It is unclear how much Marion head football coach Lance Clark has dabbled in acting in his time, but he couldn't help but sound like Roy Schneider's character Chief Martin Brody from the 1975 film “Jaws” during Wednesday's media availability.
While perusing a website promoting Harding Academy's new “Eat The Captain” defense ahead of Marion's second non-conference contest this week in Searcy, a headline on the page consisted of just six words, but said much more.
“You're gonna need a bigger boat.”
An array of videos on the page displayed the danger level of Harding's new defensive mindset under first-year coach Ashley Henley, who succeeded the wildly successful Neil Evans over the off-season.
“The idea on their end is to create mass confusion,” said Clark. “Negative plays, turnovers, sacks. Their motto is 'zero or less,' meaning that's how many yards they want to give up on a given play. It's different than anything we have seen or will see this year, unless we play Shiloh Christian in the playoffs. It's a challenge, and it's a good opportunity for our guys to deal with adversity.”
Marion (1-0 overall) already overcame a dose of adversity in last Friday's season-opener against Wynne, erasing a 20-13 second-quarter deficit with 33 unanswered points to clinch a 60-27 victory over the Yellowjackets.
The Patriots' third straight win over Wynne was encouraging, but Clark says that there can not be a letdown this week.
“Harding Academy has won a ton of games these last seven or eight years,” said the coach. “It's another traditional program, they expect to win, they have good players, and good athletes. For us, it's a challenge because it's a big venue, a college stadium, against a team that doesn't lose many games in that stadium. It's just a unique opportunity for us this week, and we need to be ready to take advantage of it.”
Friday night marks the season-opener for Harding Academy, which also did not play a benefit scrimmage last month, so Marion's coaching staff had to find unique ways to scout the Wildcats this week.
Marion coaches got film of Harding's junior high opener with Beebe from last week and made observations based on that, as well as watching Shiloh Christian film from the past few seasons, when Henley was the Saints' defensive coordinator.
“This has been a unique situation with an all-new staff, a lot of new players, and not much to go off on the field so far,” said Clark. “What we know is that the defense will likely play hard and fast, and swarm to the ball and gang tackle, because that's what they've always done. On offense, we know they have good players, especially skill guys, and there's a chance for more quarterback run that they've been known for in the past.”
The Wildcats return starters at 10 positions for 2025 after winning seven games a season ago.
Marion beat Harding Academy 37-7 last September, but the game was 12-7 until the third quarter, when the Pats were able to pull away.
“I expect a close game again,” said the coach. “Their staff gets the guys ready, they'll be playing at home, we'll have a longish bus ride, and they've seen a couple of our games now. They know what we like to do, and they know what they'll want to take away.”
HOW TO WATCH
Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at First Security Field in Searcy, and you can watch the Marion-Harding Academy football game for free on the Marion Patriots Activities Network YouTube channel.
RANKINGS RUNDOWN
Marion maintained its No. 4 state ranking this week on Hootens.com and on ScoreBookLive.com, and the Patriots were tied for fourth in the weekly Arkansas Sports Media High School Football poll with Mountain Home. Marion was ranked fifth in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's weekly Class 6A SuperSix rankings.