Marion Athletics -

For the first several years of Marion's football rivalry against West Memphis, it seemed that the Patriots always found a way to lose to the Blue Devils.

Of late, however, Marion seems to have flipped the script.

The latest example was last Friday night, when the Patriots erased a 19-14 deficit early in the third period, escaping Hamilton Shultz Field with a dramatic 28-25 victory.

The victory moved Marion to 4-2 overall in 2025, and the Pats' 2-1 mark in 6A East play keeps them involved in a five-way tie for first place in the league standings with Benton, El Dorado, Sylvan Hills, and Jonesboro.

Marion dealt Sylvan Hills its only loss so far this year, a 46-43 road victory in the conference opener, but El Dorado owns the head-to-head tiebreaker against Marion after the Wildcats stunned the Pats 28-21 two weeks ago in Marion.

The Patriots host Jonesboro this week for Homecoming before traveling to play Sheridan on October 24, hosting Little Rock Catholic on October 31, and finishing the regular season at Benton on November 7.

The victory marked Marion's fifth straight victory over West Memphis on the field.

The Patriots took the lead for good in the third period on a 20-yard touchdown pass from Zayden Walker to Kejeris Hill for a 21-19 advantage, and Marion added a 90-yard interception return from senior cornerback R.L. Johnson to take a 28-19 lead into the fourth period.

Three plays into the final frame, West Memphis got a 51-yard TD toss from sophomore quarterback Andrew Clay to senior Kevius Woods, but a missed extra point froze the score at 28-25 in favor of the visitors.

Following a Marion turnover on downs, West Memphis took over at its own 37-yard line with 8:14 left in the game, and the Blue Devils marched methodically to the Patriot 27-yard line late in the game.

Following a penalty and a loss of 7 yards on a rush after a Zadean Wilson tackle for loss, West Memphis faced fourth-and-23.

Clay eluded a tackle near the line of scrimmage and bolted to the sideline, but Marion linebacker Chris Byrd escorted Clay out of bounds a yard shy of the line to gain, giving Marion the ball back with exactly 4 minutes left in the game.

Marion faced fourth-and-two from its own 23-yard line, but West Memphis jumped offside, which gave the Pats a first down and allowed the visitors to drain the clock for a dramatic victory.

Marion started the scoring when it drove the opening kickoff 68 yards in 8 plays, culminating with a Kajeris Hill 2-yard TD plunge, and a Brody Wasion extra point gave Marion a 7-0 bulge with 8:24 left in the first.

The Pats doubled their lead late in the first quarter when Jeremiah Dent scored from 5 yards out with 44 seconds left in the quarter, and Marion's lead was 14-0 after 12 minutes.

West Memphis took advantage of a muffed Marion punt to get on the board in the second quarter, marching 56 yards in 9 plays, and scoring on an 8-yard TD toss from Clay to tailback Carlos Williams, but an errant West Memphis snap kept the score at 14-6 in favor of Marion.

The Blue Devils got closer late in the second when Malik Cummings intercepted a Walker pass and returned it 52 yards for a score, but the score was 14-12 when the two-point conversion attempt failed, and that score held until halftime.

Williams ran 50 yards to glory on the first play of the third period to give West Memphis a 19-14 advantage.

Marion answered immediately on the ensuing drive, going 51 yards in 7 plays, hitting paydirt on Walker's scoring strike to Kejeris Hill.

WHAT'S NEXT?
Marion hosts Jonesboro on Friday night for its annual Homecoming game. The Homecoming festivities are scheduled to begin at 6:30 at Southern Bancorp Stadium, and you can watch the entire pregame show, Homecoming presentation, and band show, as well as the Jonesboro football game for free on the MPAN YouTube channel.

6A EAST RESULTS FROM 10/10
Marion 28, W. Memphis 25
Benton 87, Sheridan 42
Sylvan Hills 25, El Dorado 10
Jonesboro 31, LR Catholic 14

6A EAST STANDINGS ON 10/13
SCHOOL. CONF. RECORD
Marion 2-1
Sylvan Hills 2-1
El Dorado 2-1
Benton 2-1
Jonesboro 2-1
LR Catholic 1-2
Sheridan 1-2
W. Memphis 0-3

6A EAST GAMES ON 10/17
Jonesboro at Marion
Benton at El Dorado
Sheridan at LR Catholic
W. Memphis at Sylvan Hills