Longtime Bootheel coach takes Portageville football job

Ronnie Jones will be back on a New Madrid County football field in the fall.

Jones, a longtime coach at nearby New Madrid County Central, will coach Portageville's varsity team this season. He fills the job left open by Lee Wallace, who recently resigned.

Jones coached at NMCC for 18 seasons starting in 1983, the third season for the new school's football program. He coached the team to 12 winning seasons, including 10-2 in 1999 and 9-1 in 2000. His teams reached the playoffs nine times.

He later coached at Kennett for two seasons (2003 and '04) and at Scott City for two seasons ('07 and '08) before retiring.

Wallace was Portageville's coach for three seasons and led the program's turnaround last year. After going 0-9 in both '07 and '08, the Bulldogs were 4-6 in 2009.

Portageville will open its season Aug. 28 against Caruthersville.