Late defensive stop lets West Memphis hold on

WEST MEMPHIS 22, MARION 20

MARION — Senior linebacker Curtis Hill knocked away a two-point conversion pass with 3:39 remaining to secure West Memphis’ 2220 victory over Marion on Friday night.

Down 22-14, Marion’s Anthony Switzer took a pitch from sophomore quarterback Daedrick Cail and threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Kenta Jones to make it 22-20.

On the two-point conversion, West Memphis defensive lineman Mark Robinson pressured Cail and deflected the pass slightly, which allowed teammate Hill to recover and knock the ball away from Marion’s Josh Green, the intended receiver.

“We practiced for the H-back dump all week in practice and we saw [the receiver] come into the game,” Hill said. “I saw him coming out of the backfield and Mark got a finger on it, I think. That helped.”

The victory was West Memphis’ 15th in a row without a loss against its Crittenden County neighbor.

Marion grabbed the early momentum and took a 14-7 lead until West Memphis senior Devin Olloway blocked a punt by Marion’s Dylan Pieri at the Patriots’ 25. Pieri raced to recover the ball in the end zone, resulting in a safety for the Blue Devils (40, 1-0 6A-East).

After the free kick by the Patriots (3-1, 0-1), the Blue Devils faced third and 8 at the Marion 22. West Memphis junior quarterback Owens McConnell fired a touchdown pass to Olloway, who outraced three Marion defenders into the end zone to give the Blue Devils the lead for good at 15-14.

McConnell hooked up with senior receiver Jimmy Phillips for a 13-yard touchdown pass on fourth down with 3:39 left in the third quarter to give the Blue Devils a 22-14 lead.

Cail completed 12 of 23 passes for 147 yards and 2 interceptions.