The Buffalo Bills and ADPRO Sports are proud to once again partner to recognize some of the best coaches that Western New York has to offer through the 2022 High School Football Coach of the Week Program.
The Bills and ADPRO Sports will be awarding varsity head tackle football coaches with the Coach of the Week Award to highlight not only their team's achievements on the field but also some of the work they are doing off the field in their communities. We will announce winners from the Buffalo and Rochester Regions over the course of 11 weeks, with both region's Coach of the Year being named during the Buffalo Bills vs New England Patriots game in January of 2023 at Highmark Stadium.
Each Coach of the Week winner will receive a $1,000 grant from the Buffalo Bills and ADPRO Sports. The respective Coach of the Year winners will also receive an additional $1,000 for their programs. Winners will be selected by a panel of local high school football experts.
Buffalo Region Coach of the Week # 7
Maryvale head coach Nick Todaro has been named the week seven Buffalo Region Coach of the Week after leading his Flyers to a 35-19 win over Olean last week. Maryvale clinched the B-2 Division regular-season title with the win. This is the school's first outright division title since 2006. The Flyers are now 7-0 on the season.
After a scoreless first quarter, Maryvale scored first when Dalton Harper ran 20 yards for a TD and a 7-0 lead. After Olean pulled to within 7-6, Maryvale scored twice to stretch the lead to 21-6. Justus Hill ran 31 yards for a TD before Will Schiller tossed a 25-yard TD pass to Hunter Murphy.
Maryvale led 21-12 at the half but Olean scored to pull within 21-19 early in the third quarter.Maryvale's Noah Irby intercepted a pass and raced 66 yards for a TD and a 28-19 lead. Maryvale recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff before Schiller hit Murphy for another TD and a 35-19 lead.
Justus Hill led the ground game for Maryvale as he rushed 15 times for 148 yards and a TD. Dalton Harper ran 11 times for 78 yards and a TD. William Schiller completed 6 of 8 passes for 70 yards and 2 TDs. Hunter Murphy caught 3 passes for 62 yards and 2 TDs. Noah Irby and Jaxsyn Moritz each intercepted a pass. Ryan Benson led the defense with 7 tackles.
Todaro is in his 3rd season as Maryvale's head coach. He was hired in February of 2020 in person and was hired two months later over the phone.
"The world shut down," Todaro said. "The first few months everything was all virtual. I had Zoom Meets with all the kids. I FaceTimed each kid to go over the playbook. Everything was virtual until the fall."
Last season, Todaro led Maryvale to a 5-4 record and a playoff appearance. Todaro was an assistant coach at Hutch Tech for 3 seasons and joined the Canisius staff for the 2019 NYS Championship. He also was head coach at St. Mary's for one season.
Todaro's players are active in community service, currently raising money for the PUNT Foundation, an organization that provides assistance to families battling childhood cancer in WNY.
Todaro has taught Physical Ed for the Buffalo Public Schools for 15 years.
Rochester Region Coach of the Week # 7
Monroe High School coach Terrell Cunningham has been named the week seven Rochester Coach of the Week after defeating the #8 ranked Class B team (HFL) 26-7, giving them their first loss of the season.
The defense, coordinated by Coach Cunningham, comminated HFL by forcing three interceptions, three fumbles, and limiting them to under seven rushing yards.
Coach Cunningham has been coaching at Monroe since 2017 and this is his second season as head coach.
The head coach has a football career of his own. The 2007 John Marshall High school graduate won a section Championship at John Marshall in 2006 as a team captain and was an Eddie Meath all-star selection. His football career continued at Utica College where he was a football team captain and a 2011 graduate.
Off the field, Coach Cunningham is the School Building Sub. You can find him covering a variety of classes every day and assisting the school administrators as well. And in connecting student-athletes to the importance of their academics, Cunningham also actively promotes the Monroe SMART program.
To ensure academics is a top priority, Coach Cunningham has instituted weekly grade checks for every student-athlete, several of who have GPAs of 3.5 or higher, in his football program. Additionally, he personally visits each classroom teacher and is a direct link between teachers and families.
As for the youth community, Coach Cunningham has made partnerships with several community organizations, including youth football programs and off-season training organizations. In his spare time, he trains and coaches youth football players across Section V throughout the offseason.
Coach Cunningham is regularly stressing the importance of mental health. In doing so, he has regular meetings and mentoring sessions with the team and has connected each player with school-based counselors and mentoring support.
