Patriots top Wildcats to move to 2-0

Marion pulls away against Harding Academy for 37-7 win

By CHUCK LIVINGSTON

Marion School District

Marion’s football team prides itself on its conditioning program, even running extra sprints on Monday afternoons during the season to build up endurance.

The Patriots certainly looked the part last Friday night.

Deadlocked in a 12-7 contest late in the third quarter against defending Class 4A state champion Harding Academy, a school that has won state titles in four of the past five years, Marion finally kicked down the door.

Marion pulled away from the state power by scoring touchdowns on four of its final five possessions, with the fifth possession featuring Marion kneeling out the game clock late in the fourth quarter.

Added up, the Pats topped the Wildcats 37-7 to improve to 2-0 for the second year in a row. Marion travels on Friday to Conway to play the top-ranked Class 7A team in the state.

Marion’s (2-0 overall) stingy defense held Harding to the school’s lowest-scoring output since 2008, forcing two turnovers and limiting the Wildcats to 202 total yards.

The Patriot offense rolled up 570 yards against Harding Academy, with 375 on the ground, including 184 yards rushing and three TDs from senior tailback Jalen Smith.

“I thought our guys showed a lot of toughness and guts tonight sticking with the gameplan and believing,” said fourth-year Marion coach Lance Clark. “We didn’t do everything perfectly all the time. We played kind of poorly at times. But we did a lot more good things than we did bad, and when things got tough, we punched back, and that’s what makes you really proud as a coach.”

Things did get tough for Marion in the third period after the Patriots led 12-0 at halftime.

Harding Academy (0-1 overall) covered 65 yards in just six plays, hitting paydirt when senior quarterback Owen Miller connected with tailback Isaac Baker for a 32-yard TD pass, and when the Wildcats added the extra point, the visitors had crept within 12-7 with 10:53 left in the third.

Things went from bad to worse on Marion’s ensuing drive when the Patriots were forced to punt, but the Wildcat rush blocked the low kick and nearly returned the loose carom for a touchdown.

Instead, Marion’s Kajeris Hill met the Wildcat ball carrier at the pylon and knocked the ball through the end zone, giving the Patriots a fresh set of downs at their own 20-yard line.

“Play of the game for sure,” said Clark. “For Kajeris to not give up on the play, and not just make a tackle down there, but to force a turnover was immensely crucial. Unbelievable hustle and effort.”

Following a Harding punt late in the third quarter, Marion went back up by double- digits when Smith took a handoff 36 yards to glory on third and 5, giving the Pats an 18-7 lead after three quarters.

The Marion defense stiffened on the ensuing drive, forcing a four-and-out, and Smith took off again on the Pats’ first snap, sprinting 65 yards in 11 seconds to push the Pats ahead 24-7 with 11:17 left in regulation.

The Pats came up with a fumble to end the Wildcats’ next drive, and Smith essentially salted the game away when he darted 44 yards on fourth and 1 for a score, giving the hosts a 31-7 lead with 7:22 left.

Marion capped the scoring when senior Tywon Sneed zipped 69 yards for a TD late in the fourth.

The Patriots took the ball and promptly marched 54 yards on seven plays to start the game, turning a third and 8 into the first score of the night when Smith passed to Mitrell Lewis for a 10-yard touchdown with 9:06 left in the first, but following a missed extra point, the Patriot lead was just 6-0.

The hosts ended the next Harding drive when Hill won a jump ball for his first interception of the year.

“Our defense was phenomenal tonight,” said Clark. “Guys were in position. Our guys made plays. We tackled well for the most part. Every level of our defense brought it tonight, especially the secondary because that’s a good passing team that does not turn the ball over and we held up tonight.”

Marion dug deeper in the bag of tricks on its next drive when QB Zayden Walker threw a backward pass to Lewis before hitting Jeremy Dent behind the Harding secondary for a 52-yard score and a 12-0 lead that doubled as the halftime tally.

Marion junior quarterback Zayden Walker passed for 128 yards against Harding Academy before leaving in the third quarter with an injury.

That paved the way for sophomore QB Max Molloy to finish the contest, and the all-conference baseball player completed one of his two passes for five yards, and he racked up 44 yards on the ground.

Lewis caught seven passes for 82 yards and the score, while Dent’s one reception covered 52 yards for a TD. Sophomore Kam Riley helped convert a third down with a 47-yard reception in the second period, and Cam Garrett snatched two passes for 14 yards.

Jaron Davis stacked eight tackles against Harding, including two sacks and a deflected pass, while defensive back Kendrick Cauley logged eight tackles. Chris Byrd stacked six tackles with two tackles for loss, including one sack.

What’s next?

Marion plays at Conway on Friday night with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m. You can watch the Conway game for free on MarionPatriots.com, the MPAN YouTube channel, or on the MPAN mobile app.

Rankings rundown

Marion maintained its No. 4 spot in this week’s edition of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s weekly Super Six rankings, and for the first time in modern history, Marion cracked the ADG’s overall Top 10 at No. 10. Hooten’s Arkansas Football ranked Marion No. 5 for the third straight week this week.

Passing fancy

Marion has thrown three TD passes so far in 2024, and none of them have been from a traditional offensive set. Tailback Jalen Smith has thrown two TD passes this season, one at Wynne and one against Harding Academy, and Lewis threw a TD pass against Harding Academy last week.

Marion safety Kajeris Hill (6) skies for an interception during his team’s 37-7 victory last Friday night over defending Class 4A state champion Harding Academy.

Photo by Londa Hamrick