Last Saturday night was Senior Night at Maranacook Community High School’s final home football game of the season. It would have been, should have been, Ricky Gibson’s Senior Night.

Gibson died in April, 2009, when he was a 16-year-old sophomore, after a seven-month battle with an inoperable brain tumor. Months before his passing, Gibson, a defensive back at Maranacook, made a selfless decision when approached by the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Maine. He asked for money to help the school add lights and bleachers to its football field. Make-A-Wish made a $6,000 donation, and other schools around the state rallied to support Gibson’s dream, raising thousands of dollars to help make it a reality.

On a chilly October night, Maranacook and Dirigo honored Gibson’s memory with a hard-fought, emotional football game, under the lights and in front of the bleachers that he made possible. Both teams were fighting for a playoff berth, but the Black Bears seemed to be playing for something extra. And so, inspired by a gutsy performance by junior running back Luke Emery, they held off the resilient Cougars, 22-12.

The Black Bears felt Gibson’s presence that night, and so did a lot of people in the stands. Although the game had been moved from Friday night to Saturday night because of torrential rains, it had exactly the kind of atmosphere he must have had in mind when he made his wish. It was the night of his dreams on the field of his dreams.

Gibson’s presence continues to be felt about 25 miles away in Turner, too. At Leavitt Area High School, Gibson’s initials, RG, are still painted on the football field, yellow lettering in a black circle. Every varsity football helmet still has an RG decal. 

Leavitt put the initials on its field and helmets last year, as did a number of other schools in the area, to remember Gibson and his selfless act. But Leavitt had been particularly active in fundraising for his dream  (for example, donating $500 from a 50/50 raffle at a playoff game to his fund), and Gibson’s death hit close to home for at least one Hornet.

Leavitt senior Jason Fisher became good friends with Gibson when they played on a Babe Ruth All-Star team together and remained close until Gibson’s death.

“To be honest, there’s not really a day that goes by where I don’t think about him,” said Fisher, a senior running back/linebacker. “I know for sure last year he inspired me, and definitely inspired a few other people. People may not have known him, but just hearing about his story and what he did says a lot about him.”

It says a lot about the Hornets that when they won the state championship last year, they invited Gibson’s father, Rick Gibson II, to their post-game celebration at the school. There, they presented him with a special gift, the team’s lunch pail, a motivational prop which sat on their sideline for every game, complete with its own RG decal.

Before this season, Fisher and another friend of Gibson’s on the team, Zach Frost, wanted to continue to remember him. Fisher met with coach Mike Hathaway and it was decided that the Hornets would keep Gibson’s initials on their field and helmets, to again serve as inspiration as they try to defend their state title.

“Instead of doing the thing where you get a sticker for 10 tackles or touchdowns or whatever, we thought it’d be a good thing if we just put that sticker on our helmet,” Hathaway said. “Our theme last year and this year was that it was more about the team than it was about an individual, and if anyone is an exemplar of that, it’s Ricky Gibson.”

“He definitely could have been selfish. A lot of people out here could be selfish,” Fisher said. “That’s not what football’s about. It’s about a team sport where you’re pretty much family.”

A year-and-a-half after he left them, Ricky Gibson’s football family is still paying tribute to him.