Joe Newton was like many players who played for the legendary Dobie Holden at Pearl River Junior College, as it was called back in the 1950s.         Newton was a good athlete who could play more than one position.
His freshman year in 1958, he played guard on a Pearl River team that finished the year 8-2, including three shutouts and a 30-20 victory over Wharton, Texas, in the Hospitality Bowl.
His sophomore year, Holden moved Newton to end, where he played both ways on a Pearl River team that finished 9-0-1, won a state championship and defeated Henderson, Texas, 30-0 in the Hospitality Bowl.
"Losing wasn’t an option with Coach Holden," said Newton. "It was the winning attitude he always had. We would run the same play a whole practice until we got it right. He believed in the basics. He believed in motivation. He was that type of person. You earned his respect. He sure made a difference in my life over the years."
During his sophomore season, the Wildcats recorded five shutouts. The most points they allowed were 20 in a 20-20 tie with Mississippi Delta. For the year, the 1959 Wildcats outscored their opponents 294-57. Newton himself scored on two touchdown passes in the bowl victory. 
At the end of the 1959 season, Newton was one of five Wildcats named to the Mississippi Junior College All-Conference team.
He also lettered on the Pearl River baseball team for two years.
Newton was a star athlete at Hattiesburg High School. He played guard and end for Coach Reese Snell. One day, Snell called Newton, Clifton Keith and Thomas Malone into his office and introduced them to Holden, who offered them all scholarships.