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 # 4
Williamsville East head coach Mike Torrillo has been named the week four Buffalo Region Coach of the Week after he led the Flames to a 35-28 win over Sweet Home.
With Williamsville East leading 34-27 with less than a minute to play, Sweet Home drove for the game-tying TD. But Jason Xaio tipped a pass at the line of scrimmage and DB Mike Scioli intercepted a pass inside the 10-yard line to seal the win. Scioli finished the game with 15 tackles. QB Sean Sansone completed 12 of 22 passes for 310 yards and 6 TDs. Dorian Facen caught 6 passes for 151 yards and 3 TDs. Facen also made 9 tackles, 2 for lost yardage, including a QB sack.
Coach Torrillo, who graduated from Sweet Home in 1984, has the Flames at 4-0, just one season after finishing 1-8 in 2021. He said that beating his alma mater on their Homecoming was special.
“I have a lot of former Sweet Home players on my coaching staff,” Torrillo said, “So it’s not just me. Obviously, it was exciting, but it’s about my players on Williamsville East that I am excited for. Sweet Home is a good football team. Winning a tough game and against a good team is outstanding, because we are a good football team, too.”
Coach Torrillo has taught in the Williamsville district for 33 years – he has been the head football coach for the past 5 seasons.
“The big challenge was convincing kids to play more than one sport,” he said. “We have 39 players on the varsity this year and the numbers are big all throughout the program. Things are getting very exciting around school. Winning is contagious.”
Torrillo also coaches hockey at Williamsville East, was the girls track coach for 15 years, and is a member of the Canisius College Athletic Hall of Fame for his collegiate career as a hockey and baseball player.
He has worked at the Jim Kelly Football Camp for 34 years. In the past, he has had his players go to the City of Buffalo Mission to hand out turkeys at Thanksgiving.
Rochester Region Coach of the Week # 4
Alexander head coach Tim Sawyer has been named the week four Rochester Region Coach of the Week after leading the Trojans to a 50-0 win over South Seneca to improve to 3-0 on the season. Alexander led 22-0 after the first quarter and never looked back.
QB Trent Woods completed 9 of 16 passes for 122 yards and 3 TDs, all in the first half, to lead the offense to victory this weekend.
This victory was the 100th career win for coach Sawyer, who has coached at Alexander for the past 19 seasons. Coach Sawyer has been an integral part of the Alexander school district and the Alexander community as a Physical Education teacher and coach.
Coach Sawyer, who is in his 19th season as head coach at Alexander, has won two Section 5 championships (in 2016 and 2018) and advanced to the Section 5 title game in 4 other seasons. His Warrior teams have been named Scholar-Athlete teams, a majority of his years as Head coach.
Coach Sawyer places a large emphasis on health and safety for his players. To ensure that his players stay safe on the field, he has implemented new tackling techniques that are inspired by a rugby style of tackling. These new tackling techniques have helped reduce the risk of injury for his team.
Sawyer, who is very close to the coaches of the Alexander youth Football organization, provides the plays and terminology for their playbooks and develops coaches and players
for the future of the program so it is aligned until the player graduates from the school. He also runs a Youth Football camp every summer for the younger players in the area.
In the community, Coach Sawyer has organized his players to do yard work for elderly residents who live in the Alexander school district. His players have also volunteered at the Gateway House, which offers hospice care to families in the area.
The above story is from the Buffalo Bills
2022 Buffalo Bills Coach of the Week Winners
