LITTLE ROCK --- For the first two drives last Friday night at War Memorial Stadium, the Marion Patriots outplayed the unbeaten Little Rock Catholic Rockets. Marion senior playmaker Donnie Cheers, III returned the opening kickoff 87 yards for a touchdown, and the Patriot defense stoned the Rockets on the hosts' first possession. From there though, Catholic returned to form, outgained Marion 432-318, and won the turnover battle 2-0 as the Rockets pulled away for a 52-29 conquest that clinched an outright 6A East conference title for Catholic (10-0 overall, 9-0 6A East), and the Patriots will settle for the No. 3 playoff seed from the league with a 7-3, 7-2 mark. Marion makes its 18th consecutive playoff appearance Friday night when it hosts Mountain Home (3-7 overall, 3-5 6A West) Friday night for a 7 p.m. kickoff in a contest that will be broadcast live on MarionPatriots.com and on the Marion Patriots Activities Network mobile app. The winner of the Marion-Mountain Home game will play at state-power Pulaski Academy in the quarterfinals on November 18. Marion entered the LR Catholic game with an opportunity to earn a share of the 6A East title, and potentially a No. 1 playoff seed had Sheridan beaten 6A East runner-up Benton, and the Pats reacted accordingly when Cheers fielded the ball deep in his end of the field. He eluded the first couple of Catholic tackles to break into open space. The senior all-conference performer of a season ago used a pair of blocks by sophomore tailback Jalen Smith to run free and score with the game's opening kickoff just 11 seconds into the game. Ben Cherry's extra point gave the Pats a 7-0 advantage. Catholic didn't back down on its initial drive, as the Rockets drove 52 yards in nine plays to the Marion 8-yard line before facing a fourth-and-1. Catholic quarterback Sam Sanders tried to keep on a power play, but Marion senior linebacker Brian Weatherspoon shot the gap and brought down Sanders in the backfield for a loss that gave the visitors the ball with a seven-point lead. Marion picked up first downs on its next two snaps, gaining 13 yards on a Smith rush, and 12 steps on an Ashton Gray-to-Mitrell Lewis completion, but Gray's second pass attempt sailed over his receiver's head into the waiting arms of Cody McConnell, who returned the interception 62 yards for a game-tying TD. McConnell's turnover kicked off a run of 21 straight Catholic points, but Marion made a bid to stay in the game on its fourth drive. The Pats marched 58 yards in nine plays, hitting paydirt when Gray hit Cheers for an 18-yard TD with 9:30 left in the second quarter got Marion within 21-14. Cheers' TD reception was the 25th in his brilliant career, establishing a new school record. But Catholic scored the last 14 points of the first half to take a 35-14 lead to halftime. Marion forced a Catholic four-and-out on the first drive of the third quarter and the Pats got closer when senior Carter Waldo bowled into the end zone for a 2-yard TD run with 8:23 remaining in the third, and when sophomore Carson Catt found junior Dewayne Williams for the two-point conversion, the score was 35-22 in favor of Catholic. The Marion defense registered a timely stop on the ensuing drive, holding the hosts to a Will Aaron 27-yard field goal for a 38-22 Rocket lead that doubled as the tally after three frames. On the second play of the fourth quarter, Sanders ran 19 yards to paydirt and on third-and-12 of Marion's ensuing drive, Catholic's Owen Waller returned an interception 44 yards for a TD that effectively iced the game and the league crown for Catholic. Marion junior tailback Jamar Foster capped the scoring when he ran for a 4-yard TD with 3:19 left in regulation. PLAYOFF PICTURE Marion will host a playoff game for the seventh consecutive season. The Patriots are 2-4 in home games in that span, but they have won the last two, including a 2020 quarterfinal win over Van Buren (55-34), and a 2021 first-round conquest of Russellville (42-20). Only Marion and Greenwood have advanced to the Class 6A semifinals each of the past two seasons. HOT START Marion caps its 2022 regular season with a combined on-field record of 15-8 under second-year coach Lance Clark. Those 15 victories are the most of any Marion coach in his two seasons in the modern playoff era, which originated in 1969. MOUNTAIN HOME SERIES Marion leads the all-time series with Mountain Home 13-4, and the Patriots have won 11 consecutive meetings. Marion is 7-1 all-time against Mountain Home at Premier Bank Stadium, and the Pats have won seven straight at home since a 21-14 defeat in the 2004 season opener. Mountain Home won the only other playoff meeting, a 17-7 victory in the 2006 state semifinals. WEEK 10 6A EAST RESULTS LR Catholic 52, Marion 29 Searcy 40, West Memphis 31 El Dorado 56, Jacksonville 14 Benton 36, Sheridan 14 Sylvan Hills 35, Greene County Tech 14 FINAL 6A EAST STANDINGS SCHOOL CONF. RECORD LR Catholic 9-0 Benton 8-1 Marion 7-2 El Dorado 5-4 West Memphis 5-4 Searcy 4-5 Sheridan 3-6 Sylvan Hills 3-6 Greene County Tech 1-8 Jacksonville 0-9 CLASS 6A WEEK 11 PLAYOFF SCHEDULE Greenwood has a bye Russellville at West Memphis Benton has a bye Searcy at Lake Hamilton LR Catholic has a bye El Dorado at LR Christian Pulaski Academy has a bye Mountain Home at Marion