Before the 2023 football season ever kicked off for the Marion Junior High Patriots, the team already knew who they would be playing for this fall. Despite all the real-world issues for kids today, worrying about school and grades, a coaching change for the freshman team, and too many other issues to consider, this year's MJHS team would be dedicating their ninth-grade seasons to their fallen classmate, Myles Richardson, who passed away in February. “From the first time I met our guys until the end of the last game, they broke it down on four-five (Richardson's number),” said MJHS freshman coach Lavar Neal. “When I saw that, I knew that these guys were motivated to succeed for Myles.” And succeed they did. The 2023 junior Patriots shook off a season-opening loss in non-conference action and ran the table, earning the Northeast Arkansas junior high conference title outright, finishing 7-1 overall and 7-0 in league play. “I'm proud for our kids because they bought into us coaches almost immediately,” said Neal, who's a Newport native. “They weren't scared of hard work, and they played together. You can't ask for much more from a group.” Freshman quarterback Max Molloy paced the Patriot aerial attack by completing 57 percent of his passes for 840 yards and nine touchdowns with just three interceptions. The dual-threat signal-caller added 231 yards and four scores on the ground. Classmate Jeremiah Dent rolled up more than 1,000 all-purpose yards (676 rushing yards, 10 TDs, and 17 receptions for 218 yards with two scores and a 75-yard kickoff return for another TD). Kam Riley led the receiving corps with 17 receptions for 279 yards and four scores, and he rushed for 175 yards and two TDs Korbin Littlejohn joined the team over the summer and caught 10 passes for 87 yards, and he passed for 77 yards. Colon “CoCo” Kimbel snagged 12 passes for 180 yards and two scores, and Aden Wilson caught three passes for 76 yards and a score. Karlyal “Duck” Hyland, Kimbel, Wilson, and Brodie Wright paced the Marion defense, which surrendered less than 18 points a week this fall on average. Hyde and Wright blocked punts for Marion, while Kimbel intercepted three passes, and Wilson and Hyland returned their interceptions for TDs. Following that season-opening 41-26 loss at Little Rock Christian, Marion was a fortress, outlasting West Memphis Wonder 28-22 before walloping West Memphis West 50-0. “The West game was probably our most complete football game all year,” said Neal. “We scored in all three phases, obviously had a shutout, and we scored a bunch of points. Everything clicked for us in that game.” The Marion roll continued into October as the Pats slipped past Jonesboro MacArthur 30-28, setting up an intriguing home date with Mountain Home, which had not lost a junior high football game in almost five seasons. “Mountain Home was memorable because they do a great job there with junior high football and they get off the bus with what seemed like a million kids,” said Neal. “But, our guys talked about it all week, they were all locked in and focused on doing what it took to beat Mountain Home.” When the smoke cleared, Marion had bested the Bombers 22-14, keeping alive their dreams of a conference title. But one, final hurdle remained, one week later at Jonesboro Annie Camp, and this one would be played away from the friendly confines of Southern Bancorp Stadium. Tensions ramped up when Annie Camp scored first and took a 7-0 lead to halftime. “Our guys still believed, even when we were down, that we could win the game,” said Neal. “That was a great one for the defense to show what it could do against a good team, and they pulled it off.” Marion responded with two second-half touchdowns and returned home with a 12-7 victory that gave the Patriots head-to-head victories over the other two contenders in league action. The Pats closed out by finishing a season sweep of Wonder (30-22) and when the Pats took the field for their regular-season and home finale against West, they did so with Richardson's No. 45 jersey in tow. The Pats capped off their memorable 2023 year with a 30-14 victory over the Blue Imps. “I was always impressed with these guys because they only wanted to win and were only worried about winning,” said Neal. “It's easy for kids to get caught up in a bunch of other stuff, but these guys worked hard and were unselfish. That's a rare thing.” 2023 Marion Junior High Schedule Little Rock Christian L 41-26 WM Wonder W 28-22 WM West W 50-0 Jonesboro MacArthur W 30-28 Mountain Home W 22-14 Jonesboro Annie Camp W 12-7 WM Wonder W 30-22 WM West W 30-14