BELLEVILLE, NJ — The Belleville High School football program has made tremendous strides over the past few years under Jermain Johnson.
But after Johnson stepped down this spring after a four-year run as head coach, there might have been cause for concern about whether the momentum would continue.
For the returning Buccaneers and their fans, those concerns have been allayed. Brian Antab, who has been an assistant coach for the program for the past four years, has been named the new head coach.
“I’m very excited for the opportunity,” said Antab in a phone interview with the Belleville Post. “I’ve been coaching in Belleville the past four years under Coach Johnson, and we’ve really done a good job of turning around this program and getting it to a spot where we are really competitive. I’m excited to take over the program and keep it building and taking it to the next level.”
Antab was an offensive line/defensive line coach in his first year on the staff. He then served as the defensive coordinator in his second year before becoming the offensive coordinator for the last two seasons.
A 2009 graduate of Bishop Ahr — renamed St. Thomas Aquinas — in Edison, Antab played collegiately as an offensive lineman at Montclair State University under legendary head coach Rick Giancola. Antab was listed at 6-foot-3, 260 pounds in his senior season at MSU in 2012.
Following his graduation from MSU, Antab started his coaching career as an assistant at Cranford High School, where he served for four seasons, from 2014 to 2017. Cranford won the 2015 North 2, Group 3 state sectional championship with a 13-0 record. Following the 2017 season, Antab joined Johnson’s staff at Belleville.
During the coaching transition, Antab lauded his players for remaining committed to the program. Though they didn’t know who would be their new coach at the time, the players still worked hard and bonded, much to Antab’s delight.
“We have some really good kids here in Belleville,” Antab said. “They are really hard workers. Even in the past few weeks, losing coach Johnson and the time in between that I was announced as the new head coach, they really stuck together and continued to work hard in the weight room. They bonded together even in times of adversity. I think that really goes to show what a football team they really are. That’s what it’s all about; overcoming that adversity and coming together as a team.”
After going 4-5 in Johnson’s first season in 2018, the Bucs enjoyed a 7-3 season the following year. The team went 2-4 during the pandemic-shortened season in 2020 before bouncing back with a 6-4 season last fall.
Though they have tasted success, the Bucs are now looking to get over the hump and end their state playoff drought. Belleville has not qualified for the state playoffs since 2007. They have made the playoffs five times since the current playoff system began in 1974.
Antab wants to develop his players, both on and off the field, and help the Bucs become perennial contenders.
“My goal as a coach is to develop my players into responsible young men,” said Antab, a physical education/health teacher at School No. 3 in Belleville. “For the program, I want to be successful. We’ve had winning seasons for the past few years, and I’m hoping to keep that going. Even with those successful seasons, we haven’t been able to get over the hump to make it to the playoffs. A big goal of mine is to get us to that point where we have that winning season and can be a playoff contender and compete with those other playoff teams.”
The Bucs are looking to participate in some 7-on-7 summer leagues. They also hope to attend an overnight camp at East Stroudsburg University in Pennsylvania.
Photo By Joe Ragozzino.
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