Win over Jacksonville gives Patriots high playoff hopes

Showdown with Jonesboro tomorrow night will play huge role in 6A seeding

Marion School District The Marion Patriots (5-4 overall, 4-2 6A East) did not play their prettiest game last Friday against the Jacksonville Titans (2-7, 1-5), but the Pats found enough space to separate themselves from the Titans. The 28-6 win over the Titans gave the Pats a winning record after dropping three of their first four games.

“I thought we did some good stuff tonight, but there was a lot of bad stuff tonight as well,” Marion coach Keith Houston said.

“We didn’t seem mentally locked in this week in practice and it showed. It’s always great to get a win, especially on the road, but we weren’t firing on all cylinders tonight.”

Jacksonville’s defensive line did not give the Pats much room to run, but that opened the door for junior quarterback Daedrick Cail to make big plays with his arm. Cail completed 17 of his 34 passes for 305 yards and two touchdowns.

Receiver Slade Webb only caught three of those passes, but he did haul one of those in for a 46-yard touchdown and finished with 81 yards total. Webb also found the endzone on 60-yard interception return. Webb and Cail also visited the now nineteenth ranked Memphis Tigers on Saturday. “Slade is a different dude,” Houston said.

“The kid is amazing when the ball is in his hands.

It doesn’t matter if its on offense or defense, he’s a playmaker.”

Webb’s interception was the second one thrown by sophomore quarterback Deorius Cobbs.

The first was snagged by senior linebacker Brandon Calvert, who read the young quarterback’s eyes and jumped in front of the route. Marion’s defense has forced a turnover in every game this season.

The other two Patriot touchdowns came in the second half on the legs of junior linebacker/running back Antonio Grays.

Grays scored on a 26-yard pass on a wheel route in the third quarter and a nine-yard run in the fourth despite taking a big hit behind the line of scrimmage on the play.

“Antonio has been a great asset to the team all year,” Houston said. “When we put him on the offensive side of the ball, he’s produced for us.” The most impressive part of Gray’s performance is found in the fact that his primary position is on the defensive side of the ball.

Antonio was listed with a team-high eight tackles, including three tackles for loss, two of which were sacks.

Up next for the Pats is the annual Thursday night regular season finale against the Jonesboro Golden Hurricane (7-2, 5-1).

Marion has won the last two matchups in the series, including a 38-25 victory at Cooksey-Johns Field last year.

Thursday is also senior night for the Patriots, so fans are encouraged to arrive early to honor seniors from the football, tennis, golf, cross country, band and cheerleading teams.

Kickoff from Patriot Stadium on Thursday, Nov. 7 is scheduled for 7 p.m.