The Buffalo Bills and Legends are happy to partner to name Tyler Winter and Brian Davis as the coaches of the week for the Rochester and Buffalo regions for week 8 of the high school football season.
Aimed at highlighting varsity head tackle football coaches' efforts on and off the field, coaches from both the Buffalo and Rochester regions will be honored over the course of 11 weeks and will receive $1,000 for their teams. Each region's Coach of the Year will be named during the Week 17 game against the New York Jets and will receive an additional $1,000 for their programs.
Rochester Region Coach of the Week
Tyler Winter was named the Section 5 Buffalo Bills Coach of the Week after he led Oakfield-Alabama-Elba to a 42-7 win over Geneseo-Mt. Morris. Oakfield-Alabama-Elba improved to 5-3 and will start the playoffs as the third seed in Class D. The Aggies will host York-Pavilion on Friday at 7pm.
In the win over Geneseo, OAE started on offense and scored in three plays to take an early lead. RB Avery Watterson burst through the line and ran 65 yards for a touchdown and the Aggies led 7-0.
"Our defense played phenomenal," Winter said. "We got two stops on fourth downs in the first half, and it gave the offense great field position. We had good field position the whole night."
Jack Cianfrini rushed two more touchdowns in the second quarter and OAE led 28-7 at the half.
The Aggies put the game away in the third quarter. Sophomore QB Brayden Jachimowicz tossed a 30-yard touchdown pass to Watterson for a 35-7 led. Late in the 3rd quarter, Tylor Lippert ran 30 yards for the touchdown that slammed the door.
Winter is currently in his fifth season as head coach at OAE after previously spending two seasons as an assistant coach. He also was Buffalo Bills Coach of the Year in 2021.
His coaching philosophy utilizes the leadership responsibilities that come with coaching football to help further instill valuable life lessons to student-athletes and use the football program as an extension of their educational experience.
"We look to provide holistic value in their years served as an 'Aggies Football Player' and give them both experiences and memories that will serve them down the path that life has in store for each of them after graduation," Winter said.
Off the field, the football program is involved at the OA and Elba elementary schools including helping with youth football camps, helping elementary students off the bus to their classrooms, reading to students during their class, and the hosting of a family photo day where the OAE program gathers every athlete from K-12 for a photography session.
After taking over in 2020, Coach Winter and his staff helped transition the football program from playing 8-man football in 2018 and 2019 due to low numbers and used an energetic approach to recruiting and program promotion to return to 11-man football. By his second season, OAE captured a Section V Championship.
Buffalo Region Coach of the Week
McKinley coach Brian Davis was named the Buffalo Bills Coach of the Week after leading the Macks to a 30-24 win over Clarence to snatch the A-1 Division championship from the Red Devils.
"This is a huge accomplishment for the kids," Davis said. "That was just one of our goals. We're not finished, and we're not satisfied. We want to take this momentum and ride this through the playoffs."
The Red Devils entered the game 6-1 and ranked sixth in NYS in the NYS Coaches Poll.
"It was a great feeling to see the kids so excited," Davis said. "There was nothing but smiles and laughter on the bus ride home."
Clarence opened the scoring late in the first quarter to take a 7-0 lead. McKinley responded by using three minutes of the clock to drive for a touchdown. Kalaugn Ford tossed a bubble-screen to Cardel Staple who ran 20 yards for the score and the Macks trailed 7-6.
Clarence stretched the lead to 14-6 but the Macks responded again when Ford ran 15 yards for a touchdown. Ford also ran for the two-point conversion to tie the score at 14-14.
With just 0:24 left in the half, Clarence scored to take a 21-14 lead to the locker room.
"If we wanted to be champions, we needed to pick up the intensity," Davis said. "The kids did everything we asked them to do."
In the third quarter Clarence kicked a field goal to extend the lead to 24-14, the biggest lead of the game.
The Macks offense went on a long drive that ended when Tyrone Hughes ran 10 yards for a touchdown. Ford ran for another two-point conversion and the Macks trailed 24-22 at the end of the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Clarence was driving and threatening to score again when Tayon Mullens intercepted a pass to stop the drive on the 30-yard line.
The Macks then drove 70 yards to take their first lead of the game. Demaree Baker-Houston ran for a 12-yard touchdown and Hughes ran for the two-point conversion for a 30-24 lead with six minutes remaining.
With a sense of urgency, Clarence drove into McKinley territory, but the McKinley defense stopped the Devils on fourth down at the 15-yard line.
Kalaugn Ford completed 7 of 9 passes for 147 yards and a touchdown. He also ran 12 times for 131 yards and another touchdown. Hughes carried 17 times for 169 yards and a touchdown. He also led the defense with 13 tackles. Baker-Houston ran four times for 76 yards and a touchdown while Staples caught five passes for 72 yards and a touchdown. Limmie Johnson-Bates made 12 tackles on defense.
The Macks will now play a first-round playoff game Williamsville East on Friday at 7 pm at All-High.
Davis was the running backs coach and assistant offensive coordinator in 2015. After some time away coaching at other schools, he returned to McKinley in 2019 as the head coach, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
In his time as a head coach, he has a 32-14 record and has captured three division titles as well as a section championship appearance in 2019.
His coaching philosophy is, "PLAY SMART, PLAY FAST, PLAY PHYSICAL."
"Playing smart football eliminates penalties and eliminates mental errors during the game, playing fast is a part of our offense and defense, we want to score fast, and we want to swarm to the ball fast," he said. "The more physical team during the game is winning half the battle."
Off the field, the McKinley football program helps with the school's horticulture program. Several student-athletes have also been named to the National Honor Society.
