MARION -- For the second week in a row, the Little Rock Catholic Rockets fashioned a big halftime lead.
And this time, the Rockets finished the deal.
Catholic took a 17-0 halftime lead at conference runner-up Marion, allowed but allowed it to take the lead in the second half twice, then intercepted a pair of passes in the fourth quarter to earn a 38-34 victory Friday night.
Senior safety Cade McConnell stepped in front of a pass from Patriot quarterback Ashton Gray pass inside the Rocket 10-yard line with the visitors leading 31-27 and returned it 96 yards for a touchdown with 2:08 left in regulation.
On Marion's final drive, Catholic's Henry Clark corralled Gray, forcing the him to throw a pass up for grabs and safety Jake Black-Ocken intercepted that attempt to seal the victory for Catholic.
"Great team win and response by our guys," Catholic Coach John Fogleman said. "I know there were times in the second half where it felt like we were starting to doubt a little bit, but we fought past it and won a big game against a good team."
Catholic finished its regular season 7-3 overall and will host Mountain Home next Friday in the opening round of the playoffs. Marion finished 8-2 overall and will enjoy a first-round playoff bye next week.
Catholic looked to make the anticipated showdown a blowout before halftime, scoring first when Will Aaron booted a 38-yard field goal with 4:18 left in the first quarter. The Rockets held a 3-0 lead through the end of the first quarter.
The Rocket aerial attack ramped up in the second quarter when quarterback Jackson England connected with receiver Brooks Ward for touchdown tosses covering 11 and 6 yards, the latter of which gave them a 17-0 lead at halftime.
"I give them a lot of credit because they played extraordinarily well in the first half," Marion Coach Lance Clark said. "They took advantage of our mistakes and it took us forever to wake up and adjust to how they were defending us."
Marion finally adjusted in the third period, forcing two turnovers.
The first was a recovered fumble on a punt that Marion turned into points four plays later when Jalen Smith ran 19 yards for a touchdown with 9:23 left in the third, trimming the lead to 17-7.
Marion got closer when senior linebacker Dewayne Williams blocked a Catholic punt and Christian Young returned the carom 44 yards for a touchdown to get the hosts within 17-13.
Two plays later, Marion's Kendal Brister came up with his fourth interception of the year and Marion made it count when Gray sprinted 46 yards for a score with 2:12 left in the period. Marion's first lead was 21-17 and it doubled as the score after three periods.
The Rockets reclaimed the lead on the second play of the fourth quarter when England kept on an option run and ran 29 yards for a score and a 24-21 lead.
Marion counterpunched when Smith covered 35 yards for his second touchdown run of the night with 8:46 left that gave his team a 27-24 advantage.
Catholic reclaimed the lead with 7:27 left in regulation when England hit Alex Beranek for a 59-yard touchdown toss and a 31-27 advantage.
The Patriots embarked on a drive that took them from their own 10-yard line inside the Rocket 5, but the hosts faced fourth-and-6 when McConnell stepped in front of Gray's pass and returned it untouched for a 38-27 lead.
"I was happy for redemption for Cody and Alex because they'd had the turnovers earlier," Fogleman said. "To their credit they didn't get down or let it get the best of them. They stayed in the game and made plays to help us win."
But Gray hit tight end Cam Garrett for an 85-yard touchdown toss on the first play after McConnell's return to get the Pats right back into the mix at 38-34.
Things got more interesting when the Marion defense forced a three-and-out and took over at its own 18-yard line with 1:19 left and a timeout remaining.
Gray covered 29 yards on first down, but threw incomplete on the second play of the drive. Garrett Ross tallied a tackle for loss on second down, setting up the deciding third down and Black-Ocken's game-sealing interception.