Of the many winning sequences from Marion's 50-13 victory last Friday night at El Dorado, one of the more surprising ones could wind up being the most significant for the 2023 Patriots. During an El Dorado drive, emerging Marion sophomore end Ryan Blackwell slipped into the backfield on consecutive plays, making a tackle for loss and forcing a Wildcat to change direction on a minimal gain. Blackwell stacked a pair of tackles for loss, including a sack, while senior Cam Brown also recorded a sack. Makhi Guyton tallied five tackles with two behind the line en route to winning the team's coveted Patriot Award, while Brown earned co-Player of the Week honors. Senior Austin Watson recorded three tackles. “It's by far the thing from the El Dorado game that I'm most tickled about,” said third-year Marion coach Lance Clark. “Coming into the year, that was the position group that we had little to no returning experience. We graduated some great players over the past few years. We knew we had some prospects who we were excited about and thought could help us down the line, or in a year, so for some of those guys to help us win a ballgame Week 2, that's pretty good.” In all, Marion's defense linemen recorded six tackles for loss, two sacks, and 16 tackles as the first-team defense surrendered only a pair of field goals. Brown's performance was “his best game as a Marion Patriot,” said Clark. “What he did was bring us production, for sure, but also energy and physicality.” Blackwell's big plays popped off the screen upon film review and “his talent is immense,” said the coach. “As a pass-rusher, Ryan's already there. He's a real challenge right now for anybody on passing downs and situations.” Watson flipped during the off-season from offensive line to defense and “he gave us a great game at El Dorado,” said Clark. “He works hard, plays fast, can tackle. He's a good one.” Myles Dukes and Nick Bledsoe aided Marion's line depth as well. Guyton's big night was perhaps the most surprising, most welcome development. Guyton has been in the program since seventh grade, but coaches weren't sure of his potential impact in high school, and certainly not as a sophomore. “Makhi wasn't a guy we really saw as a prospect even in the spring,” said Clark. “He didn't really even play a lot last year on the freshman team. But he's bought in, he's kept coming, and you love it when he has a night like he did.” The emergence of Marion's defensive line saved some reps for starting offensive linemen Allen Miller, Aqeelo Allen, Carius Curne, and Jermaine Davis, who many expected to play a lot defensively this season in the preseason. Marion's no-name defensive line looks to continue to wreak havoc this week when the Patriots continue 6A East play at Jacksonville. MHS leads the all-time series with Jacksonville 9-2, and the Titans have not beaten the Patriots since 2011. Marion's Week 10 victory at Jacksonville in 2006 helped force a four-way tie between the schools. The Pats tamed the Titans 49-18 a season ago on homecoming. Jacksonville drags a 16-game losing streak into action on Friday night, the longest active losing skid in Class 6A football, and hootens.com ranks the Titans 19 out of 19 teams in the classification. Still, Clark warns anyone will listen about a potential letdown. “Jacksonville has three or four dudes who are legit faster than anyone we have,” said the coach. “When you get a fast dude the football, the ball has energy. You take any ball-carrier and I promise you they all want to score. So you have a guy who's fully capable of outrunning you and they can score some points.” Beebe and West Memphis have outscored Jacksonville by a combined 107-41 so far this season, and the Titans have started a new quarterback each of the first two games, so the Marion defense will prepare for each one. “Both QBs are pretty good hands and they make plays,” said Clark. “They have a 6-5 receiver who we saw on last week's film and he's a basketball guy there, so you know he's not a dork. Their offensive line is not as big as El Dorado's, but they're not small.” HOW TO WATCH Marion's football game at Jacksonville on Friday night will kick at 7 p.m., and it can be watched at MarionPatriots.com and on the Marion Patriots Activities Network YouTube channel. FAST START Marion is 2-0 this season for the first time since 2018, which is also the last time the Pats opened 3-0. Marion has not started 4-0 since 2011. PLAYERS OF THE WEEK Ashton Gray and Cam Brown were Crittenden County Farm Bureau's co-Players of the Week for their excellent performances at El Dorado. Makhi Guyton earned the team's Patriot Award, while junior Carius Curne earned the team's Offensive Lineman of the Week nod. NO MERCY Marion's 50-13 victory at El Dorado was its sixth mercy-rule victory under Coach Lance Clark, who took over in 2021. The Patriots triggered the running clock in 2021 at Sheridan and in the first round of the playoffs against Russellville. Marion finished the game under the mercy rule in 2022 on homecoming against Jacksonville, and at Searcy, and at Sheridan. RANKINGS RUNDOWN Marion moved up to No. 6 in the hootens.com weekly Class 6A Rankings, behind Greenwood, Pulaski Academy, Little Rock Christian, Benton, and Little Rock Catholic. GOLD RUSH Marion's 400 rushing yards are the most it's had in a game in at least a decade. The last official time Marion topped that number on that ground was a 42-18 victory at Forrest City in 2012. CLARK MOVING ON UP Clark moved into the Top 5 of all-time coaching victories at Marion with Friday night's victory. His 17th victory at the school leaves him fifth just behind Keith Houston's (2018-2020) total of 18. James Hendricks won 21 games at Marion, while Bill Cook tallied 56 wins. Mark Uhiren's 64 victories from 2002-2013 leaves him on top of the pile. HISTORIC WIN Marion's 50-13 win at El Dorado was the Pats' first conquest over the traditional Arkansas power in school history. MHS lost on its first six trips to Union County, including playoff defeats in 2008, 2011, 2014, and 2021. El Dorado also beat Marion in the first round of the 2016 playoffs in Marion. El Dorado scored late in the first round in 2008 (21-20) and in the 2001 quarterfinals (16-15), eliminating the Pats. The Wildcats advanced each season to the state finals, earning the 2011 crown. The Wildcats earned mercy-rule playoff victories in 2014 at Memorial Stadium and in 2016 at Marion's Southern Bancorp Stadium. El Dorado eliminated Marion in the 2021 semifinals and the Wildcats won another Class 6A crown one week later with a 27-17 victory over Greenwood. 6A EAST STANDINGS Marion 1-0 Searcy 1-0 Benton 1-0 LR Catholic 1-0 W. Memphis 1-0 Sheridan 0-1 El Dorado 0-1 Greene Co. Tech 0-1 Sylvan Hills 0-1 Jacksonville 0-1 6A EAST SCHEDULE FOR 9/15 Marion at Jacksonville (broadcast on MarionPatriots.com and Marion Patriots Activities Network YouTube station) Sheridan at W. Memphis El Dorado at Greene Co. Tech Searcy at Sylvan Hills LR Catholic at Benton