MARION — It was National Guard night at Patriot Stadium, and both teams wore camo-trimmed uniforms to celebrate, but it was the Nettleton Raiders who marched out of town with a 56-24 victory, behind an explosive offensive attack and some strong special teams to set it all up. Marion started with the ball, but Nettleton kicker Garrett Miller put the Patriots in a hole by booting the ball into the end zone for a touchback. The Patriots moved the football behind the running of Tom Young, who busted an 18-yard run to start the drive, but after a false start and a dropped pass helped put Marion in fourth down, linebacker Jacquavin Wilson sniffed out a draw to Young and dropped the running back for a 6-yard loss. On the first play of the Raider drive quarterback Jaylin Small got a big night started as he kept for 28 yards up the middle. After two more runs, Small hit Stanley Wilson at the goal line as Wilson posted up his defender for a 12-yard strike. It was the first of four times that the pair hooked up for scores. Miller booted the first of six extra points on the night and with 9:15 left in the opening quarter, Nettleton took a lead that wouldn't be relinquished. Miller helped set up the next Raider score, as his kickoff was mishandled out of bounds by the Patriots, setting Marion up at their own 7-yard line. After an incomplete pass, Jaylon Allson fought off a double team to sack Patriot quarterback Tyler Holmes for a safety and gave the Raiders a 9-0 advantage with 9:04 left in the opening frame. On the ensuing drive, following the Marion freekick, Miller put up more points for Nettleton as he kicked a 27-yard field goal, and gave the Raiders a 12-0 lead. "With Garrett kicking off, especially when the wind is at his back, he's a weapon we're going to utilize," said Nettleton coach Steve Hampton. "Whether it's kickoffs pinning them deep or on field goals, he's a weapon for us, and that was a key to get off to such a good start." Another Miller bomb through the end zone backed the Patriots up again, but this time they stuck to the ground behind Young, who carried seven times for 58 yards on a drive that was aided by 30 yards in penalties against Nettleton. With 5:06 remaining in the first quarter, Young carried over from 3 yards out. The PAT was blocked as Marion cut the lead to 12-6. The Raiders moved the ball on their next possession but bogged down at the Patriot 23-yard line before Miller booted through a 40-yard field goal to make the score 15-6 with 1:07 left in the opening period. Marion again started from their own 20-yard line and a negative play and a holding penalty backed the ball up to the 7-yard line before Holmes found Collin Chambers on a deep route down the center of the field for an 81-yard gain. Two plays later, Darrius Lathon scored on a nifty run from 9 yards out to trim the lead to three, 15-12 with 11:53 left in the second quarter. Marion tried to surprise the Raiders with an onside kick, but Wilson recovered for Nettleton, and the Raiders marched the 58 yards in four plays, with the capper a 22-yard strike from Small to Wilson, who sidestepped a tackler at the goal line to complete the touchdown and after the PAT extend the lead to 22-12. "Stanley is a good receiver," Hampton said. "He's long, can go up and get the ball, and that helped get some other guys involved, like Colby Crite, Hunter Smith and Montel Moore." Marion marched back down deep into Nettleton territory, but on fourth down from the Raider 10-yard line, Allison got pressure on Holmes, forcing his throw into the end zone to be high and the Patriots relinquished the ball on downs. The Raiders began a 10-play, 90-yard drive with Small running for 30 and throwing for 22 yards. The drive ended with a Joe Frazier 24-yard sprint as he ran virtually untouched through the Patriot defense. "As the game wore on, I thought we were able to start gaining control of the line of scrimmage," Hampton said. Marion scored one more time before the half, as Holmes found Caleb Thompson from 9 yards out with 51 seconds left in the first half to set the score at 29-18 in favor of Nettleton. The Raiders scored the first 27 points of the second half, as Small connected with Wilson two more times, from 12 and 19 yards, and Frazier found paydirt from 3 and 11 yards out. "We made some defensive adjustments on communication at halftime," Hampton said, "but most of it was we tackled better in the second half than we did in the first." Marion scored the game's final touchdown as Haston Orewiller connected on all three of his pass attempts, the last a 30-yard strike to Chambers to set the final tally. For the Raiders, who amassed 414 yards of total offense, Small led the way on the ground with 19 carries for 133 yards, while Frazier added 131 yards and three touchdowns on 21 totes. Small finished 14 of 25 passing for 135 yards and all four of his touchdown throws found Wilson, who finished with 102 yards receiving on seven grabs. Marion rolled up 456 yards of offense, as Young rushed for 113 yards on 17 carries and a touchdown, Lathon added 78 yards on nine carries. Holmes finished 13 of 25 passing for 205 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Chambers finished with 176 yards receiving on four grabs.