READFIELD -- The Black Bears, every one of them, rang the bell as they entered the field after a glorious halftime celebration.

Fireworks lit up the Readfield sky, several speeches tugged on some hearts and somewhere a boy named Ricky smiled Friday night.

"This is what it's all about," said Ricky Gibson II. "It's going to take awhile for all this to sink in. It's ... amazing."

Maranacook Community High School officially dedicated its Ricky Gibson Field of Dreams in a moving halftime ceremony of its game Friday against rival Winthrop, which prevailed 12-8.

More than 1,000 fans crammed into the facility, whose makeover project wasn't finished until an hour before kickoff.

They came in droves, lining the fence around the field. They applauded the University of Maine cheerleaders, who responded with a show full of flips, jumps and chants.

And they came to say thanks to Ricky Gibson III, who died in April of an inoperable brain tumor.

"It's so sad but so happy," said Jessy Harris, a Maranacook junior and Manchester resident. "Ricky was a friend of mine. It's just so emotional, but emotional in a good way, too."

Added fellow Maranacook junior Kelsie Glover, of Readfield: "I think Ricky would have had a blast with this. We miss him."

Ricky Gibson's family -- father Ricky II, mother Lisa and brother Jacob -- participated in the opening coin toss.

At halftime, several ambassadors of the Maranacook football program addressed the crowd, thanking donors and the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Maine for raising enough money to put lights on the football field, which was Ricky Gibson's dream.

Tom Peaco, the executive director of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Maine, also spoke.

"We grant a wish every five days in Maine," he said, "but we've never had a wish like this. We knew we'd need some help with this, and boy did we got a lot of help. This is a community effort."

Ricky Gibson II then took the microphone and thanked the community for helping his family "through a difficult time."

He closed his short speech, which was about two minutes long, with the following statement: "Keep the bleachers filled, keep the lights on, and let's win some football games."

The Black Bears fell short to the Ramblers, but the outcome felt almost trivial on this night.

After all, somewhere a boy named Ricky was smiling.

"We're here to celebrate him," Maranacook junior Chase Gaewski said. "This is for him. It's for him."

The ceremony also included a lighted display that read 'Ricky Gibson Field of Dreams.' Central Maine Pyrotechnics built the sign, which the company calls a 'ground set piece.' CMP also provided the fireworks.

"We had 500 rounds," president Steven Marson said. "We hoped to put on a show."

So did the cheerleaders.

"It's amazing," said junior cheerleader Heather Henderson, an Augusta native and 2005 Cony High School graduate. "It's for such a good cause. Plus, there are the Black Bears, too, so we didn't have to change our cheers. It was perfect."

Added coach Melinda Kenny, whose squad stayed for the first half: "We love to do these things for communities. This is definitely a football town."

After the extended halftime ceremony, Ricky Gibson II walked off the field and accepted congratulations from friends. He fought back tears as he described the experience.

"I get emotional every time I come down here," he said. "We think about him every day."

Somewhere, a boy named Ricky is smiling.

Bill Stewart -- 623-3811, ext. 515

bstewart@centralmaine.com