The Buffalo Bills, in partnership with Visa, have announced the Week 1 High School Tackle Football Coaches of the Week for 2026.
Aimed at highlighting tackle football coaches' efforts on and off the field, coaches from both the Buffalo and Rochester regions will be recognized over the course of the next 11 weeks for their team's excellence on the field and their service to their communities.
As part of the program, each winning coach's football program will receive $1,000 from the Buffalo Bills and Visa, and each region's Coach of the Year will receive an additional $1,000 and will be celebrated on the field at Highmark Stadium prior to the Bills vs. Jets game in January.
Check back each week for updates on the Buffalo and Rochester Coach of the Week winners and good luck to all the teams in our community on their upcoming seasons!
Buffalo Region - Coach of the Week
Springville-Griffith Institute head coach Mark Benton was named the Buffalo region Coach of the Week for the week ending Sunday, September 6. Benton, who at age 70 is one of the longest tenured high school football coaches in Western New York, led Springville-GI to a 40-25 win over Salamanca in his first game at the helm of the program. The Griffins finished 0-8 in 2025, including two forfeits, and lost to Salamanca, 35-7, last season.
Senior running back Grant Michalski, a Buffalo News All-Western New York baseball small schools first team selection this spring, led the way for the Griffins in the season-opening victory.
Benton was named head coach at Springville-GI in March 2026 after spending the previous two seasons as head coach at Cattaraugus-Little Valley. He has coached High School football in Western New York for 27 years, serving as head varsity coach at Gowanda, Dunkirk (two stints), JFK, Cattaraugus-Little Valley and Springville-Griffith Institute for a total of 18 years. He was a head junior varsity coach in Gowanda for three years and a varsity assistant at Dunkirk, Alden, Springville, Hamburg, and Silver Creek/ Forestville. Benton has inherited losing programs at every school he has been hired at and has quickly turned them around.
"I enjoyed Cattaraugus-Little Valley but could not pass up the opportunity to coach at Springville with their storied tradition," Benton said at the time of his hiring. "It is quite a challenge to repeatedly take over a downtrodden program and get players to believe they can win. Springville, however, has a great tradition and several good athletes that should make the program competitive again," Benton said.
Several players volunteered at the Meat raffle in April to raise funds for the Alumni Association. Over the previous two years while coaching at Cattaraugus-Little Valley, two players have won the WNY Character-Athlete Award for Class D.
Rochester Region - Coach of the Week
Le Roy/Cal-Mum head coach Mike Humphrey was named the Rochester region Coach of the Week for the week ending Sunday, September 6. In Friday's season opener, the Rivals upended East Rochester, 28-24. Trailing 6-0 and with East Rochester driving, junior defensive back Austyn Silvernail intercepted a pass in the end zone and raced the length of the field for the game-tying and game-altering score. Offensively, senior quarterback Brady McClurg ran 12 times for 104 yards and a touchdown, while completing both of his passes for 70 yards. Junior running back Jude Christ added 97 rushing yards and two touchdowns, while sophomore linebacker Roland Goodenough paced the defense with eight tackles.
Humphrey is in his third season leading the merged team of Le Roy and Cal-Mum, once fierce rivals who played one another from 1897 to 2015 and combines to capture 31 Section V football titles. A Cortland State product, where he recorded 69 catches for 785 yards and six touchdowns as a senior in 2012, Humphrey was a Class C first-team all-state selection at wide receiver for Le Roy as a senior in 2008. In the two previous seasons of the merged program, Le Roy/Cal-Mum advanced to the Section 5 Class C title game in 2004 and lost in the sectional semis last season.
Humphrey was hired at Le Roy as a Physical Education teacher in 2016. He was named head coach at Le Roy in 2023 and immediately led the Oatkan Knights to a sectional title. He also coaches track and field and teaches driver education.
Humphrey's program won a Section V sportsmanship award in 2024, and his team participates in Walk of Hope.
2026 COTW Winners
Week 1: Mark Benton (Springville-Griffith Institute), Mike Humphrey (Le Roy/Cal-Mum)
