When Kevin Withee went to Plymouth State College (N.H.) in 1979, his intention was to eventually become a head football coach.

Twelve years later, he has achieved that goal. Withee was hired as the Skowhegan Area High School varsity football coach Thursday night at a meeting of the SAD 54 school board.

The 31-year-old Withee replaces Paul Lynch, who resigned the position last year so he could watch his son, Paul Jr., play football at Allegheny College (Pa.).

Withee, a native of Madison, has attained considerable success as a head schoolgirl basketball coach. He coached at Messalonskee High of Oakland for four seasons, directing the Eagles to the Class B state championship in 1987.

Withee had originally applied for the Skowhegan High girls basketball coaching post, which had been vacated by Red MacMichael last winter. However, he withdrew and submitted his name for the football job in hopes of reaching his original goal.

“When I first started going to school, I intended to be involved with football,” said Withee, who has served eight seasons as an assistant football coach. “I wanted to make sure I had the background, the knowledge and the experience to take over a program such as Skowhegan’s.”

It was the support of Lynch that convinced Withee to go after the football job.

“Paul encouraged me to apply for the position,” Withee said. “That kind of put me over the edge. I believe the players have confidence in me. Right now, I feel I know the game of basketball and can coach the game of basketbll. I’ve taken a team to a state championship. I need to know for myself if I can take football and meet the challenge.”

The challenge will be considerable, as Withee inherits a program which Lynch put back at the top of the Pine Tree Conference ranks. During his three-year tenure, Skowhegan was 25-7, earning the PTC crown in 1989 and finishing as league runnerup last fall.

“I think it’s going to be a big challenge,” Withee said. “I think people in the community want a winning team. Paul did a great job of establishing the program, getting it back where it is right now.”

Withee’s football career began at Madison High, where he played four seasons as a running back and linebacker under John Krasnavage before graduating in 1979. He went on to play four years as a wide receiver at Plymouth State and was on the Cougars’ New England Football Conference title teams in 1981 and ’82.

His football coaching experience began under Bill Primmerman at Skowhegan in 1983. He went on to coach two years at Livermore Falls and four seasons at Messalonskee, before returning to Skowhegan as the Indians’ receivers and defensive backs coach last fall.

In addition to coaching Messalonskee girls basketball, he also was a girls JV hoop coach at Livermore Falls. Last winter, Withee worked as an assistant coach under Colby College women’s basketball coach Gene DeLorenzo, helping lead the White Mules to the ECAC New England Division III championship.

Withee is the younger brother of Paul Withee, the head football coach at Foxcroft Academy.