Frank Gaffney always knew his ultimate goal.
The former Schuylkill Haven defensive coordinator and Pine Grove head coach wanted another chance to run his own program.
Gaffney stepped down at Pine Grove in December 2021 to prioritize his growing family.
“At that point, I ended up having my second son. So I had a 3-year-old and a newborn,” he said. “I just felt my whole heart wasn’t in it every day there, and I always told everybody — even when I got the job at Williams Valley — if my whole heart’s not in it, I’m not going to lie to myself or the program or the kids. I don’t believe that’s fair to them. So I decided to step away from being head coach.”
Gaffney remained active in the game by joining Mike Farr’s staff at Schuylkill Haven, returning to a program where he had deep roots.
“I had the opportunity to go back to Schuylkill Haven, which everybody knew was close for me. A lot of those kids’ families, I trained those kids when they were 10, 11, 12 years old. So it was easy for me to go back there… and we had success. But at the end of the day, I was ready to go back to being head coach. It was my time.”
When the head coaching job at Williams Valley opened, the program felt like the ideal fit. Gaffney had long admired the Vikings, and school officials had kept tabs on him as well.
“Everybody knew my long-term goal was going back to being a head football coach,” he said. “For me, it’s not about the title. It’s about being the person that’s accountable for the program, the direction it’s going, the players, the way they carry themselves, what we represent and what we stand for.”
“A lot of people don’t realize the Williams Valley thing was always on my radar,” he added. “Ben Ancheff and I had been friends for over 20 years, and he’s recruited me hard a few times. I just wasn’t ready.”
The timing aligned in February. Before officially being hired, Gaffney and his wife, Brittany, went out to dinner with Williams Valley athletic director Ben Ancheff, his wife, and several others. By the end of the dinner, the Gaffneys knew their decision.
“We got back in my truck — and my wife is my best friend, and I made every decision with her — and I looked at her, and she’s like, ‘It’s home. That’s home. That is home. That is who you are.’ … When that opportunity came up, I couldn’t pass it up.”
Taking over the Vikings
Gaffney’s entrance into the Williams Valley program came at a unique time for the Vikings.
They had a very successful 2025 season that resulted in a third straight District 11 championship. It also saw the program land in the national spotlight following the resignation of head coach Stephen Sedesse after a highly publicized dispute between Sedesse, the Williams Valley administration, and the families of athletes.
“What happened was not true to the public, and it’s not what was perceived,” Gaffney said about the situation. “They’re kids. They’re 14- to 18-year-old kids. That’s what they are. And they just want to play football. They want to be treated with respect. They want to embrace the game.”
Through his first five months on the job, Gaffney couldn’t be happier with how his team has handled the coaching transition.
“I have not had a single issue,” he said. “And I’m a very strict coach. What happened has happened, and we don’t talk about it.”
Gaffney also hopes that his time with the program will lead to more recognition for the Williams Valley student-athletes.
While most of the Schuylkill League’s members are just short drives from each other, Williams Valley is one of the more secluded schools in the league, its closest counterpart being Pine Grove, a 20-minute drive away. Minersville is half an hour away; Pottsville is a nearly 40-minute drive.
That distance at times has led to the Vikings not receiving the credit they deserve in Gaffney’s eyes.
“These kids feel so smothered out there, as nobody sees them, nobody hears them,” he said. “This group of seniors potentially can be the first group to win four district titles in Schuylkill County history for football. Four straight. And nobody talks about them…. Hopefully, we can change those things.”
For Gaffney and the Vikings, the first step to changing that and continuing the program’s long history of success begins this August.
If the Vikings are going to achieve their goal of winning a fourth straight District 11 championship, they will do so with a youth movement.
This offseason, the program said goodbye to numerous key starters, including quarterback Brady Shomper — one of the Schuylkill League’s most prolific quarterbacks in recent memory.
Ultimately, while Gaffney embraces the legacy of Williams Valley athletes, he’s certain to create a new legacy between the pines.
“It’s a new vision. It’s a new era, and we’re going to do things the right way. These kids are going to be the face of the program and they’re going to be the ones that get the recognition and the things that they’ve deserved, because it’s been about them and always should be about them.”
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