Marion Athletics -

With the game scoreless at halftime, it felt like whoever broke through with a touchdown drive first was going to claim victory in last Friday night's contest between Jonesboro and Marion.

The battle of first-place teams in the 6A East had lived up to the hype over the first two quarters for Marion's Homecoming game inside Southern Bancorp Stadium.

Unfortunately, Jonesboro embarked on the first scoring drive of the night, and the visitors traveled home with a 21-6 victory.

The victory keeps Jonesboro (4-3 overall, 3-1 6A East) in a tie for first place in the league standings, while Marion tumbles into a three-way tie for fourth place in the league with contests left at Sheridan, home for Little Rock Catholic, and at Benton.

Both defenses dug in during the first half as the teams hit the halftime break deadlocked in a scoreless tie, but Jonesboro broke through on the initial drive of the third period.

The Hurricane marched 76 yards in 9 plays, cashing in when quarterback Asa Myers hit Kamari Fisher for a 15-yard TD toss, and an Alex Glomski extra point gave the visitors a 7-0 lead with 9:38 left in the third.

Jonesboro forced a Marion three-and-out on the next possession and swiftly moved 77 yards in just 4 plays, hitting paydirt when K'Den Hawkins bolted 61 yards to glory with 6:57 left in the third, and the extra point pushed Jonesboro ahead 14-0.

The 14-0 margin held after three quarters.

Jonesboro took a 21-0 advantage with 3:16 left in the game on an 8-yard T.J. Brown TD plunge.
That led to Marion's (4-3, 2-2) most prosperous drive of the night, a 54-yard march in 7 plays, culminating when QB Zayden Walker connected with Jeremiah Dent on a 14-yard TD pass, but Jonesboro blocked the extra point to keep the score at 21-6.

Marion forced a three-and-out on the next Jonesboro drive, giving the hosts a chance, and the Pats got inside the Jonesboro 35-yard line with 1:20 left when Randy Eusebio came up with an interception to ice the game for Jonesboro.

Walker completed 16 of 30 passes for 172 yards and a TD for Marion, while Rico Ward rushed for 23 yards and Jeremiah Dent took off for 19 steps.

The Patriot defense got 10 tackles from inside linebacker Bryson Gladney, eight apiece from Kajeris Hill and Ryan Blackwell, and seven by Chris Byrd.

WHAT'S NEXT?
Marion continues 6A East play on Friday night with a trip to Sheridan, and you can watch that game for free on the MPAN YouTube channel. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

6A EAST RESULTS FROM 10/17
Jonesboro 21, Marion 6
Benton 60, El Dorado 36
Sheridan 51, LR Catholic 36
Sylvan Hills 55, W. Memphis 12

6A EAST STANDINGS ON 10/20
SCHOOL. CONF. RECORD
Sylvan Hills 3-1
Benton 3-1
Jonesboro 3-1
Marion 2-2
El Dorado 2-2
Sheridan 2-2
LR Catholic 1-3
W. Memphis 0-4
Top six teams make playoffs.

6A EAST GAMES ON 10/24
Marion at Sheridan
LR Catholic at Benton
El Dorado at W. Memphis
Sylvan Hills at Jonesboro