Patriots whip Chicks in season opener
Marion dominant against Blytheville, Pats hit with injuries
Marion School District The Marion Patriots (1-0) started the season with a four-quarter roller coaster of emotions. The Pats defeated the Blytheville Chickasaws (0-1) on Friday, but the 44-14 win came at the cost of a couple of key players.
Marion running back Kentreal Jones and wide receiver Slade Webb left Friday’s game with injuries and did not return. Jones injured his knee in the first quarter, and he will be evaluated later in the week. Webb broke his collarbone after a helmet-to-helmet collision and is expected to be out for 6-8 weeks.
Coach Keith Houston said he felt terrible for the injured players and hopes for a speedy recovery. He also pointed his team’s depth and resilience to fight through those setbacks.
“No matter what happens, we have to trust the process,” Houston said.
“Kentreal and AP (Anthony Price) are both guys we can trust 20-30 times a night with the ball. Our receivers are going to step up and still cause some problems for other teams.”
The Patriots had an even 500 yards of offense against the Chicks, the majority of which came on the ground. Of Marion’s 277 rushing yards, senior running back Anthony Price gained 215 yards and three touchdowns on 31 carries.
“I knew I had to step up my game when Kentreal came out, that’s one of my brothers,” Price said.
“I should’ve broken a few more tackles, but our offensive line gave me a lot of room to run today. I love my line, I’m always going to pat them on the back any chance I can.”
Junior quarterback Daedrick Cail completed 14 of his 26 pass attempts for 223 yards and three touchdowns. Cail said he had a slow start to the game, but got more comfortable as the game went on.
“I knew there would be some first game jitters, but as soon as I threw my first touchdown, I knew I could get in a groove,” Cail said.
“We lost some key guys, so AP got a lot more touches late, but I knew we would come out with the win.”
Marion’s defense found the scoreboard on a safety and recorded five tackles for loss. The defense also recorded three turnovers, recovering two fumbles and intercepting a pass.
The Pats went down 14-0 early in the first quarter after a pick-six on Marion’s first drive and a 59-yard pass on the Chicks’ first drive. However, the Patriot defense managed to shut out the Chicks for the remainder of the game, and Marion found the endzone before the end of the first quarter on a 26-yard pass from Cail to Webb.
Webb would make his way to the endzone two more times in the second quarter on 33-yard and 37yard passes. Webb caught eight passes for 149 yards and three touchdowns before leaving the game in the third quarter.
The safety came in the second quarter as well, after a bad snap to the Chickasaw punter went out of the back of the endzone. The Pats led 23-14 at halftime.
Price’s three touchdowns all came in the second half, including a 62-yard run in the fourth quarter. Marion’s 44-14 win gave Marion their ninth win in 12 games with Coach Houston.
Up next for the Pats is a home game against the Wynne Yellowjackets (0-0). Marion played Blytheville during “Week Zero”, so this will be Wynne’s first game.
Marion’s 24-23 win in overtime last year was the Pats’ first victory in Wynne since 2008. Kickoff from Patriot Stadium on Friday, Sept. 5 is scheduled for 7 p.m.
