Patriots hold on to beat Bears
Marion picks up conference win with victory over Sylvan Hills
Marion School District The Marion Patriots (2-3 overall, 1-1 6A East) outlasted the Sylvan Hills Bears (1-4, 0-2) on Friday for their first conference win. The Pats and Bears traded scoring runs to bookend the game, but a last second stand gave Marion the win.
Marion eclipsed 300 yards of total offense, 265 of which came through the air after only 69 passing yards a week ago. Junior quarterback Daedrick Cail completed 16 of his 28 passing attempts with two touchdowns, but he did throw three interceptions.
Despite the limited running game, senior Anthony Price still had a productive night. The veteran back carried the ball eleven times for 52 yards and a touchdown against an aggressive Sylvan Hills defensive line.
“We needed our offensive line to be consistent tonight and I thought they were for the most part,” Marion coach Keith Houston said. “We need consistency all around the field, but those guys are the backbone of the offense.
When we gave AP (Price) holes, he was able to make some plays.”
Marion started the first scoring run of the night with a 32-yard field goal from sophomore Dylan Pieri. Mari Cage made the Bears pay after they failed to convert on fourth-andone from their own 29yard line. Cail found Cage from 24-yards out to give Marion a 10-0 lead.
The Bears found their stride in the second quarter, answering with a field goal and two touchdowns before the end of the half.
Sylvan Hills players and fans enjoyed a 17-10 halftime lead to go along with the homecoming ceremonies.
Sylvan Hills kicker Matthew Riley would extend the Bears’ lead after the break on their first drive to push their lead to ten points. The Pats would answer with a 5-yard touchdown pass before the end of the quarter to Thomas Dorin and trailed the Bears 20-17 at the start of the fourth.
Marion’s defense held the Bears off the board for the remainder of the game, in textbook bend-don’t-break fashion. Sylvan Hills drove deep into Marion territory twice in the fourth quarter, but the Patriot defense managed to come up with stops on fourth-and-short situations.
After Price gave the Pats the lead with his touchdown run in the fourth, the second fourth quarter turnover-on-downs won the game for the Pats. Sylvan Hills had the ball at the Marion five-yard line with four seconds left, trailing 24-20.
The Bears ran the majority of their plays out of the I-formation, using a shotgun formation occasionally to run jet sweeps to their quick receivers. Sylvan Hills faked a sweep on the final play, but handed it off to their running back. The Patriot defense sniffed the fake out, tackling the back for a short gain and giving Marion their first conference win. “Once our defense figures out what their supposed to do, they can make all the big plays,” Houston said.
“We had to make some adjustments at the half to counter what they were doing. They started making tackles and big plays for us.”
Homecoming week is up next for the Patriots as they host the talented Searcy Lions (5-0)(2-0). The Lions won last year’s meeting 37-23 and have conference wins this season over Jacksonville and West Memphis.
Next week’s game is the first for Marion at Patriot Stadium since they hosted Wynne back on Sept 6.
Kick-off from Patriot Stadium on Friday, Oct. 11, is scheduled for 7 p.m. Fans are encouraged to arrive around 6:30 p.m. to enjoy all of the 2019 Homecoming festivities.
