SOMERVILLE, N.J., FEBRUARY 5, 2026 – Immaculata High School will build on its long tradition of gridiron leadership with a major coaching staff change.
Jeff Vanderbeek and Dallas Whitaker, well known veterans in high school football circles with a record of success, will assume immediate responsibility for the Immaculata High School football program, Athletic Director Tom Gambino has announced. Vanderbeek will serve as program director, and Whitaker will take over as athletics associate and head football coach. They will begin immediately to build on the program’s success under Coach Mike Columbo, who is not returning.
Vanderbeek and Whitaker led Somerville High School to a 57-7 record, including a state sectional title, a top 20 ranking in the Star Ledger each year between 2016 and 2021, and a #4 state ranking in 2020. During this period, Somerville led New Jersey schools in scoring offense, averaging 42.6 points per game.
Whitaker is a 2011 Immaculata alumnus who started in 31 consecutive varsity games, served as team captain, and played in the 2008 and 2009 state championships for the Spartans. He was a walk-on player for Rutgers in the 2011 and 2012 seasons before assuming the role of student coach for his remaining two seasons. He was one of two high school coaches selected by The American Football Coaches Association to the 2022 35 Under 35 Coaches Leadership Institute, recognizing him as one of the premier coaches under 35 in the country.
Born and raised in Somerville and a lifelong sacrament recipient at Church of the Immaculate Conception, Vanderbeek, who retired from a successful 25-year career in finance, is the former chairman and managing partner of the New Jersey Devils NHL hockey franchise who built, owned and operated the Prudential Center in Newark. He and Whitaker led the Somerville High School football program from 2016-2021, taking the team to six consecutive conference championships.
Gambino expressed confidence in the transition and its timing. “We have been working to build a competitive program,” he said. “This year, we will face some of New Jersey’s most formidable teams, and I know that our program could not be in better hands. We appreciate the efforts of Coach Columbo to build our program.”
As they prepared to take the reins for the football program, Vanderbeek and Whitaker spoke of their excitement for the opportunity and their high aspirations for the program. Vanderbeek noted, “Sports, especially team sports, are a great collaborative endeavor where young adults can come together and work toward a common goal, building lifelong relationships along the way. I look forward to working with the entire Immaculata community to reach new heights both on and off the field of play.”
Principal Ed Webber shared in extending the school’s gratitude to Columbo and the excitement of welcoming the team of Vanderbeek and Whitaker to the program. “We are grateful to Coach Columbo for sustaining the strong foundation of our program. Now, building a winning football program capable of competing at the highest level is a natural next step for Immaculata,” he said. “We have been accelerating growth, adding new academic and extracurricular programs, and exceeding outcomes among schools in our area.
“A winning football program is more than wins on the field for us,” Webber emphasized. “Immaculata wants to graduate well-rounded young men and women of character, aligned to our mission, who can lead in all aspects of life.”
Immaculata High School is a coeducational college preparatory high school founded in 1962, committed to the development of the whole person within the framework of Catholic traditions and values, and guided by the pillars of Faith, Scholarship, Service and Friendship.