season.

The first 6A victory of the season brought with it a much-needed sense of relief for the Patriots, according to Marion head coach Jed Davis.

“It feels good,” Davis said. “You know, we had to get back on track after losing last week (to West Memphis). Like I told our kids this week, it doesn’t matter who we’re playing this Friday, we needed a win to get back into the conference race. So, that was really good for us.”

The Patriots wasted no time jumping on top of Hall, as Marion quarterback Jacob Green connected with Ryan Robins for a four-yard touchdown to cap off an 11 play, fourminute opening drive for the Patriots.

Robins went on to haul in four receptions for 81 yards and the one score.

But, that was just a small chuck of Green’s overall passing yards as the Marion senior totaled 354 yards through the air and four touchdowns with 307 of those yards and three scores coming in the first half.

“He can sling the football,” Davis said of Green.

“We threw it a lot tonight.

He just did a really good job of throwing the football. He’s gotten better every single week. So, I’m just really proud of him and those receivers.”

Green credits his big night to his ability to remain calm in the pocket and keep his eyes locked downfield, leading to two completions of 47 yards as well as an highlight-reel worthy 44-yard grab by Robins.

“I just kept my focus and stayed calm the whole game. That’s about it,” Green said.

Although Joyrion Chase entered the game as the Patriots leading receiver on the year, it was sophomore Slade Webb who benefited most from Marion’s dynamic aerial assault with five receptions for 99 yards and one 32-yard score.

Davis believes that Marion’s pick-your-poison style receiving core allowed Webb to be freed up for his big night.

“Last week, Joyrion chase had a big night,” Davis said. “So, they were rotating the safety over to double team him and that was opening it up for the inside receiver which was Slade Webb. So, he was able to make some big plays.”

Marion’s biggest dagger came as Green connected with Taylor Brown for a 47-yard score, giving the Patriots a 48-12 lead with 8:49 remaining in the third quarter and inducing the clock-running mercy rule.

Running back Anthony Price also hauled in a score, catching a pass out of the backfield and taking it for 35 yards to the end zone. Price found the end zone on the ground as well, rushing seven times for 64 yards and one touchdown. Though Price enjoyed success on the ground, Davis hopes to see more solid play from the Marion offensive line going forward.

“I think A.P. (Price) did a good job running the ball,” Davis said. “We didn’t have the greatest night up front. We had too many breakdowns in our pass protection and our run game. We got to get that fixed. It was kind of a letdown for those guys.”

Davis also hopes to see the Patriots defense tighten up and allow less big play as the season progresses, saying he is disappointed in several plays by Marion’s defense, in particular allowing a 28-yard touchdown pass that cut Marion’s lead to 28-12 with 5:34 remaining in the first half.

“I was pretty disappointed in some of the deep plays like that deep ball that we gave up,” Davis said.

“Third and fourth down conversions, I wasn’t really pleased with that. So, we’ve got some things we’ve got to get fixed.”

Though, Davis happily watched Hall score its final touchdown, a 66-yard run by special-needs studentathlete Kevin Durr.

With Marion leading 5512 in the fourth quarter and the clock running under nine minutes, Davis called timeout and put back in his first-string defense. The Patriots starters cheered and ran alongside Durr as the Little Rock Hall senior ran into the Marion end zone for his first career touchdown.

“There’s bigger things than high school football,” Davis said. “When you can make a memory for a kid like that, it’s the right thing to do. That kid’s going to remember that forever.

We’re going to forget the score of this game by the end of the season and definitely by next year. But, that kid’s going to remember that forever. And, that’s what it’s all about.”

Marion returns home this Friday, welcoming the Searcy Lions (4-1, 1-1) for the Patriots homecoming game. The Lions enter Marion’s homecoming fresh off their first loss of the season, a 36-21 defeat to the West Memphis Blue Devils (5-0, 2-0).

This Friday’s kickoff in Marion between the Patriots and Lions is slated for 7:00 p.m.

By Collins Peeples