High School

Longtime football coach becomes all-time winningest coach in New York State

The record was previously held by the late Howie Vogts, the legendary coach at Bethpage High School

Kevin L. Smith

Rye defeated Clarkstown North, 42-28, at Rye High School on Friday. With the victory, Rye head coach Dino Garr notched his 365th win in his 50 years of coaching.
Rye defeated Clarkstown North, 42-28, at Rye High School on Friday. With the victory, Rye head coach Dino Garr notched his 365th win in his 50 years of coaching. / John Meore/The Journal News / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

A coach who has been part of New York State high school football for a half a century achieved an illustrious milestone over the weekend. 

Rye’s Dino Garr, who has coached for 50 years, became the winningest high school football coach in history following the Garnets’ 42-28 victory over Clarkstown North on Friday.

Garr now has 365 career coaching wins, passing the late former Bethpage High School coach Howie Vogts. According to records from the New York State Sportswriters Association, Vogts was the record-holder since 2010.

“It means a lot to me,” Garr said via LoHud.com. “This community adopted me when I came here from Italy at three years old. I went to school here and played for great coaches and felt that it was always my duty when I was fortunate enough to get the job, to do the best I could to extend that legacy and I think I have.”

Tony DeMatteo, a coach at Roosevelt and Somers who is now retired, is third with 361 career wins.

Garr previously coached at Westlake before he joined Rye. Garr led the Garnets to a New York State Class B title in 2023, the program’s fourth state crown in history.

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Kevin L. Smith
KEVIN L. SMITH

Kevin L. Smith, a Rochester (NY) native and a graduate of St. Bonaventure University, has been covering high school sports for over a decade. He started out as a freelance sportswriter in 2013. Since then, he’s held sportswriter and editor positions for newspapers in Coudersport (PA), Sayre (PA) and Oswego (NY). Smith currently covers high school sports in the Greater Syracuse Area for syracuse.com | Post-Standard, a position he’s held since 2021. You can follow him on social media @KevLSmittie. Story ideas can be sent to KLSFreelancing@outlook.com.

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