According to the Boston Globe, on Wednesday night over 200 people attended Gatto’s memorial service was held at Christ Episcopal Church, where the funeral service for the popular Needham football star will be held on Saturday. On Thursday, many members of the Needham community, including former classmates and teammates of Gatto, remembered their beloved captain and friend during the annual Thanksgiving football game against the Wellesley Raiders.

Frank Andrews, a former teammate of Gatto, told the Boston Globe, “I didn’t want to believe it. He was like Superman to us. Everyone liked him, and he would do anything for the team.”

The Boston Herald stated that on Wednesday, Needham coach Dave Duffy invited the Gatto family to talk to his team. Duffy said, `(Rich) Gatto came up and addressed the team with his three other sons, and told them it was for the seniors, and to go out and try to win the game.” Gatto had led the team last year to their best record, ending the season with a 9-3 league title, but was dissappointed when the team lost against Wellesley.

At the beginning of the game, a moment of silence was held in honor of Gatto. The close game ended in a victory for Needham, which many of the fans and players attributed to Gatto.

Gatto, captain of his high school football team, was found dead in Twin Oaks last Tuesday.