EL DORADO --- El Dorado's Memorial Stadium has long been a house of horrors for the Marion Patriot football team. Marion lost its first five contests in Union County against the Wildcats, including four playoff meetings, and the defeats ranged anywhere from what one might call one-sided to devastating beyond belief. The Pats finally won at El Dorado last September, a dominating 50-13 victory that exorcised a lot of demons for the Marion faithful, but one couldn't help but wonder how the club would respond in a tight game. Marion players and coaches got their answer last Friday night, when the Pats outlasted the Wildcats 34-28, erasing a 21-14 deficit early in the fourth period to do so. MHS outgained El Dorado 322-299, and the Patriots forced five Wildcat turnovers on defense. Marion (4-1 overall, 2-0 6A East) got 4 touchdowns from senior tailback Jalen Smith and another score from quarterback Zayden Walker to account for the MHS scoring. El Dorado (2-3, 0-2) got a pair of scores from senior A.J. Gilmore, one interception return that gave the Wildcats a 21-14 lead in the third period, the second a tunnel screen for 52 yards from QB Cannon Jacobs, who also tossed a TD pass to Connor Schultz. Smith scored the eventual game-winning TD with 16 seconds left in the fourth quarter, culminating Marion's final drive by converting three times on fourth down to extend the march. Smith picked up 5 yards on fourth and 3 with less than 2 minutes left, and four plays later the Pats converted on fourth and 6 on a defensive pass interference call on a play intended for Christian Young. The third Marion fourth-down conversion featured Smith running for 4 yards on fourth and 2 to set up first and goal at the El Dorado 4-yard line with 42 seconds left in regulation. Smith scored on second down, but a missed Marion extra point gave El Dorado a chance with 16 seconds left on the clock. The Patriots clinched victory when the visitors recovered an El Dorado fumble following an attempted hook-and-ladder play on the game's final play. Marion opened the scoring with 9:23 left in the first quarter when Smith covered 2 yards with his first TD plunge of the evening. The Pats forced a pair of turnovers in the first quarter, an interception from junior Kerjais Hill and an Emanuel Key fumble recovery, but the Pats failed to cash them in and led 7-0 after a quarter. Jacobs got the Wildcats on the board with 10:27 left in the second quarter when Jacobs scored from a yard out to tie the contest at 7. Walker pushed the Pats back in front on the ensuing drive when Walker kept on a read option for a 4-yard score and a 14-7 Patriot advantage with 6:28 left in the first half. Jacobs fired a quick screen to Gilmore with 1:39 left in the second quarter, and Gilmore turned the short pass into a big play, setting sail 52 yards for the tying touchdown as the teams hit the locker rooms knotted at 14. Gilmore struck again with 5:45 left in the third period when he intercepted Walker's pass and returned it for El Dorado's first lead of the night at 21-14, which doubled as the score after three quarters. Smith tied it up at 21 with a 3-yard TD plunge with 11:26 left in regulation. The senior tailback picked up 23 yards on a second down run on Marion's ensuing drive, followed immediately by a Walker completion to Young that went for 31 yards, and Smith converted the drive into points when he scored from 2 yards out with 7:41 left in the ballgame. But El Dorado marched 53 yards in seven plays on the ensuing drive, hitting paydirt when Jacobs hit Schultz for the tying TD with 5:12 left in the contest. That set the stage for Marion's winning drive that began at its own 49-yard line. WHAT'S NEXT? Marion hosts Crittenden County neighbor West Memphis on Friday night for a 7 p.m. kickoff at Southern Bancorp Stadium. The football game will be preceded by the Fred Leonard State Farm Hometown Showdown tailgate party located at Marion High School. You can watch the Marion-West Memphis football game for free on the MPAN YouTube channel, the MPAN mobile app, or on MarionPatriots.com. TWIN KILLING Marion twin junior defensive backs Kajeris and Kejaris Hill came up with interceptions in the same game for the first time in their varsity careers on Friday at El Dorado. WINNING STREAK El Dorado won the first seven meetings on the gridiron with Marion, but the Pats' Week 5 victory marked Marion's third win in a row against the Wildcats. Marion rallied in the fourth quarter in 2022 to top El Dorado 27-23 at home before rushing for more than 300 yards in last year's 50-13 victory at Memorial Stadium. FAMILIAR SETTING Marion played at El Dorado for the fourth time in four seasons last week. The Patriots went 0-2 in Union County in 2021, including Marion's third semifinal appearance in school history. Marion outlasted El Dorado 27-23 in 2022 at home, and the Pats bested the Wildcats last September before taking down a victory last Friday night. 6A EAST ON 10/4 Marion 34, El Dorado 28 Jonesboro 49, Sheridan 28 LR Catholic 41, W. Memphis 13 Benton 49, Sylvan Hills 0 6A EAST STANDINGS ON 10/7 Marion 2-0 Benton 2-0 LR Catholic 2-0 Jonesboro 1-1 Sheridan 1-1 El Dorado 0-2 Sylvan Hills 0-2 W. Memphis 0-2 6A EAST GAMES ON 10/11 W. Memphis at Marion El Dorado at Sylvan Hills Jonesboro at LR Catholic Benton at Sheridan