Marion Athletics -

The Marion football team had been largely untested through two weeks of the 2025 football season.

The Patriots were 2-0 and averaging more than 50 points per game, but questions still surrounded the proceedings.

This led to Marion welcoming Class 7A juggernaut Conway to town last Friday night, and after a 49-7 loss last September on the road, most people couldn't have expected a competitive game this season.

Think again.

Marion trailed Conway 3-0 after a quarter, 6-0 at halftime, 12-0 after three, and eventually succumbed to the mighty Wampus Cats 19-0 in each team's final non-conference tilt, played at Southern Bancorp Stadium.

"We did some things offensively, we need to put it together a little better through the air," said Marion coach Lance Clark. "It was good to go four quarters tonight, we hadn't done that so far this year."

"I thought the defense played well, keeping that bunch out of the end zone," said Conway coach Buck James. "They've been scoring 50 points a game, so that says a lot for that group. We gave up too many yards on first and second downs, and they had some longer drives, but overall, it was a good effort."

Marion got 72 rushing yards from Jeremiah Dent, while Rico Ward ran for 42 yards, and Kam Riley recorded 37 steps. Senior quarterback Zayden Walker completed 15 of 27 passes for 95 yards, and his leading receiver was Jeremy Dent, who caught six passes for 58 yards, while Riley hauled in a pass for 19 yards, and Jeremiah Dent caught five passes for 17 yards.

Senior defensive end Ryan Blackwell stacked five tackles with one for loss, while linebacker Chris Byrd logged four stops with two TFL. Zadean Wilson, Kajeris Hill, and Kejeris Hill also finished with four stops.

Conway got a pair of field goals from Will Upton, and short touchdown runs from Carter Crow and Trey Harris to account for all of the scoring.

Conway took over at its own 47-yard line on its second drive of the evening, and the Wampus Cats drove inside the 5-yard line when the Marion defense stiffened and forced Upton's first field goal of the night, good from 24 yards out, and the 3-0 bulge doubled as the game's score after a quarter.

The Wampus Cats drove from their own 25-yard line on their first possession of the second quarter and again penetrated Marion's 5-yard line, but the Patriot defense broke up a pass in the end zone on third down to force a 23-yard Upton field goal for a 6-0 Conway advantage.

"Obviously, stiffening up in the red area like that is so big in this game," said Clark. "We gave up a lot of yards, and that wasn't the plan, but when we needed to make a play, we did, and it gave us a chance before halftime."

Upton missed a potential third field goal wide left on Conway's ensuing possession, and Marion took off on its longest drive of the night as a result.

The Patriots drove from their 13-yard line to the Wampus Cat 16-yard line ahead of a fourth-and-1 situation when Conway snuffed a Rico Ward rush and allowed the visitors to take that six-point lead to the lockers.

"That was big, I liked that our guys played even-keeled enough to get a job done," said James. "That was huge for momentum because if they get a touchdown right there, we have played pretty well in the first half, and now we're down at halftime."

Conway again forced a Marion turnover on downs on the Patriots' first drive of the third quarter, and the Wampus Cats moved from their own 36-yard line to the Patriot 1-yard line, getting a short TD plunge from Carter Crow with 4:06 left in the third to double their lead at 12-0, and that score held into the fourth quarter.

Marion embarked on a drive early in the fourth, moving from its own 26-yard line to the Conway 35-yard line when DaKalen Turner jumped a route for an interception that gave the Wampus Cats the ball back with 8:33 left in regulation.

"I think it was a big play," said James. "They drove the ball well at times tonight, and we got some stops. There are a lot of things to defend there. I'm just proud of the kids executing a plan like they did tonight."

Tailback Trey Harris capped off a 10-play, 72-yard drive with a 7-yard scoring sprint with 4:23 left in the game, and Upton's extra point capped the scoring at 19-0.

WHAT'S NEXT?
Marion has a bye week on Friday, September 19, and the Patriots open conference play the following Friday, September 26, at Sylvan Hills. You can watch the Sylvan Hills contest for free on the MPAN YouTube channel.

RANKINGS RUNDOWN
Marion held its No. 4 ranking in the Hootens.com and ScoreBookLive.com weekly rankings. The Patriots earned the No. 5 spot in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and Arkansas Media Poll.