The Buffalo Bills, in partnership with Visa, announced the 2026 Week Five High School Tackle Football Coaches of the Week. This week's recipients are Buffalo Region Coach of the Week Joe Licata (Williamsville South) and Rochester Coach of the Week Rich Lipani (Hilton).
Aimed at highlighting tackle football coaches' efforts on and off the field, coaches from both the Buffalo and Rochester regions will be recognized throughout the course of the season for their team's excellence on the field and their service to their communities.
As part of the program, each winning coach's 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 be celebrated on the field at Highmark Stadium before 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
Buffalo Region Coach of the Week
Williamsville South head coach Joe Licata was named the Buffalo region Coach of the Week for the week ending Sunday, October 4, after leading the Billies to a 21-6 win over previously undefeated McKinley last week. Senior quarterback Phillip Gangi paced the Will South attack, completing 13 of 25 passes for 118 yards and three touchdowns, while rushing seven times for 36 yards.
Junior running back Andrew Aquino rushed 10 times for 40 yards and caught three passes for 19 yards and a score. "(Gangi) controlled the entire game," said Licata, who has guided the Billies to a 29-15 record during his tenure, including a 4-1 record this season heading into Friday's tilt against Maryvale. "He had some great throws and made some plays with his feet."
A three-year varsity starter at Williamsville South, Licata set several school records upon graduation in 2011 before playing collegiately at the University at Buffalo, where he earned a degree in History with a minor in Education. He later earned a master's in health and physical education from Canisius. Licata began coaching in 2017, when Clarence coach Mark Layer asked him to tutor quarterbacks in the area.
He coaches more than 200 local quarterbacks each year as owner/coach of Nickel City Quarterback Club. He was the head coach and athletic director at Bishop Timon High School from 2017-21 before spending the 2021 season as a Senior Offensive Analyst, Quarterbacks at UB.
The Williamsville South football program reads at elementary schools, participates in elementary school field days, and volunteers at a local food pantry, among other outreach events.
Rochester Region Coach of the Week
Hilton head coach Rich Lipani was named the Rochester region Coach of the Week for the week ending Sunday, October 4, after guiding the Cadets to a 56-19 win over Webster Schroeder. With the victory, Lipani becomes Section 5's all-time leader in coaching wins with 231 victories. He broke the record held by Dave Whitcomb, who won 230 games with several different schools.
"I'm hopeful I make a positive difference in kids' lives and that we give all players a great high school experience," said Lipani.
In Friday's win over Webster Schroeder, senior Tyler Reger, who will play Division I lacrosse at Fairfield, notched a program-record seven touchdowns. Now in his 38th season at Hilton, Lipani has compiled a career record of 231-131-4 and has guided his teams to four Section V titles and a Far West Region title in 2022.
Before Hilton, he was head coach at Greece Arcadia for three seasons. Lipani was an All-Greater Rochester selection as a linebacker at Greece Athena before playing four seasons at Brockport State, where he earned a degree in physical education and a master's in liberal studies.
He was hired as an adaptive physical education teacher at Hilton in 1986. Off the field, Hilton's program participates in the Hilton community's "Make a Difference Day," and players work with the Junior Cadets program.
2026 COTW Winners
Week 1: Mark Benton (Springville-Griffith Institute), Mike Humphrey (Le Roy/Cal-Mum)
Week 2: Nate Armella (Randolph), Dennis Pynn (Churchville-Chili)
Week 3: Jay Baumann (Starpoint), Ryan Kramer (Geneseo-Mt. Morris)
Week 4: Michael Cieslik (Orchard Park), Steve Marriott (Pittsford)
Week 5: Joe Licata (Williamsville South), Rich Lipani (Hilton)
