Belleville enjoyed one of its most successful seasons in recent memory a year ago, going 5-4 and winning four of its final five games.
The success hasn’t led to complacency. Instead, after finishing one game out of the North Jersey Super Football Conference’s Ivy Division playoffs, the Buccaneers enter 2025 with plenty of motivation to take another step forward.
“Last year we were competitive in pretty much every game that we played,” fourth-year head coach Brian Antab said. “We felt like a couple of these games we could have come out on the other side of. We just need to find a way to get over that hump and finish those games.
“I think the experience from last year will definitely help. It’s definitely helping to drive our kids to continue to work hard and improve on that 5-4 season we had.”
A strong senior core is set to lead the way for Belleville this season, beginning with Jordan Armstrong (5-10, 190), a three-year starter at quarterback. Armstrong’s season came to a premature end a year ago and with the graduation of star running back Jeremiah Cook, is set to have a bigger role in 2025.
“He is embracing that challenge. He wants more of the responsibility on him,” Antab said. “He wants us to put the ball in his hands and let him go.”
Armstrong will be throwing to an entirely new group of receivers, led by 6-foot-2 sophomore Sean Sharpe. Sean’s older brother, senior Jailen Sharpe, will see targets out of the backfield and senior tight ends Caleb Love (6-3, 225) and Samad Conway are also set to be factors in the passing game.
Replacing Cook, who ran for more than 3,000 career yards, won’t be easy, but Antab sees four backs who will help fill that void.
Jaydan McDaniel is set to take over as the main back. He and senior Josiah Morton (5-11, 170) are the power backs, while Jailen Sharpe and Jaden Westfield are speed backs from the outside.
All four are set to have prominent roles as Belleville aims to be a powerful running team, thanks to an offensive line that is the biggest Antab has had since becoming head coach.
“All five across the board, we definitely are the biggest that we’ve been for sure. There’s a lot of size up there,” said Antab. “Our goal is for these guys to be physical, set the tone for the whole style that we want to play.”
Senior Devin Westfield (6-1, 205) is a returning starter at left tackle. Lining up next to him at left guard is Victor Adams, who started at right tackle last year. Keith Greeley is a returning starter at center, while Joshua Workman is back at right guard.Bryce Phillips, a 6-6, 265-pound junior, takes over as the right tackle.
Senior Sergio Boza and sophomore Jahviel Rodriguez bring added depth to the line.
On the defensive side of the ball, Greeley and Adams are set to start at tackle, while Conway and Love are the ends. Love had established himself as one of the Ivy Division’s top pass-rushers, making seven sacks in four games before a season-ending back injury.
“He’s a talented player and he brings a different kind of physicality to our team when he’s out there on the field and he’s an emotional leader as well,” said Antab. “He brings a lot of energy to the team.”
Boza and Nathaniel Anabwani will also see snaps on the defensive line.
McDaniel starts at inside linebacker, while Morton can start either at inside or outside LB. At the other outside linebacker spot is wrestling standout Lorenzo Tiankee, who plays much bigger than his listed weight of 130 pounds. Tiankee will also move into the slot when Belleville shifts into passing down situations.
Jaden Westfield and Jadiere Rivera are the starters at corner with Sean and Jailen Sharpe at the safety spots. Senior Jahni Wooten is also set to make an impact in the secondary as the season progresses.
The special teams is set to potentially get a big boost as soccer star Uriah Vergara has come out for football and is set to be the Bucs’ kicker.
“He’s been doing great for us so far,” Antab said of Vergara, who scored 18 goals last season. “It’s definitely something that we’re excited about. We feel like anytime we get down near the red zone, we got a good chance to put up some points.
Armstrong is the punter while the Sharpe brothers are the likely kick returners.
Belleville opens the season at home against Ferris on Friday, Sept. 5 before going on the road to North Bergen six days later.
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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.)