For the past two seasons, the Belleville football team and its young core has gained plenty of valuable yet painful experience as it tried to compete against older competition and more established programs.
Now is the time for those growing pains to pay off/
The underclassmen are now juniors and seniors, which combined with a move into the Super Football Conference’s Ivy White Division, have set the Buccaneers up to potentially have its most successful season since 2021.
“It’s been a lot of fun to watch this group develop,” said third-year head coach Brian Antab. “They’ve gone through their tough times, but they’ve stuck with it. They’ve stuck together, they’ve worked really hard and it’s a lot of fun watching it kind of pay off right now and seeing the things that they’re capable of doing.”
One player, who is especially capable of having a big year is star running back Jeremiah Cook.(5-8, 190). Nagging injuries prevented Cook from matching his 1,149 yards as a sophomore, but now that he’s at full strength, all the pieces are in place for Cook to be one of the state’s leading rushers this fall.
“He’s really excited about this year and he’s really itching to get back out there on the field,” Antab said. “Last year, he had a couple stepbacks, played through a couple of injuries and missed some time. We have a more experienced line this year for him and he’s excited to get out there and really show what he can do as a senior.”
Speedy senior Demetri Moya (6-0, 180), who helped fill the void in Cook’s absence, is also a returner in the backfield for Belleville.Juniors Josiah Morton and Jaydan McDaniel are also set to vie for touches in the running game as well.
For the third year in a row, the quarterback position is a closely contested battle between junior Jordan Armstrong and senior Anthony Torres. In 2022, Torres got the majority of the snaps at quarterback, but missed all of last year due to an elbow injury, ending the competition in August.
“They both have seen what it takes. They know what they need to do,” said Antab. “So it’s a unique situation and we’re trying to see itself play out. We’re looking to see who can give us the best results.”
Seniors Anthony Giunta and Elijah Pickering are both three-year players at receiver. Despite playing multiple games at quarterback, Pickering led the team in receptions last season and is poised for big things as a senior. Sophomore Carlow Colon is another promising receiver, who saw time on varsity late last year.
Caleb Love, a 6-foot-3, 220-pound senior, is back at tight end with Samad Conway, a first-year junior, also getting snaps.
All five projected starting offensive lineman have prior experience. Senior AJ Ambrose-Clenaghan is a four-year starter at center. Devin Westfield is a returning starter at left tackle with Keith Greeley, who played some center in Ambrose-Clenaghan’s absence, at left guard. Ahmad Manley, a senior, kicks over to right tackle with Victor Adams, the starting guard.
Antab is confident the Bucs should be able to consistently generate good pressure off the edges with Love back at one defensive end spot and Conway (6-3, 220) at the other. Conway, a basketball player, has considerable potential as he gets more acclimated to the game.
Senior Nick Netzke is at one defensive tackle spot with Greeley and Adams rotating at the other tackle spot.
Morton, Belleville’s leading tackler last year as a sophomore, returns to start at inside linebacker as is McDaniel. Moya is a returning starter at one outside linebacker spot after spending time there and at safety.
“We just wanted to try to move him a little closer to the ball this year, so we’re trying to roll him down a little bit,” Antab said of Moya, who’s versatility allows Belleville to play either a traditional 4-3 or an eight-man front on any given play. “He could be that safety as well.
Freshman Sean Sharpe is set to line up at the other outside spot. Sophomore James Williams and senior Yandel Rosario are also in the mix at linebacker.
Pickering is a returning starter and free safety with Juinta and Torres at the corners. Colon and junior Jaden Westfield, will also see time at cornerback in passing situations.
With its move to the Ivy White Division, Belleville won’t be eligible for the state tournament, but is primed to have success against similar-sized competition this fall. Playing much tougher teams the last two years led to the Bucs struggling with a 1-18 record.
The Bucs open the season on Saturday, Sept. 7 when it travels to Jersey City to play Ferris, before returning home to host North Bergen on Sept. 13.
“The confidence is very high that we’ll be able to compete,” Antab said “We’re not really so worried about who we’re playing against, but we’re more concerned about the product that we’re putting on the field and how we play.”
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Jason Bernstein | Observer Sports Writer
Jason Bernstein joined The Observer as its sports writer in March 2022, following the retirement of Jim Hague. He has a wealth of sports-writing experience, including for NJ Advance Media (nj.com, The Jersey Journal, The Star-Ledger.)