Cam Anderson used both hands to regain his balance on an outside zone play. Anderson got back on his feet and hit top speed in about four steps to pull away from the Searcy defense for a breathtaking 84-yard touchdown run. Anderson's lengthy scoring sprint was one of Marion's many long scoring plays in Friday night's 37-25 victory over Searcy at Premier Bank Stadium. Marion improved to 3-3 overall and 2-1 in the 6A East with its first home win over Searcy (3-3, 2-1) since 2011. It was Marion's second win against Searcy in the past 10 meetings. The victory moved Marion into a three-way tie for third place in the 6A East, joining El Dorado and Searcy. Marion plays Friday at El Dorado. Anderson rushed 26 times for 232 yards and a pair of scores against Searcy, but his 84-yarder was far from Marion's only big play. Three other Marion TDs covered 57, 61 and 61 yards. "I thought our offensive line totally dominated the game," said first-year Marion coach Lance Clark. "I thought they set the tone early on and forced Searcy into quite a few adjustments." Marion rushed for 334 yards while senior quarterback Ben Gerrard completed an efficient 10 of 16 passes for 181 yards and two TDs to Donnie Cheers. While big plays carried the day for the Marion offense, the Patriot defense responded well after an up-and-down effort two weeks ago at Sylvan Hills. Marion recorded three sacks and kept constant pressure on Searcy quarterback Ckyler Tengler. Searcy tailback DeDe Johnson rushed for 213 yards and a TD against Marion, but the Pats limited Tengler to 18 of 44 passing for 305 yards and a score. Marion's red zone defense proved particularly stingy last Friday night. The Pats allowed Searcy points on just three of five red zone possessions, one of which was a field goal. “We had some games that we liked with the defensive line,” said Clark. “They threw some screens early on that hurt us. The sacks in the second half were all coverage sacks. Our defensive backs played great and we kept getting a push.” Marion jumped Searcy when Gerrard threw a screen to Cheers on the second play from scrimmage. Cheers eluded a pair of tacklers and outran the Searcy secondary en route to a 57-yard catch-and-run score for a 7-0 Marion advantage. Searcy responded by driving more than 70 yards into the Marion red zone before the Pats stiffened facing a goal-to-go situation. Marion stuffed Johnson for no gain on first down and senior cornerback Columbus London broke up a third-down pass attempt to force a 28-yard Tim Ulsperger field goal. The Lions penetrated the Marion red zone again on their second drive before Jeremiah Nichols recorded a third-down sack to set up another Ulsperger field goal attempt that hooked and was no good on the first play of the second quarter. The Gerrard-to-Cheers highlight reel added another clip when the two hooked up for a 61-yard TD toss with 10:58 left in the second quarter. Searcy converted a fourth-and-3 to extend a drive late in the first half. The play paid off when Tengler found Reid Miles for a 40-yard TD to get the Lions within 14-10. Marion took over with 4:44 left in the first half and methodically drove 72 yards in 10 plays, the last snap resulting in a 4-yard Anderson score for a 21-10 Marion lead that would double as the halftime tally. It took the Pats one second-half play to visit the end zone when Anderson's 84-yard TD jaunt gave Marion a 28-10 lead with 10:57 left in the third quarter. Searcy responded on the ensuing drive when Johnson tallied 67 yards, including an 18-yard TD run, to get Searcy within 28-17. Facing third-and-2 at his own 39-yard line, Gerrard executed a textbook read option play. He pulled the ball from Anderson at the last possible second and zigged and zagged through the secondary into Searcy territory. Gerrard entered the red zone and kept a Searcy safety at bay with his left hand before the Lions finally tackled him into the end zone for a 61-yard TD run with 3:55 left in the third quarter. Gerrard's jaunt pushed Marion's advantage to 35-17, which was the score after three quarters. Searcy's final scoring drive covered 91 yards in 15 plays, culminating when Tengler scored on a 1-yard QB Sneak. The two-point conversion got the Lions within 35-25 with 6:21 remaining. Marion's defense proved to be the closer when Dewayne Davis intercepted a Tengler pass in Patriot territory with 2:46 left in regulation. Marion downed a Dylan Pieri punt on its own 9-yard line and on second down, Johnny Nichols and Tyron Smith met in the end zone at Tengler, who tried to throw it away. Intentional grounding in the end zone is a safety, which set the final score at 37-25. "When you're 2-1, you're in the driver's seat. We feel like we can win every game," said Clark. "We can also lose every game. We have proven that to ourselves." Marion plays at El Dorado next week. That game will be livestreamed on MarionPatriots.com and on the Marion Patriots Activities Network mobile app. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.