Marion Athletics -

The updates came fast and furious last Friday evening, each one seemingly more surprising than the last.

Sylvan Hills leads Benton in the fourth quarter.

Jonesboro has taken the lead at Sheridan.

El Dorado takes a two-touchdown lead at Marion.

When the dust settled, “expect the unexpected” was the rule of the day.

Three road underdogs winning last Friday night left the 6A East in a cloud of confusion, to the surprise of most, but not to Marion coach Lance Clark.

“Every year since I've been here (2021), this league has gotten better from one year to the next,” said Clark. “Two or three years ago, there were games that you looked at and knew and you'd probably win, and then there were a couple that you knew would be really tough to win. This year, you can see that everyone is basically on the same level, and anybody can beat anybody in a given week. The teams are just too evenly matched.”

El Dorado sits atop the 6A East conference as the last 2-0 team in the league, but a six-way tie for second place is the real story as Marion, Jonesboro, Little Rock Catholic, Sylvan Hills, Sheridan, and Benton jockey for position down the stretch.

If there's a silver lining for Marion, the Patriots have already topped dramatically improved Sylvan Hills two weeks ago in Sherwood, and while the El Dorado loss was disappointing, there is a long way to go still.

“We haven't been eliminated from anything right now,” said Clark. “The goal is ultimately the same. The good news is that every team we play from here on out, we are basically battling for seeding. At the end of the day, it's all about us. We have to control our energy and focus on how we play.”

The second half of Marion's schedule officially begins on Friday night when the Patriots take the short trip to West Memphis to battle the Blue Devils for a 7 p.m. kickoff. If you can't attend Friday's game at Hamilton Shultz Field, you can watch the game for free on the MPAN YouTube channel.
Much like the 6A East in 2025, the Marion-West Memphis rivalry has been shaken up over the past four years.

West Memphis won the first 19 meetings against West Memphis, beginning with a three-game non-conference series in 1980 before taking a hiatus until 2006.

That's when a dramatic shuffling by the Arkansas Activities Association moved Marion up to Class 6A, the state's second-largest classification, and moved West Memphis down to Class 6A as the schools became league rivals.

Marion broke through in 2021 with a 33-3 beating of the Blue Devils, followed by tight victories in 2022 (16-12) and 2023 (20-14). The Pats rolled last October 48-6 at home, their largest margin of victory against the Blue Devils.

“This rivalry is really fun because it is a community rivalry,” said Clark. “Everyone lives so close to each other here, you see folks around town. It's just a little different than about any that I've seen. The kids all know each other, a lot of times they grew up together or whatever, but you see West Memphis people in Marion, and vice versa.”

West Memphis is off to an 0-5 start to the 2025 season, but the Blue Devils are coming off their best performance of the year, by far, in a 44-28 loss last week at Little Rock Catholic.

Against the Rockets, the Blue Devils came up with their season-high point total and trailed by just 10 points in the fourth quarter.

“They have tremendous skill players,” said Clark. “Their receivers are fast, run good routes, and they can win 50/50 balls. Their skill is up right up there with anybody we have seen. Dallan Harris is a great offensive lineman; he's big and athletic. I like their secondary on defense; they do a great job in coverage.”

HOW TO WATCH
The second half of Marion's schedule officially begins on Friday night when the Patriots take the short trip to West Memphis to battle the Blue Devils for a 7 p.m. kickoff. If you can't attend Friday's game at Hamilton Shultz Field, you can watch the game for free on the MPAN YouTube channel.

6A EAST RESULTS FROM 10/3
El Dorado 28, Marion 21
Sylvan Hills 40, Benton 35
LR Catholic 44, W. Memphis 28
Jonesboro 48, Sheridan 42

6A EAST STANDINGS ON 10/6
SCHOOL CONF. RECORD
El Dorado 2-0
Marion 1-1
Sylvan Hills 1-1
Benton 1-1
LR Catholic 1-1
Jonesboro 1-1
Sheridan 1-1
W. Memphis 0-2

6A EAST GAMES ON 10/10
Marion at W. Memphis
Sheridan at Benton
Sylvan Hills at El Dorado
LR Catholic at Jonesboro