Three years ago, veteran football coach Jim McKay left his hometown school of Portageville in search of a challenge.

He wasn't gone long.

McKay, Portageville's coach from 1968-88, has returned to try and pull Portageville back into the playoffs one year after a dismal season.

He certainly has a proven track record.

McKay, with a record of 110-71-2 at Portageville, spent the past two seasons at Hayti, where he helped lift that program out of the ashes.

With the help of former Caruthersville coach Jerry Bethune, he accepted an assistant position at Hayti two seasons ago. The Indians went from being among the region's worst teams to a Class 1A power, giving state-finalist St. Vincent a run in a 22-16 district loss last year.

"It was a team effort," McKay said. "(Hayti) brought four new coaches in with myself, Bethune, David Gilmore and Jay Morgan. Everybody worked together and the kids developed good attitudes and good work habits. The administration also really made it enjoyable for us. It was a combination of a whole lot of things."

Returning almost its entire team, Hayti now is a challenger for the 1A state championship.

And when Bethune announced he was leaving the program, McKay had an opportunity to lead the charge.

Instead, he went home to a Portageville program that has dramatically changed.

A different scene

While McKay was busy rebuilding Hayti, Portageville's team was falling apart. With inexperience and a rash of injuries, the traditionally strong Bulldogs were winless last season for the first time in 40 years.

McKay steps in as coach this year and once again starts from ground zero. He made his last stay stretch 30 yeras before bypass surgery forced him out of the profession briefly. He later came back to assist Mike Ivie and Kevin Freeman for six years before heading to Hayti.

"Portageville is my hometown," McKay said. "I've lived here about 40 years, and it was hard to sit on the outside and watch them get down on themselves and get beat so bad. Coach Freeman left to take an administrative spot, and I thought maybe I could come back and help them rebuild the program."

Last year the Bulldogs were the lowest-scoring team in the SEMO Conference, averaging eight points a game while giving up 28. In two years without McKay, the Bulldogs were 3-16.

Starting over

"It's hard to start back from scratch, but I really enjoy coaching," said McKay. "I'm going to do the best I can to help the school. Portageville kids have always had good work ethics and good attitudes; I would put them up against anybody. I've coached a lot of the fathers and brothers of the players on the team now."

But rebuilding Portageville will be an entirely different process than at Hayti.

"Hayti had a lot of physical talent and speed," McKay said. "Their attitudes and work habits weren't very good, but it didn't take very much to get that changed. Once they got to winning, they saw all the hard work pay off.

"Portageville kids have always had very good work ethics, but they don't have near the physical talent of Hayti. It's a challenge, but I hope I can help them get back on the right track."

This year's team will be led by seniors Paul Recker and Mark Mudd. As a fullback last season, Recker rushed for 159 yards on 44 carries. Mudd sat out the second half of the season after an MRI revealed blood clots in his spinal cord. He's back to 100 percent.

"Recker and Mudd have both been working very hard in the weight room all summer," said McKay. "We're looking for a lot of leadership out of them. They're both good kids and they're our team captains."

A QB challenge

At quarterback, Lance Penn returns after a solid sophomore season in which he threw for 585 yards. Battling for the starting job is his brother, freshman Jordan Penn.

"They're both doing really well," said McKay. "The freshman is really pushing his older brother. They're both good quarterbacks. The freshman has just as strong of an arm as his brother does, and they're both accurate."

Senior Dantwan Chillers is expected to be the team's feature back. He was Portageville's second leading rusher last season, finishing with 261 yards. Aaron Bidewell and Recker will also carry the ball often. On the other side of the ball, Portageville will run a 44 defense.

"The first thing we're doing is developing good, sound basic skills," said McKay. "Right now, the kids have lost confidence in themselves, and about 90 percent of it is believing in yourself."

And that might be McKay's biggest challenge yet.

PORTAGEVILLE

COACH: Jim McKay, 1st year

2000 RECORD: 0-9

ENROLLMENT, CLASS SIZE: 295, 2A District 1

KEY PLAYERS RETURNING: (LB) Mark Mudd, (RB) Dantwan Chillers, (FB) Paul Recker

KEY PLAYERS LOST: (OL) Stephen Abanathy, (WR) Barry Dennison, (RB) Tyler Boatwright.

RETURNING STARTERS: 16

DISTRICT: 2A District 1

CONFERENCE: SEMO South

PORTAGEVILLE

2001 SCHEDULE:

Aug. 31 vs. Gosnell, Ark.

Sept. 7 at Scott City

Sept. 14 at Fulton, Ky.

Sept. 22 vs. Chaffee

Sept. 28 at Kennett

Oct. 5 at Hayti

Oct. 12 Open

Oct. 19 vs. East Prairie

Oct. 26 at Malden

Nov. 2 vs. Caruthersville

2000 RESULTS (0-9)

Sept. 1 at Gosnell L 07-43

Sept. 8 Scott City L 14-27

Sept. 15 Fulton Co. L 08-19

Sept. 22 at Chaffee L 00-19

Sept. 29 Kennett L 07-47

Oct. 6 Hayti L 18-36

Oct. 13 Open -- ---

Oct. 20 at East Prairie L 06-08

Oct. 27 Malden L 06-38

Nov. 3 Caruthersville L 10-14

MAGNIFICENT ELEVEN

OFFENSE

QB Lance Penn, 6-1, 175, jr.

RB Dantwan Chillers, 5-11, 160, sr.

RB Aaron Bidewell, 5-11, 160, jr.

FB Paul Recker, 5-11, 195, sr.

OT Danny Tubbs, 6-2, 235, so.

OT Chance Oliver, 6-1, 210, sr.

OG Chris Bates, 5-11, 215, sr.

OG Drew Underwood, 6-0, 170, jr.

C Michael Conaway, 6-0, 175, so.

TE Mark Mudd, 6-1, 185, sr.

TE Danny Scherer, 6-0, 160, jr.

DEFENSE

DT Chris Bates, 5-11, 215, sr.

DT Chance Oliver, 6-1, 210, sr.

DE Drew Underwood, 6-0, 170, jr.

DE Eric Booker, 6-2, 180, sr.

OLB Mark Mudd, 6-1, 185, sr.

OLB Danny Scherer, 6-0, 160, jr.

ILB Paul Recker, 5-11, 195, sr.

ILB Ryan Wilson, 5-10, 180, jr.

DB Josh Long, 5-8, 140, sr.

DB Larry Mayberry, 5-8, 120, jr.

S Dantwan Chillers, 5-11, 160, sr.

KEY SUBSTITUTES: (QB) Jordan Penn, (RB) Kyle Ezell, (RB) Josh Long, (OL/LB) Ted Ivie, (OL/LB) Josh Tubbs, (OL) Josh Johnson, (LB) Antonio Scott.

SPECIAL TEAMS

K Paul Recker, 5-11, 195, sr.

P Aaron Bidewell, 5-11, 160, jr.

KR Dantwan Chillers, 5-11, 160, sr.

PR Dantwan Chillers, 5-11, 160, sr.

THE GOOD .....

* Portageville brings in an established coach, known for rebuilding struggling programs.

* The Bulldogs have a good mix of experienced juniors and seniors.

* Portageville will be solid on the offensive line, and will have a decent backfield.

THE BAD, AND UGLY

* With just 25 players, depth could be a problem.

* After going 3-16 the last two years, but Bulldogs

seem to have forgotten what it takes to win.

* With nearly every team on Portageville's schedule improved, the Bulldogs will have a tough time turning the program around this year.

HOW BOUT IT COWBOY?

Inside the mind of junior RB

AARON BIDEWELL:

KEYS TO THE SEASON

"We're undersized and we're coming off a bad season, but if we all play together, we can do a lot better. It can be a whole different season.

BEST THING ABOUT FOOTBALL: Football gives me a chance to get out and do something instead of just sitting around the house all day. They also say playing athletics makes you a better student.

SUPERSTITIONS: We all drink out of a special cup before every game.

PERSONAL GOALS: Winning state

QUICK DRAWS

Portageville will have to establish a running game with tailback Dantwan Chillers and fullback Paul Recker...Junior quarterback Lance Penn will be pushed by his little brother for the starting job, freshman Jordan Penn...Portageville has been held scoreless

just three times over the last decade...Jim McKay has a record of 110-71-2 as head coach at Portageville...The winless Bulldogs were outscored by an average of 27.9 to 8.4 last season...Since the first day of practice, the team has lost 12 players for various reasons...Assistant coaches for the team will be former players Derrick Hoxsworth, Lee Wallace, and Ashley Swims.