Perhaps everything you need to know about the 2023 Marion football senior class played out on Tuesday afternoon. That's when senior quarterback Ashton Gray was awarded the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's Player of the Week award at the Little Rock Touchdown Club. A fitting and deserved honor, to be sure, but that's not what caught Clark's attention. So what was it? “Ashton was just ready to get back from Little Rock so he could practice,” said Clark. “He really wasn't able to focus on anything else other than football. This is a very connected team right now.” So when Gray and his 20 classmates are honored on Senior Night this week prior to the Little Rock Catholic game, that group's focus will be a fond memory for Clark, who's coached most of this year's seniors now for three years. “This group of kids will always be special because our staff has seen the sacrifices and the example that they've set now during their careers,” said the coach. “You think about how far we have come as a football team and program in just three years, and this group deserves that because they have made this place infinitely better and will leave it in a better place than they found it.” Some Marion seniors have left their imprint on the program on the field now for three seasons. Offensive lineman Carter Benton started Marion's scrimmage 2021 scrimmage game at Little Rock Central and has made 31 starts since then. Safety and Team Captain Martaveon Banks cracked the starting lineup in September 2021 and has been a fixture in the secondary ever since, even becoming the team's punter midway through his junior year. Kendal Brister, Marion's safety opposite Banks, took over in October of 2021, and “despite a ton of other dudes trying to pass him up, Brister never let them,” said Clark. Another defensive back, Amari Lee, dazzled as a sophomore and looked like a lockdown cornerback before a knee injury cost him his junior year, but “he's bounced back and solidified us as a senior,” said Clark. “Having Amari has been critical for this team.” Senior right guard Jermaine Davis missed his sophomore year with injury and was an afterthought summer of 2022, but through sheer force of will, he's become an integral part of arguably Marion's most talented offensive line in school history with classmates Benton, Aqeelo Allen, and Allen Miller. Cam Brown and Austin Watson have stabilized Marion this season in the defensive line this year. “Cam Brown has had his best year, by far, and just in time,” said Clark. “Austin Watson switches positions and has been a guy who's gotten better all the time on defense. They have both been excellent.” Linebackers Dewayne Williams, Team Captain Javen Griffin, Jermiah Miller, DeAngelo Foreman, and Victor Turner have taken different routes to their senior seasons at Marion, but all have been productive, high-character players for competitive defenses. Gray, Marion's third permanent Team Captain and the only two-time captain on the roster, has produced a memorable senior year at QB, setting Marion's single-season and career rushing total for a signal-caller, while also likely earning the ADG's Player of the Week for the first time in school history. Twin tailbacks Jordan and Jamar Foster toiled for the junior varsity before carving out key roles and earning crucial carries every week for a Marion club that is currently 8-1 and has already earned a first-round playoff bye and a home quarterfinal game in November. Johnathan Guyton emerged in 2022 as a man-coverage wiz at cornerback before shifting during the off-season to offense, but when injuries rose, Guyton moved back to corner and has “been brilliant in coverage,” said Clark. “He does a lot for us and never complains.” Cohen Chaney, Bryant Williams, Jr., Kurtavious Terrell, and Tim Pamplin are team players who play their roles. Marion's current seniors have played a part in 23 victories on the field, a state semifinal run in 2021, and the school's best nine-game record ever this fall. Senior Patriots have overseen the school's first-ever victories over West Memphis, West Memphis again, El Dorado, and Russellville. Marion's special group of seniors have another special opportunity this week to add one more notch to their belts before they walk the stage. A victory this week over Little Rock Catholic would give Marion its first victory over the capital city private program, but also a 9-1 final record in 2023, which would establish the mark for the best regular season in school history. Marion has finished 8-2 seven times in school history, but the Pats have only won nine games twice (1989 and 2005), and each year featured a playoff win. “For us, it's extremely important to play well and win on Friday because this is a team that beat us last year,” said Clark. “In my eyes, there's a group of four or five teams in 6A that are contenders every year, or mostly every year, and they have similar talent, similar support, coaching, and all that, so to knock off one of those teams is a big deal. We think Catholic is one of those teams. And frankly, they beat us last year, so we need to also be motivated that way.” Beating LR Catholic is far from a sure thing, however. Last year's outright 6A East champions and semifinal team has already lost three times in 2023, including last week's surprising 22-21 loss to El Dorado where the Rockets led 21-0 at halftime. Marion native John Fogleman has fashioned a 53-46 record at LR Catholic, but a majority of the losses came when the Rockets were members of Class 7A. Since dropping to Class 6A in time for the 2022 seasons, Catholic is 17-3 overall. LR Catholic is “a very sound, well-schooled team that just plays hard,” said Clark. “They have two of the better receivers we have seen, who are big. Their defense is very good, I think they've given up like 100 points all year. This is a test for us because it's a good team, and we need to be able to execute against good teams if we are going to get where we want to go.” HOW TO WATCH Marion will recognize its band and football seniors at 6:30 p.m. on Friday prior to kickoff, which is scheduled for 7 p.m. Senior Night and the football contest will be broadcast live on MarionPatriots.com and on the Marion Patriots Activities Network YouTube channel. PLAYERS OF THE WEEK Marion junior tailback Jalen Smith earned this week's Crittenden County Farm Bureau Player of the Week award after rushing for 215 yards and two touchdowns last week at Sylvan Hills. Carter Benton earned the team's Offensive Lineman of the Week for the Sylvan Hills game, while Avery Willis earned DTMG's Patriot of the Week award. MARION EIGHT-WIN SEASONS The 1956 Marion Spartans finished their season 8-2 overall, and 6-2 in league action, which was good for third in the 3B behind Osceola and Crawfordsville. It would be 14 years before the Spartans matched the school record for single-season victories, wrapping up a nice 8-2 1970 campaign, outscoring the competition by a combined 174-82. Marion High changed mascots in 1971, and it took the Patriots 19 years to record one of the finer years in school history. The 1989 outfit finished the regular year 8-2 and as conference runners-up before earning the first playoff victory in school history, a 10-7 decision at Stuttgart that powered MHS to a 9-3 final mark. Mark Uhiren's 2005 Patriots hosted a playoff game for the first time ever when Crossett came to town in the opening round of postseason action, and Marion's 44-7 victory equaled the 9-3 final record of the 1989 club. Marion bumped to Class 6A for the 2006 season, and despite starting that year 4-3, the Pats circled the wagons late that fall, winning four games in a row for an 8-3 start, qualifying for the state semifinals for the first time ever. Five years later, Marion returned one of the more productive offensive backfields in school history, spearheaded by Tre Franklin, and the 2011 Patriots started 8-3, including a playoff victory over Benton, before losing a heartbreaker in the quarterfinals at eventual state champion El Dorado. First-year head coach Keith Houston took the reins at Marion in time for the 2018 season, and his Patriots ended the regular season on a four-game winning streak, highlighted by road victories at Pine Bluff and Jonesboro, to log an 8-3 final record. Clark's first team in 2021 started 2-3 and 3-4 on the field, a mark that took a hit after a pair of forfeit losses to Wynne and West Memphis, but the Patriots proved resilient into the fall, winning five straight games in October and November, including the school's first victory over a No. 1-ranked team in the playoff quarterfinals at Benton, to unofficially finish 8-5 with a second straight state semifinal appearance. This year's Patriots have been a machine, starting 4-0 before their only loss to date at third-ranked Benton, and have won their last four outings, including key wins over Searcy and at West Memphis. 6A EAST STANDINGS ON 11-1-23 Benton 8-0^* Marion 7-1^* W. Memphis 6-2* LR Catholic 5-3*$ Searcy 5-3*$ El Dorado 4-4* Sheridan 3-5 Jacksonville 2-6 Greene Co. Tech 0-8 Sylvan Hills 0-8 *clinched playoff berth ^clinched first-round bye $LR Catholic holds head-to-head tiebreaker over Searcy WEEK 10 6A EAST GAMES LR Catholic at Marion Sheridan at Benton Jacksonville at El Dorado Sylvan Hills at Greene Co. Tech W. Memphis at Searcy