NATCHEZ &045; Longtime football coach Bobby Marks is coming out of retirement as the head football coach at Adams County Christian School.

The school made it official Friday afternoon the hiring of Marks, who retired in 1992 and after 33 years in the business, to coach the Rebels next season. The highly successful coach will get the opportunity to coach the Rebels at the stadium named after him at the start of the 2002 season.

Marks, who coached the Rebels to a state championship in 1982, met with the returning players Thursday and signed his contract a day later, headmaster John Gray said.

&uot;I’m going to give it all I’ve got,&uot; Marks said. &uot;The headmaster spoke to me at a basketball game one night and asked me to think about it. I said, ‘Well, I’ll think about it.’ And I did. I went in there and talked to those kids, and when they left there they were very, very happy. I couldn’t say no.&uot;

Marks will take over a program that is coming off a playoff appearance for the second straight season. The school fired Keith Walters just after the 2004 following after a three-year stint at the school.

Marks was one of eight candidates to interview for the job, but he was a candidate everyone spoke highly of based on his previous stint at the school. He coached the team to that state championship win over Indianola Academy 22 years ago and had his team in contention for a state championship three straight years prior to the MPSA going to a playoff system.

&uot;Honestly, I think it’s going to make him 10 years younger,&uot; Gray said. &uot;What led him to do this was he met with the kids. They were so excited. It’s a very unusual situation &045; eight of those kids, he coached their daddies to that state championship. I’m excited about him doing this because the kids are really excited.

&uot;We had a lot of interest in us pursuing him if he was healthy enough and willing. He has a real big fan support here for his past coaching success and coached a lot of the daddies of kids here on campus. There were a lot of things that made this come about.&uot;

Marks retired following the 1992 season, and in his first 31 years in coaching he had just one losing season. The program struggled following his departure, and the school last had a winning record in the regular season in 1989.

The football team went winless in 2001 and went 4-8 in 2000, 3-7 in 1999, 4-6 in 1998 and 2-8 in 1997. The Rebels have not won in the postseason since that state championship season.

But last year the Rebels got into the playoffs as the No. 2 seed in District 3-AA and fought hard in a 14-0 loss to eventual South State champion Centreville Academy.

&uot;They’ve got a good bunch of kids out there, and the school has had so many improvements since I’ve been there,&uot; Marks said. &uot;It has that wonderful weight room. The coaching office is 20 times bigger than the one I had. A lot of those kids, I coached their daddies. When you get (coaching) in your blood, Š.&uot;

The last time Marks appeared on the field came when the school honored that 1982 team two years ago to commemorate the 20th anniversary of that state championship. A handful of players who will play this fall had dads suiting on that team, including Timmy Foster, Lee Dellinger, Slick Frank, Dustin Carroll and Matthew Guedon.

That night the school officially named the facility Bobby Marks Stadium.

&uot;I think it’s a big honor for him to coach on a field named after him,&uot; Gray said. &uot;There are a lot of positives from our angle. Very few of us &045; I had the pleasure last year &045; have the pleasure of coaching in a gym or on a field named after you. He’ll have that pleasure, and his grandson will be on the team.&uot;

Marks will get a team that lost a considerable number of seniors from last season but still has a nucleus of talent to work with, including Foster at quarterback. Marks said he picked up a lot of his coaching techniques from longtime Ferriday coach John &uot;Red&uot; Robertson, now a member of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame with a 78-9-3 overall record and author of a 54- game winning streak.

&uot;When you start coaching kids’ kids, you know you’re getting up there,&uot; Marks said. &uot;I’m fixing to find out if I can coach. They say the kids are so much worse than they used to be, but I don’t think so. I’m excited about this, and the kids are excited about this. I’m going to try to coach like I always have. I’ll start them on a running program. If you can’t run, you can’t play.&uot;