Marion senior tailback Jamar Foster looked like he might be hemmed up behind the line of scrimmage before a key block gave him the breathing room to plant his foot and get upfield. A devastating block from right tackle Aqeelo Allen allowed Foster to get clear of the linebackers and enter the secondary. There was just one Wynne Yellowjacket between Foster and the end zone, and even though the defender had an angle, the quick Foster outran him up the sideline as the 'back set sail toward a touchdown that would ultimately ice the game. Marion head coach Lance Clark believes that depth could be the strength of his 2023 football team, and it was on display in last Friday's 27-7 victory over Wynne at Southern Bancorp Stadium. The Patriots outgained Wynne 320-195 in total yardage, leading 21-0 early in the fourth period, en route to the 20-point final victory. "Overall, a very good defensive effort, if not a great one," said Clark. "We competed and executed very well in the first half on defense and we played well enough to close out." Foster rushed for 74 yards for Marion (1-0 overall), in relief junior tailback Jalen Smith rushed 17 times for 148 yards and two TDs against Wynne, while senior quarterback Ashton Gray passed for 75 yards and a score. Gray opened the scoring with a 30-yard touchdown pass to senior Dewayne Williams for a 7-0 lead with 6:38 left in the first quarter, and that score doubled as the tally after a frame. Williams also paced the Pats in tackles against Wynne with nine stops and two for losses. But that's when the defenses took over for most of the remainder of the first half as neither team could scratch a point until late in the second stanza, but the game turned late in that frame. Marion marched 67 yards in 42 seconds with its last drive of the first half, highlighted by Smith covering the final 31 yards with a TD sprint with 45 seconds left on the clock. "That was big, especially since we got the ball coming out of halftime," said Clark. "We hadn't done much of anything in the first half so to go into halftime with something positive was great." Marion gained possession first in the third quarter and methodically marched down against Wynne (0-1 overall). The Pats embarked on a 15-play, 62-yard drive, capped off with a 4-yard Smith run, followed by a Gray two-point conversion rush for a 21-0 lead with 7:32 left in the third. "It's so tough to go on a drive that long in high school," said Clark. "We made a couple plays and did what we needed to do to stay on the field and it was good that we paid it off finally." Wynne's most prosperous drive of the evening opened on the ensuing drive and the Yellowjackets marched from their own 21-yard line to the Marion 3-yard line at the end of the third quarter with Marion ahead 21-0. "Give them credit, they never once quit tonight," said Clark. "At 21-0, a lot of teams might pack it in, but I didn't see that. We had to earn everything tonight." The Pats twice stuffed the 'Jackets on second and third-and-goal situations before junior Cameron Smith blasted over the left side for a Wynne TD with 11:08 left in regulation. Wynne pushed Marion to third-and-nine on the following drive with Smith on the sideline battling an unknown injury, but senior tailback Jamar Foster ran over the right side and sprinted 65 yards to the end zone with 9:13 remaining, though a missed extra point kept the score 27-7. Cameron Smith paced the Wynne attack, rushing for 105 yards. WHAT'S NEXT? Marion has its bye week this Friday night, but the Pats are back in action on Friday, September 8 when they open 6A East play at El Dorado. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m., and that contest will be broadcast live on MarionPatriots.com and on the Marion Patriots Activities Network mobile app. WONKY SCHEDULE Friday night's game kicked off at 8 p.m., meaning that of Marion's last four football games, only one has kicked off at the customary 7 p.m. Time slot. Marion's Week 10 game last November at Little Rock Catholic started at 5 p.m. At War Memorial Stadium to avoid potential thunderstorms that evening. Marion hosted Mountain Home in the first round of the 2022 playoffs in a contest that began at 7 p.m. Marion hosted Maumelle two weeks ago for the teams' annual benefit scrimmage. That exhibition got underway at 6 p.m., and Marion-Wynne took the field for their official 2023 season opener at 8 p.m. DEFENSIVE MINDSET Marion had the Wynne offense in a vice-grip for the second time in three seasons. Marion has limited Wynne to less than 200 yards in the past two games played inside the friendly confines of Southern Bancorp Stadium. Wynne racked up 239 yards in its 21-10 victory in 2022. HOME COOKING Marion improved to 8-2 over the past 10 games with Wynne at home, and the Pats are 10-3 at home under Clark since he took over in 2021. AAAA EAST THROWBACK Marion will not play at home again until September 22 when the Pats renew another old AAAA East rivalry as Greene County Tech visits for Homecoming. YOUTH MOVEMENT Smith, who is a junior, paced Marion in rushing against Wynne, while three of the four Patriots who caught passes are also underclassmen. Junior Christian Young snagged a pair of passes for 24 yards last Friday night when junior Mitrell Lewis (one catch for 16 yards) and sophomore Solomon Flores (one reception for 5 yards) also contributed. WEEK 0 6A EAST RESULTS Marion 27, Wynne 7 Jonesboro 30, West Memphis 16 LR Catholic 17, North LR 7 Greene Co. Tech 6, Paragould 4 Searcy 53, Batesville 19 White Hall 43, Sheridan 19 Maumelle 20, Sylvan Hills 0 Beebe 59, Jacksonville 34 Bryant 35, Benton 6 El Dorado was open. WEEK 1 6A EAST GAMES El Dorado at Camden Fairview.