Marion Athletics -

SEARCY --- Some pundits around the Marion football program wondered how the 2025 Patriots would handle playing away from home, in a hostile environment, on a big stage like a college football stadium.

Last Friday night here at First Security Field, they got an answer.

Marion improved to 2-0 in 2025 by scoring the game's first 44 points, taking a 51-7 halftime lead, and coasted to the finish line in a scoreless second half.

“Overall, you're happy anytime you can win a game 51-7,” said Marion head coach Lance Clark. “Obviously, that means your team played extremely well. We did have some sloppiness that we have to clean up. Those mistakes will hold us back later on if we don't correct them. But this is not easy to go on the road and win against a great program in a college stadium, against a team that's won as many games as they have, so from that perspective, it was really special.”

Marion's offensive onslaught began on the game's first snap from scrimmage, and it covered almost the entire field.

That's when Patriot senior quarterback Zayden Walker connected with receiver Aamoni Wren for a 90-yard touchdown toss on a beautiful catch-and-run that gave the visitors a 7-0 lead 27 seconds into the contest.

"We had something else called to be honest with you," said Clark. "But Zayden saw something that he liked; he's been developing chemistry lately with Aamoni, and he took a shot. I'm glad he did.”

The Patriot defense did its part as well, stacking eight tackles for loss, with quarterback sacks from Zadean Wilson, Ryan Blackwell, and Zimran Phelix.

"I thought the defense made a bunch of plays, maybe didn't tackle as well later on, but played really hard and smart," said Clark. "We had a good plan, and our kids were excited to play tonight."

The Patriots recovered an ensuing onside kick and marched 55 plays in 10 plays, culminating when Rico Ward scored a 2-yard TD for a 14-0 Marion lead with 8:46 left in the first quarter.
Marion recovered a fumble on the next Wildcat drive, and it took the Pats just four plays and 25 yards for a 20-0 lead, hitting paydirt when Jeremiah Dent covered the final four yards on a rush with 7:03 remaining in the first.

That's when the Patriot defense forced a turnover on downs, and the offense turned it into points one play later when Walker hit Solomon Flores with a 28-yard TD toss with 5:15 left in the initial quarter, and Marion's lead was 27-0.

"It was about as good of complementary football as we have played here at Marion," said Clark. "It's great to play great defense and get stops and force turnovers, and it's great to score a bunch of points. But, when you turn turnovers into points, that's when it's really fun to watch."

Following another Wildcat turnover on downs, Marion took over at the Harding 29-yard line, and Walker scored on a one-yard TD plunge before Jeremiah Dent added the two-point conversion for a 35-0 Marion lead that doubled as the score after the first quarter.

Following a bad snap that turned into a safety, it took Marion just two plays to score when Kam Riley scored from a yard out for a 44-0 lead with 9:19 left in the first half.

Harding Academy got on the scoreboard when Tate Kemper hit Joseph Myles for a 34-yard TD toss, and it got the hosts within 44-7.

But Marion responded instantly on the ensuing kickoff when Dent took the boot 85 yards to the end zone as Marion pushed ahead 51-7, and that was the tally at halftime.

WHAT'S NEXT?
Marion hosts Class 7A power Conway on Friday night with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m., followed by the Patriots' bye week on September 19. You can watch the Conway game for free on the MPAN YouTube channel.

RANKINGS RUNDOWN
Marion claimed the No. 4 spot in the Hootens.com Class 6A weekly rankings and the ScoreBookLive.com weekly rankings, while the Patriots were No. 5 in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's rankings and the Arkansas State Media Poll following the Harding Academy victory