Patriots fall to Joe T. Robinson

Marion comes up short in bid to upend 4A powerhouse

By CHUCK LIVINGSTON

Marion School District

The Marion Patriots had chances to erase a 14-point second-half deficit last Friday night before falling 2119 to Class 4A power Joe T. Robinson at Premier Bank Stadium.

Marion (1-2 overall) shifted to a five-man defensive line after falling behind 21-7 in the third quarter. The shift netted three Robinson (2-1 overall) punts and a pair of turnovers to keep the Pats in the game until the last possession of the game.

Marion’s opportunities extended to its own possessions. The Patriots missed a field goal, threw an interception in the end zone, had a kickoff return for a touchdown called back, a missed two-point conversion and had its final possession end on downs following a tackle for loss and a sack.

“We left too many points on the field to think about winning a game,” said Marion coach Lance Clark. “We got bogged down in the red zone again and that’s going to be something we have to fix going forward.”

Todd Eskola, whose Senators defeated Marion 39-7 a season ago, came away impressed by the Patriots.

“That’s a much better football team than a year ago,” said Eskola. “I didn’t think we played well tonight but they had a lot to do with that. Their defensive line gave us issues. I’m proud of the way our kids fought back when faced with some tough situations.”

Marion scored first when it marched 53 yards in 10 plays, scoring when senior tailback Cam Anderson darted 14 yards for a TD and a 7-0 lead with 6:47 left in the first quarter.

But Robinson responded with TD drives on its next two possessions for a 14-7 advantage.

Marion junior Donnie Cheers almost evened the score immediately following Robinson’s second TD, when he returned the ensuing kickoff 96 yards for a score before a block in the back erased the return. That drive ended with a missed 43-yard field goal.

The Pats’ next drive covered 62 yards before the hosts faced a third-and-six situation at the Robinson 14-yard line. Marion senior quarterback Ben Gerrard escaped the pass rush and rolled right before throwing to Cheers in the end zone, only for Robinson’s Zach Wofford jump the route for an interception. Robinson led 14-7 at halftime after Marion held the Senators on fourth and one at the Patriot 8-yard line.

Robinson embarked on an eight-play, 80-yard drive on the first drive of the second half, taking a 21-7 lead when QB Jack Cleveland connected with Ashtyn Williams for a 13-yard TD pass.

But Marion refused to go away. The Pats cracked the scoreboard again when senior Dylan Pieri booted a 15-yard field goal with 4:58 left in the third quarter.

That’s when Marion’s fiveman front began to pay dividends, forcing a Robinson three-and-out and a punt. The Pats forced turnovers on Robinson’s next two possessions when senior Columbus London intercepted a Cleveland pass and junior Carter Waldo recovered a fumble.

On the final play of the third quarter, Gerrard fired a backwards pass to Kaleb Catt and hit a streaking Cheers behind the Robinson secondary for a 53-yard TD pass. Robinson stuffed Marion’s two-point conversion to maintain a 21-16 lead after three quarters.

Following another Robinson three and out, Marion drew with 21-19 on a 32yard Pieri field goal.

The Pats got the ball back with 4:19 remaining in the game on their own 7-yard line. Marion generated a pair of first downs before turning it over on downs with 1:48 left. Cleveland ran 5 yards on fourth and three to allow the Senators to kill the clock.

Gerrard completed 10 of 19 passes for 108 yards against Robinson while Anderson rushed for 89 yards and senior Zion Burnside took off for 80 yards. Cheers snagged four passes for 72 yards and a score while Catt collected four passes for 61 yards.

Marion will not play Friday night and will return to action September 24 for the conference opener at West Memphis.