The Buffalo Bills and ADPRO Sports are proud to once again work together to recognize some of the best coaches Western New York has to offer as part of the 2022 High School Football Coach of the Week program.
The Bills and ADPRO Sports will honor collegiate football coaches with the Coach of the Week award to not only highlight their team’s accomplishments on the field, but also some of the work they do off the field in their communities. We will announce winners from the Buffalo and Rochester regions over the course of 11 weeks, with each region’s Coach of the Year being crowned during the January 2023 Buffalo Bills vs. New England Patriots game at Highmark Stadium.
Each Coach of the Week winner will receive a $1,000 stipend from Buffalo Bills and ADPRO Sports. The respective Coach of the Year winners will receive an additional $1,000 for their programs. Winners are selected by a panel of local high school football experts.
Buffalo Region Coach of the Week #3
Frontier head coach Rich Gray was named Buffalo Region Coach of the Week Three after leading Frontier to a thrilling 13-12 win over Niagara Falls, a major AA school, on Friday.
Frontier trailed 6-0 after the first half and 12-6 in the last quarter, but a late touchdown and a PAT gave the Falcons the win.
Coach Gray has been coaching at Frontier for 10 seasons and has been Frontier’s athletic director for 12 years.
Aside from coaching the Falcons, Coach Gray coaches football camps year-round. He runs a camp for 6th and 7th graders and a youth camp for 3rd to 8th graders. Coach Gray also runs a quality JV and varsity program with a strength and conditioning program that has changed the culture in the building.
For the past two years, Coach Gray has been involved with the RISE High School Leadership program and an Athletes Supporting Athletes program, where he encourages his football players to explore other sports. He was also instrumental in bringing High School Girls Flag Football to Frontier High School.
At Coach Gray, safety always comes first. His tackling progress is second to none and he keeps his team in tip-top shape as he constantly works on their nutrition and hydration.
Rochester Region Coach of the Week #3
Webster Schroeder head coach Mike Stumpf was named the Rochester-area Coach of the Week for Week 3 after leading the Warriors to a 35-2 win over Spencerport on Friday that extends their unbeaten record of 3-0 at the start of the season.
The Warriors trailed 2-0 before scoring four straight touchdowns to take a 28-2 lead at halftime. They took a 35-2 lead on first possession of the third quarter and dominated Spencerport for the rest of the game.
QB Drew Pagano completed 10 of 15 passes for 280 yards and 4 TDs to lead the offense. He also rushed 3 times for 43 yards and a TD. Torance Washington caught 6 passes for 171 yards and 2 TDs. Nick DiStefano led the defense in the tackle.
Coach Stumpf has been in the football program for 20 years and has served as head coach for the past five years. He was on staff with the Warriors when they won the 2002 NYS championship, and he was also part of the Section 5 championships in 2002 and 2009. Coach Stumpf is also an economics teacher at the school and a Schroeder graduate.
For the past six years, Coach Stumpf has organized the school’s Warriors Reads program, in which Schröder footballers go into the district’s elementary schools and read to the younger students.
His Warrior teams have been named Scholar Athlete teams in all five seasons that he has been the head coach.
