The Buffalo Bills have announced the Week 1 High School Girls Flag Football Coaches of the Week for 2026.
Aimed at highlighting varsity girls' flag football coaches' efforts on and off the field, coaches from the Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse regions will be honored over seven weeks and will receive $1,000 for their teams. Each region's Coach of the Week will be eligible to be selected for the Coach of the Year where they will receive an additional $1,000 towards their flag football program.
Buffalo Region (Section VI) Coach of the Week
Pioneer head coach Christopher Edwards was named the Buffalo region Coach of the Week for the week ending Sunday, April 12. One of the longest-tenured high school coaches across multiple sports, as well as the school's athletic director since 2024, Edwards has served as the varsity girls flag football head coach for three years, since the program's inception. He has been Pioneer's boys varsity football coach for 18 years as defensive coordinator, while coaching varsity wrestling and varsity tennis for 25 and 22 years, respectively. He is in the Western New York Wrestling Hall of Fame as a coach.
A 1991 Pioneer graduate, Edwards rapidly made his mark on the flag program as the Panthers have compiled a 41-3 record in the program's three years of existence, including two division championships and two Section VI championships. In 2025, Pioneer captured the New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) title over Owego Free Academy, 13-12, in overtime. In doing so, Pioneer became the first school from Section VI to win a state title in flag football. His daughter, Ellie, the team's then-sophomore quarterback, was a key contributor, which prompted her selection as the Buffalo Bills Maxwell Award Nominee in 2025.
Pioneer finished with a 16-1 overall record in 2025. The Panthers outscored their opponents, 663-82. Pioneer is 2-0 in 2026 with wins over Maine-Endwell and Jamestown.
Edwards' mantra to further team culture is "Find A Way."
"I wanted to be a coach so I could help kids see the values of sports and how they can help make you a better person," he said.
Rochester Region (Section V) Coach of the Week
Webster Thomas head coach Eric Thurley was named the Rochester region Coach of the Week for the week ending Sunday, April 12. He became Webster Thomas' first girls varsity flag football coach in 2023. He coached boys' tackle football at Webster Thomas from 2004-19 and was offensive coordinator from 2020-22. He now serves as an assistant varsity coach at Pittsford.
Thurley has compiled a 35-6-1 record during his three seasons as girls flag coach, and he led the Titans to the 2024 Monroe County Class A championship.
"Some of the most influential people in my life when I was young were my coaches," said Thurley. "They helped me understand how hard work and dedication to something bigger than myself are how you succeed, not only on the field, but in life. Coaching young men and women is a passion of mine. I enjoy helping these athletes learn from the lessons I learned in sports. I especially enjoy it when they come back, or I see them in public years after they've moved on. I like to see how they've grown as adults, and I take pride that I might have had just a little to do with that."
During the holidays, Thurley's program wraps presents for children at Golisano Children's Hospital and helps facilitate toy drives.
Syracuse Region (Section III) Coach of the Week
East Syracuse Minoa head coach Brad Keysor was named the Syracuse region Coach of the Week for the week ending Sunday, April 12. The Spartans are in their first season as a varsity girls flag football program and earned their first victory in program history, 7-6, over Central Square on April 8.
Keysor, who is in his first season as girls flag football coach for the Spartans, has been the boys' varsity football head coach at ESM for the last four years. Prior to his current stint, he was the varsity head coach at Tully/Southern Hills for 12 years and at Bishop Grimes for five. In 2025, under Keysor's guidance, the ESM boys recorded an 8-3 record and advanced to the Section III Class A title game.
"We want to develop student-athletes within the classroom as well as on the playing field," said Keysor. "Our focus is on emphasizing skill acquisition, learning, and personal improvement over immediate results."
Growth of girls flag football in WNY
The growth of girls flag football has been remarkable. In 2022, 20 Western New York teams featured flag football. Currently, 255 public schools across New York State are participating in girls flag football, with 91 from WNY (Sections VI, V, and III, which is the Syracuse area).
High school girls flag football launched in the Spring of 2022 and became a New York State-sanctioned sport in 2023. In 2024, the first-ever NYSPHSAA State Championship Season for flag football was held. Since then, three of the five state champions have been from Western New York.
The Bills are currently in their second year of a three-year pilot initiative in support of Modified (Middle School) Girls Flag Football with the Bills Foundation and the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation. Last year, 21 schools received grant funding and equipment as a part of this program; this year, 32 schools received grant and equipment support.
At the 2026 NCAA Convention, flag football was added to the NCAA Emerging Sports for Women program. This means it is a step closer to becoming a sanctioned sport – one officially recognized, governed, and regulated by the NCAA, which will provide the opportunity to play in college to thousands of student athletes. This explosion of participation and passion for girls' and women's flag football also coincides with the 2028 Olympics, which will include women's flag for the first time.
