Marion senior defensive lineman Garrett Dickerson flew off the edge toward Sylvan Hills quarterback Gavin Tiner. Dickerson had read the play-action pass perfectly and was in textbook position as he pursued the opposing signal-caller. The senior reached toward the ball inside Tiner's hand and knocked it loose onto the turf at Premier Bank Stadium. Dickerson's classmate, Carter Waldo, recovered the ball and returned it 18 yards for what would prove to be the winning margin in a 27-23 Marion victory on Senior Night. “I thought it was an incredibly gutsy way for us to fight through when we didn't play our best game on either side of the ball, but still win a big game,” said Marion coach Lance Clark. “I was happy for Waldo and Dickerson there because they got to have a big moment on senior night, maybe making the biggest play of the game.” Also coming up big in his last regular-season home game was senior receiver Donnie Cheers, III, who collected five passes against Sylvan Hills for 107 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Cheers' second TD snag against the Bears ties him for the school record with 24 career TD grabs. Sophomore Marion tailback Jalen Smith shattered his career high for rushing yards in a game, carrying 27 times for 213 yards and a score, which helped Smith eclipse the 1,000-yard mark for the season. The sophomore has rushed for 1,108 yards and 12 touchdowns this season despite missing a game against Benton and the entire fourth quarter in a victory at Greene County Tech. Smith rushes for 6.6 yards per carry this fall. “I thought J put us on his back tonight and willed us to victory,” said Clark. “He continues to improve every week, and it's been something to watch.” Marion improves to 7-2 overall and 7-1 in the 6A East ahead of a Week 10 showdown at league-leading Little Catholic (9-0, 8-0) this Friday night at War Memorial Stadium. The LR Catholic contest will be broadcast live on MarionPatriots.com and on the Marion Patriots Activities Network mobile app with coverage beginning at 6:30. Should Marion topple Catholic, the Patriots would earn a share of a conference football title for just the third time in school history. The Patriots outgained the Bears (2-7, 2-6) 369-260, and for the second week in a row, Marion was ruthless on third down, converting five of nine attempts. The Dickerson-and-Waldo defensive score helped Marion win the turnover battle 2-1. Marion wasted little time taking the lead last Friday against Sylvan Hills, driving 38 yards in just five plays, culminating when Smith zipped 3 yards for a score with 7:33 left in the first quarter. Marion's lead was 6-0 after the Pats misfired on the two-point conversion. The Pats forced a Sylvan Hills punt on the ensuing drive, but Marion lost a fumble to give it right back to the Bears in Patriot territory. “That was a situation where we need to find that killer instinct as a team,” confessed Clark. “We had an opportunity there to go ahead two scores and assert ourselves, instead we give them the ball.” The visitors took advantage of the gift, scoring a TD when QB Gavin Tiner fought his way to the end zone for a 19-yard scoring sprint, but a missed extra point kept the score knotted at 6, which doubled as the tally after the opening quarter. Sylvan Hills took the lead midway through the second stanza when Tiner bowled in from a yard out, but the Bears again missed an extra point to freeze the score at 12-6. It took Marion just two plays to respond when junior QB Ashton Gray connected with Cheers for an astonishing 79-yard TD throw-and-catch with 8:08 left in the first half. Ben Cherry's extra point pushed the Pats ahead 13-12, which was also the halftime score. Marion appeared to take control on the first drive of the second half when the Pats embarked on a 16-play, 80-yard drive that featured a fourth-down conversion. The Pats cashed in the drive when Gray connected with Cheers again, this time from 19 yards out for a 20-12 advantage. But Sylvan Hills didn't back down, as halfback Dylan Harris covered 75 yards on just four plays, highlighted by a 50-yard TD sprint to get the Bears within 20-18 with 3:38 left in the third. A Malcolm Mitchell two-point conversion run tied the game at 20 after three frames. Sylvan Hills picked up a first down in two plays on its initial drive of the fourth quarter when Tiner executed a play-action pass on first down to set up Dickerson and Waldo's heroics for a 27-20 Marion advantage. But the Bears looked to tie the game on their next drive as halfback Kohlin Billings broke through the Marion front for a 38-yard run inside the Marion red zone. But the Marion defense stood tall starting on first down, stonewalling the Bears, highlighted by a seven-yard tackle for loss by junior Victor Turner on third and nine. Sylvan Hills had to settle for Bryan Gonzalez's 41-yard field goal with 4:28 left. With Sylvan Hills gaining momentum, Marion again turned to Smith to slam the door. The sophomore carried four times for 28 yards on the Pats' final drive. On third and two, Gray kept on a read option and picked up 18 yards for the first down that allowed Marion to kill the clock. “I thought that was huge for J, Ashton, and the offensive line to help us kill the clock out during a tight game,” said Clark. “That signifies a toughness intangible that you can't really teach. It goes beyond stuff on the field, and I was really proud of that.” SYLVAN HILLS SERIES Marion improves to 5-3 all-time against Sylvan Hills, with three of the Patriot victories coming by four points or less. The teams split the first two meetings in 2006 (Marion 28-6) and 2007 (Sylvan Hills 28-18). When the series renewed in 2018, Marion beat Sylvan Hills 26-7 that September at home before beating the Bears 24-20 in 2019, 10-7 in 2020, and 27-23 last Friday night. SMITH PRODUCES Smith became the first Marion sophomore running back since Tom Young in 2014 to rush for 1,000 yards in a season. CHEERS CHASING HISTORY Cheers' 24 touchdown receptions tie him with Collin Chambers for the school's all-time record. Cheers is just 314 receiving yards behind Chambers for the all-time school record in that category. WEEK 9 6A EAST RESULTS Marion 27, Sylvan Hills 23 Benton 55, West Memphis 38 LR Catholic 42, El Dorado 16 Sheridan 28, Greene County Tech 7 Searcy 55, Jacksonville 12 WEEK 9 6A EAST STANDINGS TEAM CONF. RECORD TIEBREAKER POINTS LR Catholic 8-0 101 Benton 7-1 91 Marion 7-1 64 West Memphis 5-3 53 El Dorado 4-4 52 Searcy 3-5 32 Sheridan 3-5 30 Sylvan Hills 2-6 6 Greene County Tech 1-7 13 Jacksonville 0-8 0 WEEK 10 6A EAST SCHEDULE Marion at LR Catholic El Dorado at Jacksonville Benton at Sheridan Greene County Tech at Sylvan Hills Searcy at West Memphis