On Sunday, Dec. 7, the Buffalo Bills, in partnership with Legends Global Merchandise, recognized two high school tackle football coaches as the Coach of the Year during halftime of the Bills vs. Bengals game.
Newfane High School's Chuck Nagel (Buffalo Region) and Penfield High School's Anthony Bianchi (Rochester Region) were chosen not only for their efforts on the field, but their personal and team accomplishments off the field during the 2025 season.
Buffalo Coach of the Year
Chuck Nagel has been at Newfane High School since 2006. He started out as the Junior Varsity Head Coach from 2006-2011 before moving up to the Varsity level in 2012.
In 2012 when Nagel took over, the Panthers had not made the playoffs since 1993. This year, Newfane was crowned the Class D Section VI Champions under Nagel's leadership.
"I feel a coach is one of the best titles someone could have," said Nagel. "I coach football because I love the game so much. I get to work with kids who are learning the greatest game in the world."
When asked what this award means to him, Nagel responded: "What an absolute honor this is for a small-town coach like me. To be able to showcase our Newfane Panther players, coaches, and community in this spotlight is a dream come true for me!"
Rochester Coach of the Year
Anthony Bianchi has been the head coach at Penfield for five years. Bianchi led the Patriots to victory during the Class AA Section V Championships this year, the first championship in school history.
"There are a lot of great coaches deserving of this award," said Bianchi. "I appreciate all the hard work the players and coaches put into this year. We have really great kids and families in our program, and I was happy to see our players get better each week throughout the season."
Bianchi believes that instilling a great work ethic in student athletes will push them to reach their full potential.
Congratulations to Chuck Nagel and Anthony Bianchi, but also to the all the Coaches of the Week selected during the 2025 season.
Buffalo Coaches of the Week
Week 1 – William Atlas from Wilson
Week 2 – William Bruning from Royalton Hartland/Barker
Week 3 – Joe Pagano from Depew
Week 4 – Rob Pitzonka from Iroquois
Week 5 – Charlie Karstedt from Eden
Week 6 – Mike Torrillo from Williamsville East
Week 7 – Jerry Smith from St. Francis
Week 8 – Chuck Nagel from Newfane
Week 9 – Sean Helmer from Silver Creek
Week 10 – Marcus Rivers from Lackawanna
Week 11 – Brian Davis from McKinley
Rochester Coaches of the Week
Week 1 – Andre Fontenette from Gates-Chili
Week 2 – Kurt Schneider from York/Pavilion
Week 3 – Alex Veltz from Batavia
Week 4 – Jasson Jobson from Webster Thomas
Week 5 – Tim Sawyer from Alexander/Pembroke
Week 6 – Jeff Welch from Canandaigua
Week 7 – Tim Rose from East Rochester/Gananda
Week 8 – Andy Englert from Avon
Week 9 – Mike Stumpf from Webster Schroeder
Week 10 – John Russ from Honeoye-Falls Lima
Week 11 – Anthony Bianchi from Penfield
