Football, family and jersey number 58

Thanksgiving Day will be bittersweet for the Rimoshytus family. 

At the annual Barrington-Mt. Hope football game, the youngest member of the family will wear jersey number 58 for the last time — well, maybe.

Seventeen-year-old Nick Rimoshytus will play his last Barrington High School football game at Victory Field on Thursday, proudly displaying number 58 just as his father Tom “TR” and older brother Alex did.

“It will be the last time a Rimoshytus wears that jersey, but you never know, one of the boys may raise their families in Barrington and my grandkids will play the game and wear the number,” TR said.

Nick started playing football in for Barrington Pop Warner and had the desire to play the game at a young age. Weight restrictions in the Pop Warner league prevented TR from playing and Alex only played in eighth grade. But at the high school level, weight is not a determining qualification and that is where they all shined as players and dedicated teammates.

Nick, one of five team captains, said his interest grew after watching his brother Alex, who is six years older, play and thoroughly enjoy the game.

“I wanted to try and play like Alex and my dad. It’s always been a big part of our family and I am so glad I started because it’s been very rewarding. As captain we act as leaders to the team and try and keep the team focused and positive,” Nick said.

He plays center on offense and has played other positions on the defensive line, just like his brother and father. 

In fact, the football tradition in the Rimoshytus family goes back one earlier generation with TR’s dad, Tom Rimoshytus, who played defense tackle for the Warren High School Redskins, also wearing number 58.

Alex graduated from Barrington High School in 2012 and played football all four years. He loved every minute of the experience, made good friends and was fortunate enough to be on winning teams.

“When I was playing, I had so much fun. When I was in eighth grade we lost in the championship game and the same in my freshmen year. As a sophomore in ’09 we won the state D1 championship. That was an experience I’ll never forget. We had something like 22 seniors on the team and we were really close,” Alex said.

Alex graduated from Marist University in 2016 and didn’t play college ball, instead concentrating on his studies. He is now living in New Haven, Conn. as a marketing professional at Spine Wave, a company that develops and delivers spine implants.

The patriarch of the family, TR, graduated from BHS in 1981 and played on the high football team with teammates who are still his closest friends today.

“We were more than a football team, we made friendships that have stood the test of time. With those guys and great coaches over the years like Bill McCagney, Sandy Gorman, Coach Fiori, JP Medieros, Augie Almeida and Frank Murgo, we had a great experience that taught us about teamwork, hard work and friendship that has lasted a lifetime,” TR said.

As a coach for the freshman football team a year after graduating BHS, then as a Pop Warner coach, TR has been a constant with his sons and other players over the years — as a coach and a volunteer with Friends of Legion Way and most recently as a member and former president of the Barrington Booster Club.

TR deeply believes in his roots with the  Town of Barrington, especially town athletics.

“As I said, I hope there are more Rimoshytus’s wearing number 58 in the future, but it’s never been all about my kids and winning. I think everyone should have the opportunity to shine and learn their strengths and weaknesses. That’s what builds character,” he said.

The family will celebrate their BHS football legacy with Nick’s last game on Thanksgiving Day wearing number 58.

It will be both a happy and sad occasion for the close family that includes mom, Barbara.