By Brian Dzenis

bdzenis@vindy.com

Jackson-Milton’s football coach resigned from his post with the regular season less than a month away.

Mark Assion told the Vindicator he stepped down on Tuesday for personal reasons.

“I don’t want to say it was planned, but it needed to be done,” Assion said.

Assion remains employed with the district as a teacher. He’s been on leave for the past month and when asked whether or not that played a role in his exit, Assion answered, “Yes and no.”

The Bluejays’ offensive coordinator, Matt Ruby, has been named interim head coach and has been running the team since Assion has been on leave. Jackson-Milton superintendent Kirk Baker said the school will decide on a new head coach on Monday.

“I love Matt Ruby and he’s doing a great job keeping the kids motivated,” Assion said. “He’s been with me for the past seven or eight years and he’s a diligent student of the game.”

Assion went 34-68 in 11 seasons with the Bluejays. He is the only head coach to take Jackson-Milton to the playoffs in school history. The Bluejays have made the postseason for the last two years in a row after a 44-year drought.

“People always talked about what we did as miraculous, but we never saw it that way,” Assion said. “We put in the work and just grinded out results.”

Jackson-Milton hosts Southington to start the season on Aug. 25.

“I wish Jackson-Milton and the kids nothing but success,” Assion said.