Following its best regular season in six years, capped by a conference runner-up finish, and a fourth state quarterfinal appearance since 2018, 13 Marion Patriot football players earned postseason awards for 2023. Four offensive stalwarts who helped Marion to more than 40 points per game this past season earned all-state honors, including senior quarterback Ashton Gray, junior tailback Jalen Smith, senior right tackle Aqeelo Allen, and junior left tackle Carius Curne. Three more Marion offensive linemen landed on the all-conference list as senior guards Carter Benton, Jermaine Davis, and Allen Miller earned an All-6A East nod. Six Marion defenders who played major roles in the Pats allowing just 22 PPG in 2023 also nabbed all-league nods. Senior linebackers Dewayne Williams, Javen Griffin, and Victor Turner produced all-conference seasons, as did senior defensive backs Martaveon Banks, Kendal Brister, and Amari Lee. Gray's 2023 will go down as one of the more productive offensive seasons in Marion football. The two-time Team Captain amassed 3,251 total yards (1,332 passing and 1,919 rushing) and 43 touchdowns (30 rushing and 13 passing) this fall. He earned the All-Arkansas Preps Player of the Week award for the first time in school history following his performance against Sheridan. Gray (11.4 yards per carry in 2023) exits Marion after starting 22 games at QB, passing for 2,989 yards and 30 TDs, both of which rank second in the school's all-time record book. Gray rushed for 2,184 yards and 32 scores over three seasons. Gray owns offers from Arkansas-Pine Bluff, North Texas, Arkansas Tech, Pitt State, and Arkansas-Monticello, with several other schools continuing to evaluate him. Smith earned a second straight all-state nod this season after rushing for 1,582 yards and 17 TDs this fall. The junior, who averaged more than 8 yards per carry this fall, added three receptions for 45 yards. As a sophomore, Smith paced the Pats with 1,305 rushing yards and 12 scores, and his 2,887 career rushing yards place him sixth in school history. Tom Young rushed for a program-high 3,622 yards from 2014-2016. Allen left his mark on Marion football from the time he arrived on campus in July 2022. The senior right tackle earned his first start up front in the Pats' conference opener against El Dorado in 2022 and never looked back, starting the last 21 games of his career. Allen earned all-conference honors as a junior before his all-state nod this year. Allen owns several college offers, including a D1 scholarship from Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Curne locked the starting left tackle role during the summer of 2022 and has morphed into one of the state's more decorated recruits since. He started nine of Marion's 11 games and performed well as a sophomore, but he raised his play as a junior, starting every game. Curne currently owns more than 15 Power 5 scholarship offers entering his senior season. Benton capped his run as a three-year starter up front with a second consecutive all-conference nod this fall. Benton took the field with the starters for Marion's benefit scrimmage game at Little Rock Central in 2021, and he started all 13 games that season at right tackle as the Pats ran to the semifinals for the second straight season. Benton bumped inside prior to his junior season, starting nine of 11 games at guard and tackle. He locked down left guard this season, making every start and proving to be a standout blocker. Benton owns scholarship offers from Arkansas Tech, Westminster College, Culver-Stockton, and Thiel College, with other schools still evaluating him. Davis was unable to play as a sophomore, but he returned to the team with a vengeance in 2022, locking down the starting right guard spot that summer, and starting almost every game as a junior and senior. Davis earned a reputation as a nasty run-blocker the past two seasons, and he also helped on defense more as a senior. Miller earned his reputation as an ace sixth man on the offensive line as a junior when he led the Patriots in pancake blocks. His aggressive blocking did not fade as a senior, when he started a few games, and played many more snaps, often blocking would-be tacklers to the sideline, and sometimes all the way to the track. Banks burst onto the scene in September 2021 when he started at safety during the non-conference portion of the schedule, helping solidify a stingy Marion defense that season. The safety racked up 61 tackles and intercepted two passes to earn all-conference honors in 2022 as a junior, while also taking over as the team's punter midway through that year. Banks became a permanent Team Captain this fall, when he again earned all-league honors, making 59 stops, while serving as an anchor on defense. Banks amassed 165 career tackles with two interceptions at Marion. Brister broke through in October of his sophomore season as the safety opposite Banks, and he broke out as a junior, starting every game at safety and making 31 tackles. As a senior, Brister downed ball-carriers 45 times, and he came up with a team-high six interceptions, the most since Kenta Jones picked off six balls in 2016. Brister recorded 101 tackles in his career, with six picks and a fumble recovery. Lee also earned a starting slot in 2021 in the secondary, and he sparked a late-season victory over 6A East champion Jonesboro and a playoff victory over Russellville with interceptions. However, a knee injury sank Lee's entire junior season as he diligently worked to get back into the lineup. His hard work paid off this fall, when he returned to the secondary and stacked 24 tackles. Lee capped his Marion career with 41 stops and a pair of interceptions. Williams bounced around the field as a sophomore, playing some defensive end and linebacker, and he finished with seven tackles and a crucial interception to cap off Marion's victory that October over Searcy. He locked a linebacker slot as a junior, finishing second on Marion's tackle chart with 66 tackles and a key interception against El Dorado. He put together his finest season yet as a senior, leading the Pats with 86 tackles and seven tackles for loss. Williams will walk the stage in May after recording 159 tackles (15 TFL) and two interceptions in his Marion football career. Griffin joined the program prior to his junior season and quickly established himself as a dominant run-stuffer at inside linebacker. IN 2022, Griffin wound up fifth on Marion with 30 tackles, two TFLs, and a pair of forced fumbles. Over the off-season, Griffin was selected as a permanent Team Captain for 2023, and he raised his play again, stacked 64 tackles, four TFL, and an interception. Turner rotated some on defense as a sophomore, but he broke out in a major way as a junior, logging a team-high 77 tackles, including four TFLs. The energetic Turner didn't miss a beat as a senior, downing ball carriers 78 times, including seven TFLs, and he intercepted two passes, forced a fumble, recovered a fumble, and blocked a punt. 2023 RECAP Marion's 13 combined all-state and all-conference selections powered the Pats' record 8-1 start to 2023. This season marked Marion's first conference runner-up finish and first opening-round playoff bye since 2018, and the Pats made the state quarterfinals for the fourth time in six years. The Pats registered a school-record six victories this fall under the Arkansas Sportsmanship Rule, with a seventh conquest finishing under the running clock. But preseason predictors were not as bullish on the 2023 Pats. Conference coaches pegged the Pats sixth out of 10 teams in the 6A East in this year's Hooten's Arkansas Football magazine, with MHS ranked eighth overall in the state prior to the season. Marion opened the 2023 campaign with a dominating 27-7 victory over old AAAA East rival Wynne at home, leading 21-0 in the third period. That game finished under the running clock due to heat and a bevy of Wynne injuries. Following the bye week, Marion hit the road to south Arkansas for a conference-opening showdown at El Dorado, where the Pats had never won. History may not have been on Marion's side, but a determined group of Patriots took the field at Memorial Stadium, dominated the third quarter, and slapped together arguably their best game of the year in a 50-13 rout that stamped Marion as a contender. Following a 48-13 road victory at Jacksonville, and a 37-0 homecoming conquest of Greene County Tech, Marion absorbed its first loss of 2023 at third-ranked Benton, but the Pats were a strong 4-1 at the season's midway point. A crucial home date with Searcy was tight into the fourth quarter, but Marion dug deep and scored the last 14 points of the game in a 56-35 victory over the Lions, as the Pats rushed for more than 600 yards as a team. That set the stage for the most anticipated game against county rival West Memphis in recent memory. West Memphis entered the October 13 showdown 5-1 overall and 5-0 in 6A East action, while Marion was also 5-1 overall, but a second league loss would prevent the Pats from seriously pursuing a league title or first-round bye down the stretch. West Memphis took its first lead against Marion since 2020 in the first period, and the game was tied at 14 in the fourth quarter, but a Brister interception set Gray up for his third touchdown run, and the Pats earned their third consecutive victory on the field against West Memphis, a 20-14 decision that left Marion in prime position down the stretch. The Pats logged two more victories under the sportsmanship rule, downing Sheridan (55-21) at home, and hitting the road to trounce Sylvan Hills (61-22). Marion welcomed defending conference champion and state semifinalist Little Rock Catholic for Senior Night Week 10 with a conference runner-up finish and first-round playoff bye already set in stone. A back-and-forth battle ensued inside Southern Bancorp Stadium, with the Rockets taking down a 38-34 victory that left the Pats with an 8-2 mark. The Pats got healthy during their first-round bye before drawing defending Class 6A state champion Pulaski Academy in the state quarterfinals. An instant classic played out on November 17 in a game featuring six lead changes, including four in the fourth quarter. Marion took the lead late in the fourth period on a 41-yard TD pass from Gray to junior tight end Cam Garrett, and the Pats still led 26-21 with five seconds on the clock when the Bruins won the game on a 27-yard TD toss with no time left on the clock. Marion won eight games for just the ninth time in school history this fall, and the Pats' 8-2 regular-season mark tied the 1956, 1970, 1989, 2005, and 2018 teams for the best record ever. Twenty-one Marion football seniors played part in 23 victories over the past three seasons, which ties the 2005-2007 run, which also recorded 23 wins. Marion earned a final Class 6A ranking of No. 5 from hootens.com, and the Arkansas-Democrat Gazette after the Pats peaked at No. 4 earlier this season.