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Joshua Newhall loves high school football so much that it was the theme of his wedding.

“Our tables were named after high school football fields in Maine,” Newhall said. “I walked down the aisle with a game ball. We called it our championship ball and the whole wedding party signed it. (Alyssa) and I walked in to the Remember the Titans song.”

Newhall, who was announced as the head coach at Dirigo in May, will bring that love of football to his first head coaching job.

“I think for the hiring committee, between his background of coaching experience at the high school level, even if it wasn’t as a head coach, his experience brought a lot of value with him, and having the opportunity to have coached at the Lobster Bowl — that’s huge,” Dirigo athletic director Sara Thurston said. “Adding that with his personality and with his core values, he really is the trifecta of a great candidate.”

Newhall attended the University of Maine at Fort Kent, where he minored in coaching with an intent to eventually become a head coach. His first coaching job was as the defensive coordinator at Madison, his alma mater, from 2017-19 under former coach Scott Franzose.

“Just drinking (from) the fire hose, taking as much info as I could, going from zero-to-varsity football, but just loved every bit of it,” Newhall said, who works in the K-5 special education resource room at Cape Cod Hill Elementary School in New Sharon. “It takes a special person to take that gamble on a coach, and Scott did. I’ll forever be grateful for that.”

According to Franzose, Newhall’s greatest attribute is his ability to connect with high school players.

“Kids just seem to really listen to him, respect him, and I think he’s always had this kind of natural way of just investing in kids,” Franzose said. “They see how legit and genuine he is, so he makes really good connections with players.”

Franzose said Newhall “has all the tools to really step in and excel” as Dirigo’s head coach. The two coached together for three years, first at Madison, then at Mt. Blue for one year. After Franzose stepped down, Newhall remained at Mt. Blue for three more years as the defensive coordinator under Matthew Friedman.

“Josh wears it on his sleeve, he loves kids,” Franzose said. “He loves working with them, and that’s the thing I saw first when he came in, he was a great role model. … I took a chance on him, but he proved pretty quickly that he was the type of guy that loved the game and loved kids, and when you have that, and you’re willing to put the time in, you can really become a great coach.”

Plans for the Cougars

Newhall said the Dirigo players will quickly learn his favorite line about the sport: “Football made us family, and family we will always be.”

“These guys in the locker room are uncles to your kids, they’re the best men at your wedding, all of those things; and so any player I’ve coached previously, I’m still in contact with a large majority of them and continue to be that in their life,” Newhall said.

This is Newhall’s first football head coaching job, but he has 12 years of experience as the tennis coach at Madison, and was named Mountain Valley Conference Coach of the Year in 2017.

Newhall is excited for the challenge of leading a football team.

“You have to pinch yourself a little bit,” he said. “I’ve talked to several people since then, that high school football is different than any sport. … Football just brings with it, you’re almost a leader of a community at that point. Truly a dream come true there, with the small town being able to just continue to build something.”

Due to low player turnout, Dirigo switched to 8-man football from 2020-2023 under former coach Craig Collins. Last year the Cougars moved back to 11-man and finished 7-2, earning the third seed in Class D South and reaching the regional semifinals.

Newhall is looking forward to working with the Dirigo players and helping them pick up where they left off.

“Getting to know who I am, what makes me tick, and build those strong bonds, because those moments you’re in that one-point game, or you’re in a grind or a tough situation, you can look at one another in the eye and know that (a player’s) going to give me everything he has, or I’m going to give him everything I have,” Newhall said.