Leary Looking Forward To Guiding Williamstown Football Program

by Marc Narducci | Feb 9, 2026

Brian Leary, who turned around what had been a struggling Highland program in his first head coaching stint, is hoping to do the same now at Williamstown.

During this offseason, Leary replaced Frank Fucetola, who coached two different stints at Williamstown.

In 2015 Leary took over as head coach at Highland and immediately made his impact. At the time, Highland had not posted a winning season since going 7-2 in 1993.

After going 5-5 in his first season at Highland, Leary guided the Tartans to a 9-2 record and championship of the WJFL Royal Division with a 5-0 mark in 2016.

It was one of two 9-2 seasons for Highland under Leary. The Tartans also went 9-2 in 2018.

In nine seasons as head coach, Highland went 53-39.

Before arriving at Highland, Leary served as an assistant coach at Triton for 14 years.

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- Seizing the Moment

After the spring season was canceled last year due to the pandemic, these standout student-athletes from South Jersey are hoping to make the most of their opportunities in 2021.

Now Leary will attempt to rebuild the Williamstown program, which during Fucetola’s first stint was among the best in South Jersey for several seasons. In fact, the Braves went 12-1 in both 2018 and

2019 in Fucetola’s final seasons of his first stint at Williamstown.

He returned in 2024, but the Braves have gone 5-15 the past two years.

Leary took a year off from coaching after leaving Highland but returned last year as the offensive coordinator for Collingswood, which went 5-5 this past season.

Now Leary is ready to put his stamp on a new program.

“I am rejuvenated and excited for the opportunity,” he said. “It is a big Group 5 school, so I am really excited to be back around the kids and the guys and staff and all those things and I am looking forward to it.”

One thing that has made Leary so successful is that he knows how to coach the quarterback position. He was a standout quarterback at Paul VI and then in college at William Paterson.

It’s been a family of quarterbacks. His nephews Devin and Donovan Leary were stars at Timber Creeks and became Division I quarterbacks. Devin Leary starred at North Carolina State and Kentucky and was a member of the Baltimore Ravens practice squad. Donovan Leary began his football career at Illinois before transferring to Tulane.

In addition, Brian Leary coached his son Connor at Highland. Connor, who graduated in 2024, three for 4,005 career yards and 31 touchdowns as a three-year starter for the Tartans.

Williamstown fans hope to return to being the type of team the Braves were in the 2010’s.

Williamstown won the first ever South Jersey Group 5 title, when the NJSIAA added that Group in 2012.

The Braves also won consecutive South Jersey Group 5 crowns in 2018 and 2019. Since going 7-2 in the COVID-shortened 2020 season, Williamstown has been under .500 each of the past five seasons.

In the new two-year cycle of the West Jersey Football League, Williamstown will be in the Continental Division with fellow Group 5 schools from last year Cherry Hill East, Eastern and Lenape and Group

4 schools Northern Burlington and Pennsauken.

It is a competitive division, but one that any of the six schools have the ability to be competitive.

“It is a good competitive division, and you won’t have any Friday nights off when playing those teams,” Leary said.

He also hopes that is how teams will feel about facing Williamstown.

“Williamstown certainly has the tradition,” Leary said. ‘it’s exciting to be part of the program, and the community."

New Williamstown football coach Brian Keary (left) with University of Oregon inside linebackers coach Brian Michalowski / Courtesy of Brian Leary

Author: Marc Narducci

Leary Looking Forward To Guiding Williamstown Football Program

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