Ramapo Field Renamed After Legendary Football Coach

WYCKOFF, NJ — A highly successful coach and widely regarded as a great man and an inspiration to his players, Drew Gibbs carved out a distinguished football career at Ramapo High School, winning seven sectional titles and a pair of regional championships over 20 years.

Gibbs, who died of complications from an emergency heart surgery last year, will now forever be memorialized on the field where he coached his beloved Ramapo Raiders. The football field at Ramapo High School was formally dedicated and named after former coach Gibbs prior to the game Friday night.

The naming of "Drew Gibbs Field," as it will be known, was announced during a ceremony that was attended by Gibbs' wife and children, and other family members, and that featured speakers Principal Travis Smith and current football captains Jack Grusser, Ethan Moran, Ben Robinson and Rocco Otazu.

"The evening was a tasteful yet festive and fitting tribute to Coach Gibbs," school Director of Athletics and Student Activities Michael Mancino said. "Coach Gibbs had that unique quality to make everyone feel welcome and part of the family."

The highlight of the evening, Mancino said, was when regional school district Board of Education President John Carolan presented Gibbs' son Brian with a replica of the plaque that will forever sit on the Raider Walk leading to the field.

"Drew was a pillar of strength and humility, a constant in the Ramapo community certainly recognized for his accomplishments, but most importantly, for the person he was, for the person he strived to be, and for how he dedicated himself to get the absolute best out of everyone he came into contact with," Superintendent Rui Dionisio said.