Patriots set to go Hurricane hunting on Thursday

Patriots set to go Hurricane hunting on Thursday

Marion takes on Jonesboro with playoff spots on the line

Marion School District Thursday night is a big night for the Marion Patriot football program. The Patriots (7-2 overall, 4-2 6A East) and first-year head coach Keith Houston have a chance to accomplish milestones not seen in Marion for over a decade.

A win on Thursday against the Jonesboro Golden Hurricane (6-3, 5-1) would be the eighth regular season win for the Pats. That would tie the 2018 Patriots with the 2005 team for the most wins since 1970.

The Patriots already have a winning record in the regular season for the first time since 2011. Marion won eight games total that year and featured running back Trey Franklin, who rushed for over 2,000 yards before week 10.

A win on Thursday would also be the second consecutive win over Jonesboro. Last year’s 48-37 win snapped a nine game Hurricane winning streak against the Pats.

According to the Hooten’s Arkansas Football website, a win by 13 points or more could give the Pats the number two seed in the playoffs. That would include a first-round bye and a quarterfinal game at Patriot Stadium.

Marion could also take the two seed if they win in any fashion and Sylvan Hills upsets Searcy.

The only other options for the Patriots involve the four seed.

The four seed comes if Marion defeats Jonesboro by a slim enough margin for Searcy to jump the Patriots with tiebreaker points. Marion currently leads the Lions by two tiebreaker points.

An outright loss to Jonesboro would also give the Pats the four spot.

If the Pats want to take the two seed, they have to snatch it from its current holder. Jonesboro’s only conference loss this year was a 35-14 loss at West Memphis.

Jonesboro is a familiar foe for the Patriots, having played each other since Marion joined the 6A East in 2006. Jonesboro has won nine of the twelve games since the move.

Marion defeated the Hurricane last year at Patriot Stadium 48-37, and a second straight win would be the Patriots’ first win in Jonesboro since the 10-7 win of 2006.

Jonesboro is one week removed from a 31-15 win over the Sylvan Hills Bears. The Canes averaged 6.6 yards per carry with a season-high 271 rushing yards.

The Canes are a run-first team with coach Randy Coleman, but are not afraid to air the ball out. Jonesboro is actually averaging 194 passing yards per game compared to 186 rushing yards.

Jonesboro should be competitive offensively for a few years. Quarterback Cross Jumper and leading rusher Albert George are both sophomores.

Defensively, the Canes run a three front with gap-oriented blitzes designed to slow running games and force teams to pass. However, the blitzes between the tackles allow runs outside the tackles to gain big chunks of yards.

The Patriots made their presence known in last Friday’s 56-0 win over the Jacksonville Titans. The shutout was Marion’s first since 2009’s 34-0 win over Little Rock Hall.

The 56-point win is also the largest margin of victory for the Pats since 2011, when the Pats defeated Forrest City 64-6.

Marion’s defense also forced a season-high five turnovers against the Titans. Four of the five were fumbles and an interception was made by senior Andrew Hampton.

Kickoff on Thursday, Nov. 1, from Cooksy-Johns Stadium in Jonesboro is scheduled for 7 p.m. A livestream will be available for free at marionpatriots.com and radio coverage will be on 92.5 FM.

By Tyler Bennett