Marion didn't blink ahead of Friday night's home date with Sylvan Hills at Southern Bancorp Stadium. Not with the remnants of Hurricane Helene blowing through the area with a plethora of rain and 20 MPH winds at kickoff. Not with homecoming scheduled ahead of the school's upcoming two-week fall break. Not even when Sylvan Hills marched down with its first possession of the night for a touchdown. Following the Bears' early 7-0 lead, Marion responded with 45 unanswered points, forcing 3 Sylvan Hills turnovers, getting three touchdowns from sophomore tailback Jeremiah Dent, and a pair of scores on the ground from senior 'back Jalen Smith in a 45-7 victory. "I liked pretty much everything we did tonight," said fourth-year Marion coach Lance Clark. "Considering the weather, we're coming off a loss two weeks ago, we really played well against a much improved team. We didn't panic when we got down and we made a ton of plays to pull away. The guys really earned this one." Marion's (3-1 overall, 1-0 6A East) first game-changing play came on the ensuing kickoff after Dent's first TD of the night covered 61 yards to tie the game at 7.  Patriot kicker Nick Bledsoe kicked off high and short to the Bears and after bouncing twice, Marion was able to sprint down and recover the loose ball. The Pats punched it in three plays later when Smith scored from 10 yards out for a 14-7 lead, and Marion never looked back. "We definitely did not call for a sky kick like that, but it did work out," said Clark. "The wind really caught that ball, Nick kicked it up, the wind slowed it up, and I'm not sure they were able to track the ball. Then our guys are able to win the race down there to get the fumble." Marion led 14-7 after the first quarter, and Smith extended the Patriot advantage to 20-7 midway through the second period when the senior scored from 5 yards out. Sylvan Hills faced a third-and-long on the ensuing drive when Marion's Zadean Wilson got to Sylvan Hills QB Tyler Hampton and knocked the ball out, Wilson recovered the loose ball and returned it 37 yards for a 27-7 bulge late in the third period. Marion took a 34-7 lead to halftime when Dent ran 14 yards for a TD with 1:35 left in the second stanza. "It was really good for JD (Dent) to have a breakout performance in a game like this," said Clark. "He struggled some with ball security this summer and early this year, but it can be good to struggle because he showed tonight that he does things with the ball a lot of guys can't do." Dent completed his hat trick with a 30-yard scoring scamper with 2:35 left in the third quarter, and when Smith added the two-point conversion, Marion initiated the Arkansas Sportsmanship rule with a 42-7 lead. Marion capped the scoring with a 22-yard Bledsoe field goal in the fourth quarter. Sylvan Hills (0-4, 0-1) got a 4-yard TD from Malachi Sherwin to open the scoring. "I thought our guys showed a lot of maturity tonight, moving past all the distractions and playing a good game," said Clark. "It's not ideal conditions out here, it's fall break, it's homecoming all week, but our guys showed up tonight ready to play a football game and I'm glad it paid off for them." WHAT'S NEXT? Marion continues its 6A East schedule on Friday night when the Patriots travel to El Dorado. You can watch the game for free on MarionPatriots.com, on the MPAN YouTube channel, and on the MPAN mobile app. RANKINGS RUNDOWN The Patriots maintained their hold on the No. 4 slot in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's weekly Class 6A Super Six rankings, while Marion stayed at No. 5 in Hootens.com weekly Class 6A rankings. RAIN RAIN GO AWAY MHS has gotten good at playing in heavy rainfall this season after every regular season game so far has seen some form of precipitation. The season-opener at Wynne was delayed more than two hours with a heavy thunderstorm, while Marion's home opener against Harding Academy played host to a flash storm at halftime and into the third period. MHS's final non-conference game at Conway had rain prior to kickoff and into the first quarter. The Sylvan Hills game was played in rainfall virtually all night. SWEET MERCY MHS picked up its first victory under the Arkansas Sportsmanship rule this fall after taking down six such wins a season ago. HOME SWEET HOME The Patriots improved to 2-0 at home this season, and the Patriots have outscored the competition by a combined 82-14. WHAT'S THE RUSH? Marion senior tailback Jalen Smith rushed 11 times on Friday night for 100 yards, bringing his career total to 3,271 yards. Smith continues to close in the school's all-time rushing record of 3,622 by 2017 grad Tom Young. HOMECOMING HEROES MHS won its homecoming game for the seventh season in a row against Sylvan Hills. 6A EAST RESULTS FROM 9/27 Marion 45, Sylvan Hills 7 Sheridan 62, W. Memphis 14 Benton 48, Jonesboro 35 LR Catholic 26, El Dorado 6 6A EAST STANDINGS ON 9/30 SCHOOL CONF. Marion 1-0 Benton 1-0 LR Catholic 1-0 Sheridan 1-0 El Dorado 0-1 Jonesboro 0-1 W. Memphis 0-1 Sylvan Hills 0-1 6A EAST GAMES ON 10/4 Marion at El Dorado Sheridan at Jonesboro Benton at Sylvan Hills LR Catholic at W. Memphis