Although the Bills had a bye, there was still plenty of local football to celebrate during Week 6. Through the Bills and ADPRO Sports High School Coach of the Week program, Joe Kelly, head coach of the Tonawanda Warriors, and Brian Herdlein, head coach of the Le Roy Oatkan Knights, were named this week's winners.
As the Buffalo Region Coach of the Week, Kelly helped propel his team to a huge 34-12 win over the Eden/North Collins Raiders. The victory solidified Tonawanda's place in the upcoming Section VI Class B playoffs for the first time since 2004. The Warriors also went to the postseason in 2010 in the Class C category. Leading the way for the Warriors on offense, was senior ball carrier Jason Frazer, who amassed an outstanding 232 yards and four touchdowns.
Frazer was also a standout on the defensive front, totaling 13 tackles, three of which were for a loss of yardage. Junior Josh Fischer was also impressive on defense, tallying 12 tackles, two for a loss, during the matchup. Signal caller Justin Mangold finished the evening with 160 yards passing on 11 tries.
The Warriors will use the win as fuel as they prepare to take on rival North Tonawanda on Friday, Oct. 18, at 6 p.m.
Brian Herdlein, the Rochester Region Coach of the Week, also enjoyed a big win last weekend when his team defeated Letchworth/Warsaw 7-6 to remain a perfect 6-0. Although the Oatkan Knights came away with the "W," it was Letchworth/Warsaw that found the end zone first, scoring on their first possession of the game. Le Roy responded when junior Cody Lytle racked up 20 yards on a punt return to put his squad in enemy territory. Senior QB Kyler LaCarte connected with Lytle for a 10-yard touchdown to tie the score and the Oatkan Knights took the lead when Nate Andrews successfully kicked the extra point with 6:10 left in the first half.
The second half of the game was all defense, with neither team allowing another score for the remainder of the contest. In the end, LaCarte was credited with 16 carries for 74 yards, as well as 114 yards passing and a touchdown. With 10 tackles, junior Cole Rauscher paved the way on defense.
Next up, Le Roy will play Wayland-Cohocton at home. The matchup is set for Friday, Oct. 18, with kickoff at 7:30 p.m.
Check back on buffalobills.com each week for the announcement of the Coach of the Week winners and tune in to "One Bills Live," presented by Kaleida Health, each Tuesday afternoon to hear the winners announced on the show. Good luck to all the high school football coaches this season from the Buffalo Bills and ADPRO Sports!
About the program:
The Buffalo Bills are once again proudly partnering with ADPRO Sports in 2019 to recognize some of the best high school football coaches Western New York has to offer, through the High School Coach of the Week program. During the 2019 high school football season, the Bills and ADPRO Sports will recognize 11 coaches from both the Buffalo and Rochester regions on buffalobills.com. The winners will be selected by a committee of high school football experts from each region.
