Lance Clark steers an all-terrain vehicle around a lot located between Southern Bancorp Stadium and the Marion High School fieldhouse as he points to various workout stations scattered about. The third-year Marion head football coach has had to get creative with exploding interest inside his program. Marion opened spring camp on Wednesday with an off-season high-school varsity roster boasting more than 100 players, and every program on campus has seen increased participation since Clark arrived in July 2021. Marion's 2023 spring game is scheduled for Monday, May 22 at Southern Bancorp Stadium. “The program right now is in a very exciting place from a talent standpoint, numbers, and the overall vibe with the team,” said Clark. “We have a ton of kids on the varsity, and it's not like it's 40 or 50 who can't play. Most of them can help us in some way, and the ones who may not be ready right this second have plenty of time for development.” The 100 players are widely believed to be the most in the history of the program, as nobody around the program can ever remember having even 80 players in the past. Clark took 56 Patriots to El Dorado for the 2021 semifinals, including a handful of freshmen he moved up for the playoffs. The Marion roster swelled to about 70 players a season ago, when the Pats won seven games and advanced to Week 10 with a chance to win a conference title. “You want kids to be excited about what's going on within your program,” said Clark. “There's a buzz around our team right now that is palpable.” The 2023 Marion Patriots will go through spring camp with 97 players available, but six are playing baseball and a few others are running track. “That (97 players) is a good number, but we expect it to dwindle,” said Clark. “Hopefully not drastically, but let's face it, football is not for everybody. But all indications are that we will have a ton of kids involved this fall. Probably more than in recent memory here, and that's great.” Clark lists 26 seniors on his roster, with almost 40 sophomores expected to promote from a 4-3-1 junior high conference runner-up of a season ago. By comparison, Marion had only 12 seniors on last year's football team. “For the first time in a long time, I'm at a program where internal competition can rule the day,” said Clark. “We have so many options now at every position that if someone isn't pulling his weight, we can see what somebody else has, and everyone with us right now can offer the team something. We look forward to seeing which guys can rise to the challenge.” But the growth isn't just on the varsity. Marion has six junior varsity games scheduled at this time, and Clark says they could add a few more. The junior high has nine games on its 2023 slate, with the possibility of adding one more. “I think that's something anyone can take pride in, simply because of where we have been,” said Marion native and Marion School District Foundation President David Fogleman. “This is a desirable place now to send your kids to school, and I think it's that way because our administration now has hired great people, improved our facilities, our teachers, coaches, and everything. I think if you asked 100 people from Marion, 99 percent of them would say we are in a much better place now than ever before.” While the new faces milling about the Marion fieldhouse are intriguing, it's the established names donning gear this spring that are sure to excite fans. Ten starters, along with five other players who have started multiple games, highlight the 2023 Marion offense, while six starters are back on defense with many others who have started games and rotated heavily. “We know we have six receivers and 'backs who can play because we have seen them do it on Friday nights, under the lights, against the best competition,” said Clark. “We think we have 12 or 13 guys who can play, and that's exciting. That internal competition will push that group to new heights because we have to bring it every day now.” Marion returns its leading passer (Ashton Gray), rusher (Jalen Smith), and four of its top five receivers (Matthew Kearney, Mitrell Lewis, Cam Garrett, and Christian Young) from a season ago. Marion's top eight offensive linemen return and tackles Aqeelo Allen and Carius Curne each garnered Division 1 scholarship offers during the off-season. Senior guard Carter Benton likely starts a third season up front, while senior guard Jermaine Davis and junior center Charlie Cantrell each emerged early last season as starters. Seniors Austin Watson and Johnny Miller have each started multiple games up front, and Miller paced the team last year in pancake blocks. Defensively, three of Marion's top four tacklers (Victor Turner, Dewayne Williams, Jr., and Martaveon Banks) are back in '23, and the secondary has “seven or eight guys who could start and we wouldn't miss a beat,” said Clark. Senior safeties Banks, Kendal Brister, Bryan Glaspie, and junior Kendrick Cauley started most of the games last fall, with Wynne transfers Cardarian Washington and Taheem Frost working at cornerback and safety during the off-season. Seniors Johnathan Guyton and Amari Lee add intrigue. Guyton has rotated on offense and defense in his career, and Lee looked bound for stardom as a sophomore, starting the final seven games at cornerback before he missed the 2022 campaign with a knee injury. “The secondary has the most snaps played returning and that's where a lot of our leadership is,” said Clark. “Certainly having that many difference-makers available is a good thing, and that's another spot where the internal competition will help us.” Marion will log three practices a week during the spring, culminating with the spring game on May 22. In the first workout on Wednesday, Gray accounted for three touchdowns, not counting a long scoring sprint that was blown dead by coaches where he split a pair of tacklers before pulling away for a score. “The first practice we saw some decent energy, and it was fairly sloppy, which we expected,” said Clark. “Ultimately, what I liked was the offensive possessions, we scored about half the time, and we got a stop the other half of the time. You don't want one side to dominate ever because that just doesn't bode well. We have plenty to work on, but the good thing is we have plenty of time to address it.” 2023 MARION FOOTBALL SCHEDULE August 18 Maumelle (scrimmage) August 25 Wynne September 8 at El Dorado* September 15 at Jacksonville* September 22 Greene County Tech* September 29 at Benton* October 6 Searcy* October 13 at West Memphis* October 20 Sheridan* October 27 at Sylvan Hills* November 3 Little Rock Catholic* *6A East conference game