The Catholic Rockets will take on the Marion Patriots at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.
Catholic is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Arkansas' top teams: Benton, who was ranked sixth in their home state at the time (Catholic was ranked 20th). Catholic was beaten by Benton 42-0 on Friday. The Rockets' defeat signaled the end of their seven-game winning streak.
Meanwhile, Marion waltzed into their matchup on Friday with four straight wins... but they left with five. They put the hurt on the Yellowjackets with a sharp 42-21 victory. The result was nothing new for the Patriots, who have now won five games by 21 points or more so far this season.
Jalen Smith was his usual excellent self, rushing for 302 yards and five touchdowns while picking up 14.4 yards per carry, and also throwing for 61 yards and a touchdown. Those 302 rushing yards gave him a new career-high.
Marion was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 336 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
Marion didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Jaron Davis and Colton Kimbel.
Having lost for the first time this season, Catholic fell to 7-1. As for Marion, they pushed their record up to 7-1 with the win, which was their fourth straight at home.
Catholic didn't have too much breathing room in their match against Marion when the teams last played back in November of 2023, but they still walked away with a 38-34 victory. Does Catholic have another victory up their sleeve, or will Marion turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
