HS Football: Williams Valley hires Gaffney as head football coach
Frank Gaffney, Williams Valley head football coach (Photo by Leroy Boyer).
TOWER CITY — Frank Gaffney wanted to get back into being a high school football head coach.
A 20-year-long relationship with Ben Ancheff led him to Williams Valley.
The Williams Valley School District Board of Directors hired the 34-year-old Gaffney as its new head football coach during its monthly meeting Wednesday evening in the high school board room.
Gaffney takes over a program that has won the last three District 11 Class AA championships and is coming off back-to-back 12-2 campaigns.
“My wife and I made the decision going into the 2026 season that I’m looking into getting back into being a head coach,” Gaffney said. “The cards fell into place. This position was open.
“There are a few schools that came open this year. There was something that drew me here. My sister previously coached here, taught here. Coming out here, after my first interview, it just felt right.”
Gaffney’s resume is a long and attractive one.
A 2010 graduate of Blue Mountain, where he was a three-sport standout in football, wrestling and baseball, Gaffney played college football for two years at Stevens Tech and two years at Lebanon Valley. He shined at linebacker for the Dutchmen, earning NCAA Division III All-American honors.
Gaffney’s coaching career began right after his graduation from LVC as he joined Mike Farr’s staff at Schuylkill Haven. After three years coaching the defense for the Hurricanes, Gaffney took the head coaching position at Pine Grove in 2018.
The Cardinals went 17-24 in Gaffney’s four years at Pine Grove. His best season was 2019, when Pine Grove finished 8-3 and reached the four-team District 11 Class 3A playoffs. The Cards led top-seeded North Schuylkill at halftime before eventually falling 42-20.
Gaffney resigned after a 1-9 campaign in 2021 and went back to Schuylkill Haven, where he was the Hurricanes’ defensive coordinator the past four seasons. He helped Haven reach the District 11 Class AA championship game the last three years where, ironically, the Hurricanes lost to Williams Valley three straight years.
Over the past three years, Gaffney faced Williams Valley six times, so he’s familiar with what the Vikings bring to the table.
“Coming from Haven early stint, I was 24 when I took over at Pine Grove,” said Gaffney, who is employed as the corporate director of plant operations by Priority Health Care Group. “I made some young mistakes there. Things, looking back now, I’d change. That’s all part of the process.
“Making that decision to go back to Schuylkill Haven was the right decision for me. It allowed me to grow, fine tune my craft on the defensive side of the ball. Coach Farr gave me the opportunity to run my defense my way. We had great success with what we did.
“Hat’s off to them. Nothing but respect for that program. There are talented kids there. I enjoyed my four years there.”
Gaffney takes over a Williams Valley program that, despite its success on the field, went through a tumultuous season in 2025.
Head coach Stephen Sedesse and defensive coordinator Mike Sedesse resigned after the Vikings’ Week 7 win over Panther Valley in a move that garnered national attention, with athletic director Ancheff taking over as interim coach.
Ancheff guided the Vikings to six straight wins before Williams Valley saw its season end with a 33-7 loss to Lansdale Catholic in the opening round of the PIAA playoffs.
Ancheff considered applying to be the full-time head football coach, but the Williams Valley School Board told Ancheff he could not serve as both the head football coach and athletic director.
Keeping his AD position, Ancheff was very happy to land Gaffney, who he played Little League baseball with as a member of the Pottsville Pythons travel team. That friendship has remained strong since, Ancheff said.
