Marion stays unbeaten in 6A East play

Patriots double up on Sheridan, win 42-21

By CHUCK LIVINGSTON

Marion School District

One of Marion head football coach Lance Clark’s first goals when he arrived at the school prior to the 2021 season was for his team to take pride in playing at home.

In his first three seasons, Marion finished a combined 15-5 inside Southern Bancorp Stadium, but the Patriots have taken it up a level this fall in front of the home fans.

Marion improved to 4-0 at home in 2024 last Friday night with a 42-21 victory over Sheridan inside the friendly confines.

The Patriots (7-1 overall, 5-0 6A East) rolled up 397 yards against the Yellowjackets, including 336 steps on the ground. Senior tailback Jalen Smith logged 302 rushing yards on 21 carries against Sheridan (2-6, 1-4), with five touchdowns.

Smith’s production helped Marion erase a 15-14 halftime deficit as the Patriots scored 28 unanswered points in the second half.

“You have to give Sheridan tons of credit because they made no secret about what they were going to do, and then they still did it,” said fourth-year Marion coach Lance Clark. “They had a plan, they stuck to it, and they found success doing it. I also give our guys a lot of credit because we didn’t panic when we fell behind, we stayed the course, and we were able to beat a really good football team.”

Smith, who broke Marion’s all-time career rushing record a week ago in a victory at Jonesboro, had some help against Sheridan.

Junior quarterback Zayden Walker connected with senior receiver Corey Yates for Yates’ first career touchdown catch in the third period.

Sophomore defensive back Colton Kimbell made four tackles, one for loss, and intercepted a pass in his first varsity start.

Junior defensive lineman Jaylon Crawford and senior linebacker Carter Moore combined for a sack, while Zadean Wilson and Ryan Blackwell also logged solo sacks for the Pats.

“We had guys step up in a big way tonight that’s really exciting for a coach,” said Clark. “Guys who we believe in and we know can play, they finally got to show that tonight and the moment wasn’t too big for them.”

Smith started the scoring following a Sheridan punt on the game’s initial possession when the tailback sprinted 20 yards for a score and a 7-0 lead with 8:02 left in the first quarter.

The Marion bulge hit 14-0 on the Pats’ ensuing possession when Smith ran 59 yards to Glory for a score with 3:37 left in the opening frame.

Sheridan (2-5, 1-4) got on the board when sophomore tailback Zay Stephens outran the Marion defense for a 57yard scoring sprint with 44 seconds left in the first, and when Eli Turner added the two-point conversion, Marion’s lead was just 14-8 after the first frame.

The Yellowjackets recovered the ensuing onside kick and quickly turned it into points when quarterback Dax McMellon connected with J.P. Black for an 8-yard TD toss with 10:35 left in the second stanza, and the Sheridan extra point gave the visitors a 15-14 lead that they would eventually take to the lockers.

Marion recovered Sheridan’s onside kick attempt to start the third quarter and Smith wasted no time giving the Patriots the lead for good, zipping 50 yards for a TD on the first offensive play of the second half, and when Smith added the two-point conversion, Marion led 22-15.

Following a Sheridan turnover on downs, Walker hit Yates for a 21-yard TD toss with 4:53 left in the third that gave the visitors a 29-15 advantage.

The lead hit 36-15 when Smith broke several tackles en route to a 49-yard TD run with 3:12 left in the third.

Smith capped his night with a 13-yard scoring sprint with 5:35 left in the game.

Sheridan wrapped up the scoring when McMellon hit Jace Bradshaw for a 5-yard TD toss with 54 seconds left in regulation.

“A very good step for us, but we have to move on quickly now to next week because the games get bigger and bigger,” said Clark. “We want to keep improving every week as we get into the year. I thought we improved tonight from last week, and we will have to improve again next week from this week if we want to beat a quality Little Rock Catholic team.”

What’s next?

Marion continues its trek through 6A East play on Friday night when the Patriots play Little Rock Catholic (7-1 overall, 4-1 6A East) inside War Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m., and you can watch the LR Catholic game for free on MarionPatriots.com, on the MPAN YouTube channel, or on the MPAN mobile app.

Rankings rundown

Marion maintained its No. 4 ranking in the Hootens.com weekly Class 6A rankings, as well as the Arkansas Democrat Gazette’s weekly Class 6A Super Six rankings.

Home sweet home

Marion improved to 4-0 at home this fall with Friday night’s victory over Sheridan, and the Patriots have outscored their opposition by a combined 172-41 this fall inside Southern Bancorp Stadium.

Kicks and giggles

Senior kicker Nick Bledsoe was pressed into action during the game on Friday night and he nailed all four of his extra-point attempts and kicked off seven times for 307 yards.

Hot start

Marion is 7-1 through eight games for the second season in a row, and only the fourth time in school history.

The 1970 Patriots started 7-1 before finishing with a strong 8-2 mark, which was the best record for the school at the time.

The 2011 Patriots opened 7-1 before losing their final two regular-season games by a combined five points before beating Benton in the first round of the playoffs and losing a 16-15 decision at the eventual state champion on the final play of the quarterfinals.

Last year, Marion started 8-1 before losing the regular- season finale to Little Rock Catholic before finishing 8-3.

Playoff potential

Marion’s 5-0 start to the 2024 schedule has assured itself of a home playoff game, but that’s all that’s been settled for now.

The Patriots would be the outright 6A East conference champion should they win at LR Catholic and beat Benton at home on November 8. That would give Marion a first-round playoff bye, and home games in the quarterfinals and the semifinals.

Should Marion split the last two regular-season games then the Pats would likely get a first-round playoff bye, and a home quarterfinal game, but likely be on the road for a potential semifinal contest.

If the Pats lose the last two regular-season games, then Marion would likely host a first-round playoff game on November 15 before hitting the road for a quarterfinal contest on November 22.

6A East results from 10/25

Marion 42, Sheridan 21 Jonesboro 57, Sylvan Hills 26 Benton 42, LR Catholic 0 El Dorado 63, W. Memphis 28

6A East standings

Marion 5-0 Benton 5-0 LR Catholic 4-1 El Dorado 2-3 Jonesboro 2-3 Sheridan 1-4 W. Memphis 1-4 Sylvan Hills 0-5 Top six teams make playoffs

6A East games on 11/1

Marion at LR Catholic W. Memphis at Benton El Dorado at Jonesboro Sylvan Hills at Sheridan

Marion center Charlie Cantrell (65) slides to make a block during his team’s victory earlier this month against West Memphis.

Photo by Londa Hamrick/