Gary Rabach, head coach of the Sturgeon Bay Clippers, has been selected as the season's final Green Bay Packers High School Coach of the Week for the week ending Nov. 12, the Packers announced Friday.
The Clippers beat Ripon, 20-6, in the third round of the WIAA Division 4 playoffs. Rabach and his team will face Appleton Xavier at Manitowoc Lincoln tomorrow for a spot in the state final game. The Clippers finished the regular season with a 7-2 record (6-1, second place Packerland Conference).
"As the head coach of the Sturgeon Bay Clippers, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the Green Bay Packers organization for bestowing this award on myself and the team," said Rabach. "It's a wonderful thing that the NFL team in the area recognizes (prep) football and we're very appreciative of it."
Rabach has six assistant coaches, Dan McCarty, Darren Berg, Andy Starr, Dennis Van Bremer, Mark Lecaptain and Eric Johnson, for his program of 68 players, 34 of them on the varsity team. Sturgeon Bay High School has an enrollment of 540 students.
Rabach has been the head coach for Sturgeon Bay since last year. Prior to becoming head coach, he was an assistant coach for the Clippers from 1987-1998. He has served as a police sergeant for the Sturgeon Bay Police Department for over 19 years.
A 1968 graduate of Sturgeon Bay High School, Rabach played football, basketball and baseball as a prep. His football coach was Ron Casadont.
He went to Carroll (Waukesha, Wis.) College, graduating in 1968, playing football for head coach Vince DiFrancesca.
His son, Casey, is also a graduate of Sturgeon Bay, played center for the Wisconsin Badgers and is currently the starting center for the Baltimore Ravens. He also has two daughters, Kimberly and Kalin.
The Packers will recognize one outstanding high school coach as their 'Coach of the Week' during the 2004 high school football season. As a Coach of the Week winner, Rabach and future recipients will be awarded several items and privileges, including a $1,000 donation to the school's football program from the Green Bay Packers and the NFL, as well as recognition of the award on www.NFLHS.com, the NFL's high school football Web site.
Click here for the list of the 2004 WFCA All-State team, which was also announced this week.
