Patriots look to create more history in 1st round playoff
Marion hosts Russellville tonight
Marion School District America was less than two weeks away from reelecting George W. Bush as President.
The nation was less than two weeks removed from the Boston Red Sox winning their first World Series title since 1918 by winning their last eight playoff games.
“Lost,” a popular television series, debuted in September on ABC.
Suffice to say, the world looked a lot different in 2004, which is the last time that the Marion Patriots missed the state football playoffs.
The 2005 Patriots returned to the playoffs for the first time since 1992 and established the school record for victories in a season (nine) by winning the first home playoff game in school history (44-7 over Crossett).
Marion hasn't missed the playoffs since.
First-year Marion coach Lance Clark knows how to reach War Memorial Stadium. Clark was Little Rock Christian's defensive coordinator the past three seasons when the Warriors won the 2018 Class 5A state title and finished as state runners-up in 2019 and 2020.
“I think it's important for players and coaches alike to understand that you have to elevate your play in the playoffs,” said Clark. “A lot of people say you keep doing what you're doing, and that's true. What I mean is if your mental intensity and focus aren't raised in the playoffs, the teams that routinely play for and win championships will raise it.”
Marion has been able to raise its level of play at home this season. The Patriots finished the regular season 4-1 on the Premier Bank Stadium field, capped by a 50-43 victory last Thursday night against 6A East co-champion and No.
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Photo by Londa Hamrick PATRIOTS (cont.)
1 seed Jonesboro.
“I think there's something about playing at home that resonates with our kids,” said Clark. “We want to make sure that this is a place that teams can't come in and win. Winning in the playoffs goes a long way towards that.”
In addition to qualifying for the playoffs for the 17th straight season, the Patriots will host a playoff game for the sixth year in a row Friday night when Marion hosts 6AWest No. 5 seed Russellville. It will be the first meeting of the schools. In a lot of ways, Marion and Russellville mirror each other, particularly this season. Russellville plays Friday under a first-year coach, Dave Wheeler. Both were picked by league coaches to miss the playoffs in the 2021 edition of Hooten's Arkansas Football. Each team likes to establish the run on offense. Perhaps more importantly, each team appears to be playing its best football entering the postseason. Marion has won three straight games, and four out of five.
Russellville handily won its last two games of the regular year, beating Mountain Home and Siloam Springs by a combined 87-28.
“They have gotten tougher and more physical this year, something that we pride ourselves on,” said Clark. “We welcome a physical, blue-collar game.
That's not the only game we can play. To win big you need to build up and do everything well, but we always start with hard-hat, blue-collar, line-of-scrimmage football.”
Russellville senior quarterback Gavin Graham completed 54 percent of his passes during the regular season for 1,366 yards and 14 touchdowns with eight interceptions. Four tailbacks rushed for 318 yards or more during the regular season, paced by tailback Tracy Daniels' 516 yards and eight scores. This fall, five receivers have caught 11 passes or more, led by senior Trenton Stokes' 25 receptions for 404 yards and four TDs. Senior Shane Bucher (63 stops), senior Ty Hipps (53 stops), and senior Alex Bonilla (48 stops) top the Russellville tackle chart.
Marion senior QB Ben Gerrard likely starts this week against Russellville after passing for a careerhigh 244 yards with three TDs against Jonesboro.
The kickoff at Premier Bank Stadium is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday night.
The game will be livestreamed on MarionPatriots.com and on the Marion Patriots Activities Network mobile app.
