Trailing 17-0 at halftime and with its playoff positioning already set in stone, the Marion football team had two options while in the fieldhouse during the break. They could pack it in, get ready for their first-round playoff bye, and punt on the rest of the Little Rock Catholic game. Or, they could rally back in the second half and make a game of it for the fine folks in attendance at Southern Bancorp Stadium. The Pats decided to make a game of it. Playing against a Rocket team that needed a win to assure itself of a first-round home playoff game, Marion twice came all the way back to take the lead against Little Rock Catholic (7-3 overall, 6-3 6A East), but the Rockets made enough plays down the stretch to take down a dramatic, entertaining 38-34 decision. Rocket senior safety Cade McConnell stepped in front of an Ashton Gray pass inside the Rocket 10-yard line with the visitors leading 31-27 and returned it 96 yards for a TD with 2:08 left in regulation. On Marion's final drive, Catholic's Henry Clark corralled Gray, forcing Rocket safety Jake Black-Ocken to intercept a pass to clinch victory for LR Catholic essentially. The Patriots finish their 2023 schedule 8-2 overall, which equals the best regular-season mark in school history. Marion's 7-2 6A East record was good for a conference-runner-up finish and a first-round playoff bye. Marion will host the winner of this week's El Dorado-Pulaski Academy contest on Friday, November 17 at 7 p.m. inside Southern Bancorp Stadium. That quarterfinal contest will be broadcast live on MarionPatriots.com and the Marion Patriots Activities Network YouTube channel. Marion outgained Catholic 408-316 last Friday night, with the Pats rushing for 312 yards. The teams each committed three turnovers. “I give Catholic a lot of credit because they played extraordinarily well in the first half,” said Marion coach Lance Clark. “They took advantage of our mistakes and it took us forever to wake up and adjust to how they were defending us.” “Great team win and response by our guys,” said LR Catholic coach John Fogleman. “I know there were times in the second half where it felt like we were starting to doubt a little bit, but we fought past it and won a big game against a really, really good team.” Indeed, Catholic did play impress in the first half. The Rockets built its 17-0 halftime lead on a 38-yard Will Aaron field goal for a 3-0 lead after a quarter. In the second stanza, LR Catholic quarterback Jackson England hit all-state receiver Brooks Ward for TD tosses of 11 and six yards, as the Rockets surged ahead 17-0 after two quarters. Marion finally adjusted in the third period, when the Patriots forced 2 turnovers. The first was a recovered fumble on a punt that Marion turned into points 4 plays later when Jalen Smith ran 19 yards to paydirt with 9:23 left in the third, and Marion trimmed the Rocket lead to 17-7. Marion got closer when senior linebacker Dewayne Williams blocked a Catholic punt and Christian Young returned the carom 44 yards for a TD to get the hosts within 17-13. Two plays later, Marion's Kendal Brister came up with his fourth interception of the year and Marion made it count when Gray sprinted 46 yards for a score with 2:12 left in the period. Marion's first lead was 21-17 and it doubled as the score after 3 periods. The Rockets reclaimed the lead on the second play of the fourth period when England kept on an option run and set sail 29 yards for a TD and a 24-21 Rocket lead. Marion counterpunched when Smith covered 35 yards for his second TD run of the night with 8:46 left giving the Pats a 27-24 advantage. Catholic reclaimed the lead with 7:27 left in regulation when England hit Alex Beranek for a 59-yard TD toss and a 31-27 advantage. Marion embarked on a drive that took the Pats from their own 10-yard line inside the Rocket 5-, but the hosts faced fourth and 6 when McConnell stepped in front of Gray's pass and returned it untouched for a 38-27 lead. "I was happy for redemption for Cody and Alex because they'd had the turnovers earlier," said Fogleman. "To their credit, they didn't get down or let it get the best of them. They stayed in the game and made plays to help us win." But Gray hit tight end Cam Garrett for an 85-yard TD toss on the first play after McConnell's return to get the Pats right back into the mix at 38-34. Things got more interesting when the Marion defense forced a three-and-out and took over at its own 18-yard line with 1:19 left and a timeout remaining. Gray ran for 29 yards on first down but threw incomplete on the second play of the drive, and Garrett Ross tallied a tackle for loss on second down, setting up the deciding third down and Black-Ocken's game-sealing interception. WHAT'S NEXT? Marion will enjoy a first-round playoff bye this Friday night before jumping straight into the state quarterfinals on Friday, November 17 against the winner of the El Dorado-Pulaski Academy opening-round game. The quarterfinal game inside Southern Bancorp Stadium will kick off at 7 p.m., and it will be broadcast live on MarionPatriots.com and on the Marion Patriots Activities Network YouTube channel. DOUBLE TROUBLE Quarterback Ashton Gray and tailback Jalen Smith dazzled this fall, becoming the first pair of Marion 'backs to top 1,000 yards rushing in the same season since Tre Franklin and Rashad Boyd did so in 2011. Gray finished his senior campaign with 1,744 yards rushing and 28 touchdowns, while Smith racked up 1,510 yards rushing and 17 scores. Gray also completed 55 percent of his passes for 1,244 yards and 11 scores, giving him a 2023 total of 2,988 yards and 39 touchdowns. INTRIGUING PLAYOFF MATCHUPS Marion knows that it will host the winner of the El Dorado-Pulaski Academy game in two weeks, which is interesting because it's one of Marion's more common playoff opponents and a program that the Pats have never faced. MHS has played El Dorado five times in the state playoffs, and all have occurred since 2008. That's the Pats' second most common playoff matchup behind Lake Hamilton, which Marion has faced seven times in the postseason. Pulaski Academy has won a state title in eight of the past nine seasons, including last year's 6A crown in the Bruins' initial run in that classification. This season, Pulaski Academy is 8-2 overall and 6-2 in the 6A West, and its only losses were against Little Rock Christian and Greenwood. BANNER YEAR Marion's 8-2 final record equaled the marks of Marion football teams in 1956, 1970, 1989, 2005, and 2018 as the best in school history. The 2006, 2011, and 2021 teams also got to eight victories after winning at least one playoff game. The 1989 and 2005 Patriots finished with nine victories, which is a total this year's Patriots can match with a quarterfinal victory in two weeks. FINAL 6A EAST STANDINGS Benton 9-0+ Marion 7-2+ W. Memphis 7-2 LR Catholic 6-3 Searcy 5-4 El Dorado 5-4 Sheridan 3-6 Jacksonville 2-7 Greene Co. Tech 1-8 Sylvan Hills 0-9 +has first-round playoff bye FIRST-ROUND CLASS 6A PLAYOFF MATCHUPS Mountain Home at LR Catholic Van Buren at W. Memphis Searcy at Greenbrier El Dorado at Pulaski Academy (winner plays at Marion in quarterfinals)