Marion Athletics -

It had been more than 30 years since Marion won a football game on Halloween night prior to Friday night's affair with Little Rock Catholic.

Luckily for the Patriots, they were the scariest thing on the Southern Bancorp Stadium field against the Rockets.

Marion blitzed Little Rock Catholic, scoring the game's final 28 points, all in the second half, to pull away for a 48-10 victory over the Rockets.

The Marion (6-3 overall, 4-2 6A East) victory clinched a playoff berth and the No. 5 seed at worst, and it's the Pats' 21st consecutive postseason appearance.

"We have been hoping for a game like that for a long time," said fifth-year Marion coach Lance Clark. "This was a game that wasn't perfect by any stretch, but all three phases made big plays. We forced turnovers, we made big plays on offense, and the kicking game. Really, a total team win and at a really good time for us."

Little Rock Catholic's loss dropped the Rockets to 2-7 overall and 1-5 in the league, and officially eliminates them from playoff contention.

Marion's Kajeris Hill opened the scoring last night with a 53-yard punt return for a touchdown with 8:39 left in the first quarter, and a Brody Wasion point after gave the hosts a 7-0 lead.

The Pats came up with another explosive play on their next drive when quarterback Zayden Walker connected with Aamoni Wren on a 60-yard TD toss with 4:06 left to give Marion a 13-0 bulge.
The Rockets responded quickly from there, getting a 32-yard TD sprint from tailback Luke Burdine, and a Linkoln Perez extra point got LR Catholic within 13-7 with 9 seconds left in the first quarter, and that was the tally after a frame.

Walker and Wren teamed up again on the first play of the second quarter, covering 37 yards before Wasion's extra point gave Marion a 20-7 advantage.

Perez added a 38-yard field goal with 7:06 left in the first half to get the Rockets within 20-10, and that score held until halftime.

The Marion defense set the tone early in the third period when junior defensive back Colton Kimbell intercepted a pass and returned it into Rocket territory with 10:11 left in the third, and the Patriots cashed it in with a Jeremiah Dent 1-yard TD plunge with 9:04 left in the third for a 27-10 lead.

Kejeris Hill came up with another Marion interception on the Rockets' ensuing drive, and it took the Patriots one play to convert it into points, doing so when Rico Ward ran 85 yards to paydirt for a 34-10 Marion lead with 6:52 left in the third.

Ward made the score 41-10 on the following Marion drive when he sprinted 47 yards to the box with 3:07 left in the third, and that score held until the end of the frame.

"That was really good complementary football," said Clark. "Defense created turnovers, offense turned them into points. Offense made big plays. It was great to get the running game going in a big way. Rico really ran it well. It was just a fun quarter to see."

Dent capped the scoring with a 42-yard TD run with 10:50 left in regulation to trigger the running clock.
"It's not all great, we still made plenty of mistakes, and I'm sure I'll watch the tape and get irritated all over again," said Clark. "But, we stayed the course. Guys stayed bought in. We played for each other, and it's a game we really needed for a lot of reasons against a good team. I am really proud of our guys."

It was Marion's first win against Little Rock Catholic in four tries.

WHAT'S NEXT?
Marion concludes its 2025 regular season on Friday night with a 6A East tilt at Benton. You can watch that game for free on the MPAN YouTube channel. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

PLAYOFF TALK
Marion can finish no worse than the No. 5 playoff seed in this year's postseason. The Patriots can move up to the No. 4 playoff spot with a victory at Benton, and MHS could nab the No. 3 playoff seed with a win over Benton and an El Dorado loss at Sheridan.

6A EAST RESULTS ON 10/31
Marion 48, LR Catholic 10
El Dorado 44, Jonesboro 21
Sylvan Hills 84, Sheridan 48
Benton 49, W. Memphis 19

6A EAST STANDINGS ON 11/3
SCHOOL CONF. RECORD
Sylvan Hills 5-1*
Benton 5-1*
El Dorado 4-2*
Marion 4-2*
Jonesboro 3-3*
Sheridan 2-4*
LR Catholic 1-5
W. Memphis 0-6
*clinched a berth in the state playoffs

6A EAST GAMES ON 11/7
Marion at Benton
W. Memphis at Jonesboro
Sylvan Hills at LR Catholic
El Dorado at Sheridan