Gillespie hires Don Dobrino as football coach

The head high school football coach vacancy went to a familiar face Wednesday evening, February 25, when the District 7 school board replaced coach Don Borgini with a face who has been a fixture on the sidelines for 45 years.

The school board hired fellow board member Don Dobrino as head football coach for Gillespie to replace Borgini who is retiring as football coach and physical education teacher at the end of the 2014-2015 school year after being with the district for seven years. Dobrino has assisted Borgini the last five years and has long been a fixture to high school football.

Dobrino started coaching for Gillespie back in 1970 when he was hired as head football coach and remained head coach until 1997 when Jack Burns took over the leadership role. During Dobrino’s tenure as head coach, he led the Miners to nine playoff appearances and further in the state series than any other football coach for Gillespie has done.

In addition to guiding the team to nine playoff appearances, Dobrino led the Miners to two second place finishes in state during the seasons of 1976-1977 and 1990-1991 where the teams went 12-1 and 12-2 respected. No other football coach for Gillespie, before or after Dobrino’s time, has led the team to a placing in state.

Overall, Dobrino’s victories as head coach at Gillespie far outweighed his losses with 163 victories and 99 losses and of his 27 seasons as the head coach, Dobrino only had six seasons with a losing record and one season with a 4-4 finish.

Despite leaving Gillespie in 1997, Dobrino remained in the realm of football but with different school colors. The same year he left the head football coach at Gillespie, Mt. Olive hired him as the head coach for their football program.

Dobrino coached the Wildcats football program for 13 years and in the latter part of his tenure at Mt. Olive, he led the team to seven consecutive playoff appearances starting in 2003 and continuing until 2010 when he finalized his career in purple and gold colors.

After leaving Mt. Olive with an overall record of 76-57, Dobrino returned to his true colors and was back on the Gillespie sideline with Coach Don Borgini, a former player of his. Dobrino assisted Borgini for five seasons starting in 2010 and helped Borgini lead the team to two playoff appearances in seasons 2011-2012 and 2013-2014.

Now he is back as the head football coach for the Gillespie Miners.

He joked with Kathy McDaniel, high school secretary, after the school board meeting Wednesday night, “I guess I will be seeing you a lot more. Me and you are never leaving.”

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