John Bapst High of Bangor has moved quickly in hiring a new varsity football head coach after Barry Terrill resigned from that position Monday.

The school has tabbed Rob Zartarian, who serves as the varsity wrestling coach and was an assistant football coach last season, Bapst athletic director Mike Thomas said Friday night.

Terrill said he resigned because he wants to devote his time to getting his degree from the University of Maine.

“To put it simply, to focus on my own education,” said Terrill, who is about three semesters shy of his degree.

Thomas said Zartarian lives in Bangor and is self-employed laying floors. He has also coached and refereed youth football, Thomas added.

“We were kind of feeling that we wanted to get someone into the program as soon as possible,” Thomas said. “I had Rob right here. I think he’ll do a good job.”

Terrill said Zartarian coached the running backs last year but declined to comment further on the new Crusader coach.

Thomas said Zartarian played football as a high schooler and could have gone on to play at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, but decided to forgo football because he didn’t want to aggravate a wrestling injury.

Zartarian will be John Bapst’s fourth coach since 1998. Terrill, a former Orono High standout, coached the team for just the 2001 season.