Nick Sorrell came striding out of the Halliwell Park clubhouse, a navy ballcap on his head and a grin on his face. He had lots to smile about: His Runnin’ Rebels had just earned a three-run win over the Idaho Falls Bandits, the reigning American Legion World Series champions, and they looked masterful doing it. They made their coach look like Bobby Cox on this Wednesday evening.

Sorrell also smiled because as of a few weeks ago, his job is to look like Bill Belichick this fall.

“It really hasn’t changed a whole lot, other than me spending a lot of time at night after all this,” Sorrell said, gesturing to the vibrant scene at the ballpark, “and keeping everything organized, finalized a staff. That’s been the big thing.”

The staff Sorrell finalized was for the Highland football program, which he took over last month, becoming the next head coach of an organization that has become the envy of Idaho high school teams. The Rams’ longtime defensive coordinator, Sorrell gets the lofty challenge of following Gino Mariani, the team’s legendary head coach, the head man of more than two decades who led Highland to four state championships.

Which puts Sorrell in a unique spot this summer: Here, at the ballpark, he is the Runnin’ Rebels head coach. Elsewhere, he is the new Highland football coach, a title that might as well come with its own pressure reading. For the next few weeks, Sorrell is both things, a baseball manager and a football coach and, most importantly, busy as hell.

Take his word for it. These days, he wakes up at 5:30 a.m. On the first three days of this week, he helped put on a Highland youth football camp, teaming up with Mariani to do it. On Tuesday, he took his Runnin’ Rebels to Twin Falls, where they split a doubleheader. Around 10:30 p.m., when he returned home, he wrote the lineup for Wednesday, when he directed the team through another split, this one with Idaho Falls.

Rewind for a second: He put together a lineup the night before?

“Yeah, I’ve gotta plan everything out,” Sorrell said. “That’s the one good thing I’m used to — being organized, making sure that everything’s squared away. That’s kinda what’s been the saving grace so far.”

In truth, that helped Sorrell prepare for this towering challenge, the task of following a coach as revered as Mariani. It made him an attractive candidate for the job. Several other things did too. Highland athletic director Travis Bell liked Sorrell’s familiarity with the program, his commitment to keep winning. Sorrell is a Highland grad, a Highland teacher, a Highland coach. “That goes a long way,” Bell said.

Except Sorrell wasn’t supposed to be taking over now, not this summer. Throughout the last few months, Bell suspected that Mariani might resign after this coming season, because at that point he would have been approaching the rule of 90, allowing him to retire. Then, in late June, Mariani shocked the entire community by leaving the Rams’ program a year early. The news reverberated around Idaho like a tsunami, surprising hundreds of fellow coaches, leading them to write on social media about the impact Mariani left on them when they crossed paths.

While that was going on, Sorrell was arranging his materials to apply for his old boss’ position. On the day Mariani announced his resignation, Sorrell and the Rebels were in Jackson, Wyoming, for a tournament. Within a few days, he submitted his application, the only internal one Bell received. His interviews went well. Eight days after Mariani resigned, Sorrell became his replacement, accepting the task of a lifetime.

His Rebels players, who completed their regular season on Saturday with two home wins over Upper Valley, found out like most people did: Through social media, where news began to break, in this newspaper and on TV, where things became official. They congratulated their coach on the job — “and it’s kinda been business as usual,” Sorrell said.

“It’s exciting. It’s kind of a whirlwind,” he added. “You don’t expect (the coaching change) to happen this late in the season, but it did. It was a dream of mine. Being able to see that dream come true is pretty special. I want to take full advantage of that.”

A lot goes into that. Sorrell has put together the following football coaching staff: Offensive coordinator Dane Beorchia, wide receivers coach Akilah Lacey, offensive line coach Bryce Metcalf, quarterbacks coach Jason Whitmer, linebackers coach Tony Manu and defensive line coach Cade Ackley. Each coach was in the Rams’ program in some capacity last season, giving Sorrell familiarity in an unfamiliar position.

That’s the thing about this coaching change: The list of coaches that had already been in the program includes Sorrell, who had worked with Mariani for 18 years. He played under him and coached with him. “So I’m just gonna continue on what he’s put in place and put my own stamp on things,” Sorrell said.

Minutes after he made that comment, Sorrell strolled away. Game 2 of this doubleheader was starting. He settled into the dugout in time to watch one of his infielders take his time throwing over to first base, allowing a Bandits player to reach safely. Sorrell called out to the player. He may be the next head coach of a prestigious football program, but here in the ballpark, he’s still the guy in navy and red Rebels laundry.