Marion will look to slow El Dorado down in tonight’s game

Patriots take on Wildcats on the road

Marion School District Marion's 37-25 last week at Premier Bank Stadium against Searcy was a master class in complementary football.

The Pats connected on big passing plays when they were presented, including 61- and 57-yard touchdown passes from senior quarterback Ben Gerrard to Donnie Cheers, but the Patriots made their money running the ball. Marion rushed for more than 300 yards against Searcy, including 227 yards and two TDs from tailback Cam Anderson.

That ball-dominant offense allowed Marion to play with the lead on defense.

The Patriots surrendered more than 500 yards to Searcy, but stiffened inside the red zone. Searcy only scored on three of five trips inside the 20-yard line, one of which was a field goal.

“The offensive line controlled the game which put them in a situation to where it made it tough. As a play-caller that can get in your head because you can't just run toss sweep into the boundary 20 times because you feel you have to pop a big one,” said first-year Marion coach Lance Clark. “Defensively, we were down to our fourth and fifth linebackers against Searcy, but we displayed some real grittiness inside the red area.”

Marion carried 31 times for 301 yards against Searcy, with Anderson (84 yards) and Gerrard (61 yards) providing highlight-level plays. The Patriots committed just five penalties for 35 yards against Searcy.

Defensively, Marion produced six plays of zero or negative yardage in the red zone.

“Red zone defense is about resilience and execution above all else,” said Clark.

“The kids executed the plan. Our plan was to take away Daniel Perry and take away their inside counter plays, both of which we feel like we were able to do and that's a huge credit to our kids.”

Perry, who produced more than 2,000 yards last year, was limited to two receptions for 18 yards last Friday night with senior Columbus London (seven tackles and four pass break ups) and a safety helping in coverage.

Marion's defense will be put to the test this week when the Patriots travel to El Dorado for “the fastest team we'll see all year,” said Clark.

El Dorado enters play Friday night 4-2 overall and 2-1 in the 6A East.

Marion and El Dorado are currently involved in a three-way tie for third place in league action.

The Wildcats average almost 44 points per game, including 48 points or more three of their last four outings.

El Dorado's Sharmon Rester, who owns a Henderson State offer, has flourished in his first season at QB, completing 66 percent of his passes for 1,734 yards and 21 TDs with just three interceptions. Rester ranks second on the team with 314 yards and four scores. Three El Dorado receivers have caught 21 passes or more, led by junior Deandra Burns, Jr., who's snagged 24 passes for 487 yards and six scores this fall. Burns owns offers from Arkansas, Florida State and Middle Tennessee State. Six Wildcat wideouts have caught TD passes.

“Searcy and El Dorado are the two most explosive offenses we'll see until the playoffs,” said Clark. “El Dorado has an incredibly athletic quarterback who can also throw. They'll run it because they have juice in the backfield, but they'd like to throw it more often than not.”

The El Dorado defense surrenders 29.3 PPG, a number that could be inflated because the Wildcats score so often, which creates more possessions per game. Defensive lineman Danquez Shelton (57 tackles in 2021), linebackers Patrick Sixbey (39 stops), Javin (33 tackles) and Jyrind Steward (35 stops) pace the team in tackles.

“We have to execute very well because their speed level is very high,” said Clark. “They're gonna trust their front to get after it.

Their defensive end is the

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Photo by Londa Hamrick PATRIOTS (cont.)

real deal. Their speed on the back level covers up some mistakes they may make.”

El Dorado leads the all-time series against Marion 5-0, including four victories in the playoffs.

The Wildcats ruined Marion's homecoming last fall with a 45-34 victory.

Kickoff at Memorial Stadium Friday night is scheduled for 7 p.m. That game will be livestreamed on MarionPatriots.com and on the Marion Patriots Activities Network mobile app.