Head coach Brian Jahna demonstrates proper positioning for a tackling drill during Gray-New Gloucester’s football practice in Gray in September 2021. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

Brian Jahna enjoys starting from scratch.

After building up the Lake Region and Gray-New Gloucester football programs, Jahna’s next task is rebuilding Edward Little.

“I want to be able to compete with Class A teams, which is certainly exciting,” Jahna said. “I also really enjoy a team that needs support at the fundamental level. I really enjoy building things at that structural beginning level, (the) fundamental stuff.”

Jahna was announced Tuesday as the new head coach of the Red Eddies, who are 3-43 since 2019, including 1-8 last season.

Jahna coached Lake Region from 2012-2017, leading the Lakers to an 11-39 record during the span. He moved to Gray-New Gloucester, going 6-26 between 2018 and ’22. Both programs became playoff contenders under his watch.

“We were really happy with where we ended up at both places,” Jahna said. “We were able to get both programs to the playoffs, and we’re really proud of the character of both of those programs. That’s really what we try to hang our hat on, is how we behave on the field, off the field, the way we go about doing things.”

Jahna, a teacher at Lake Region, spent this past season working on Poland’s coaching staff.

Edward Little athletic director Todd Sampson said he was impressed with what Jahna accomplished in his to previous head coaching jobs.

“I was really impressed with his ability at Lake Region and Gray-New Gloucester to make games competitive,” Sampson said. “That’s going to be the first step of getting our kiddos to believe in themselves and the program, you know, making those games competitive here and there. It’s high school athletics: the ball bounces one way or another. Hopefully, we can get some check marks in that win column.”

Jahna said his aim is for he and his coaching staff to guide the Red Eddies to similar results.

“We’ve been able to refine how we do things over the last 11 years,” Jahna said. “Our concepts have remained fairly consistent, but how we go about refining them and developing our precision, you know, we just develop over time. We’ve learned, I think, how to set attainable goals, how to compete with ourselves, and that’s what we hope to do starting off at Edward Little.”

Sampson credits former coach Rick Kramer, who resigned in December, for getting new equipment and working with Auburn’s youth and middle school programs to build participation numbers.

Both Sampson and Jahna said that increasing wins and becoming a contender are the ultimate goals, but the program first needs to become sturdy with steady participation numbers from season to season.

“Brian did a great job of recognizing where our program currently is and kind of where we want to take it,” Sampson said. “He really gave us a pathway; he laid it out in front of us and did a great job. He’s got a solid plan in place, and we’re going to help him put the pieces in place to get there.”

Part of Jahna’s on-field plan for the Red Eddies is to install the veer offense, a version of the triple option. He said the defense’s scheme will be up to the defensive coordinator. He has yet to hire any assistant coaches.

Gray-New Gloucester football coach Brian Jahna uses quarterback Mikey Ryan for a demonstration during a drill in Gray in July 2019. Jahna, who coached the Patriots for five years, has been hired as Edward Little’s head coach. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

Jahna has watched film of the Red Eddies and noticed a lot of good athletes on the roster. The team will begin spring weightlifting program soon, then the focus of the summer will be installing the playbook.

“So we’re going to spend a lot of our time really getting in the foundations of our offense and our defense and our special teams,” Jahna said. “So it may not be as broad as it will be in future years, in terms of doing like 7-on-7 tournaments and things like that. A lot of it this year is going to be in-house, just so that we can get the basics of our schemes in. It’s going to be a huge learning curve, and we don’t have a lot of time.”

One of the things about the Edward Little job that intrigued Jahna was the chance to compete in Class A, the highest classification in the state. The school looked into dropping to Class B this offseason, but Sampson said that option received little support.

This fall, the Red Eddies will play a balanced schedule of opponents from classes A and B.

“Kudos to (Lewiston athletic director) Jason Fuller and the statewide scheduling committee, because they really did what was in the best interest of all high school football, but I was ecstatic when I saw our schedule,” Sampson said. “I think it gives us an opportunity to kind of meet us where we’re at, but also gives us a chance to test ourselves against some better Class A (teams). But I think we’ve got a nice mix of some programs that are in similar spots to us.”

The Eddies will face every Class A North team except reigning state champion Portland, and have crossover games against Brunswick (B North), Mt. Blue (B North), Sanford (A South) and Westbrook (B South).

Edward Little and the Auburn community will have a chance to meet Jahna on May 1 at 6 p.m. in the school’s cafeteria.

“There’s a lot of enthusiasm within the community,” Jahna said. “They really want to support the team. And when (the team is) competing, which we plan on doing, there’s a lot of excitement. So that’s what we hope to do, is bring a lot of energy to the games on Friday nights, have a team out there that the community is able to rally around and feel proud of.”