UNION, NJ — In his first high school head coaching stint in New Jersey, after a lengthy resume filled with high school and college stops scattered from the Midwest and South to the East, Barris Grant made going to Hillside High School games a must-see for local high school football fans.
Grant turned Hillside into the power that it never was and had the Comets competing for state championships in all but his first season at the helm.
Included in a dominant run were three straight sectional state titles and one regional crown that topped off a program-best 12-0 mark in 2019.
Before that Hillside had only reached two sectional state championship games, in 1983 and 1985, and won just one, in 1985.
Now, Grant will eye similar success at a larger school right down the road.
At the Union Board of Education meeting on Tuesday night, Feb. 18, Grant was officially named Union High School’s 17th head football coach.
“I’m excited to get this opportunity to lead a storied program,” Grant said. “When the season ended, Union alumni reached out to me who seemed I would be a good fit.”
Grant, 45, and who will turn 46 on Tuesday, March 4, succeeds Jason Scott, who was elevated to interim head coach last year after Lou Grasso Jr. stepped down to become the athletic director at Colonia High School.
Scott was among those who also interviewed for the position.
Grant, a 1997 Irvington High School graduate who went on to play collegiately at Mississippi State University, is Union’s first Black head football coach.
Union has won only one sectional state championship since 1993, which was the 2019 North 2, Group 5 crown.
“I think we can do great things here and build this thing back up,” Grant said of the staff with which he will be working.
Grant’s nine-season record at Hillside from 2016 to 2024 was 67-25 or .817. He guided the Comets to Central Jersey, Group 2 crowns in 2017 and 2018 and to the South Jersey, Group 2 title and the Central-South Group 2 Regional championship in 2019.
Hillside became the first Union County school to win sectional state titles in the sections Central Jersey, Group 2 and South Jersey, Group 2.
“I didn’t know what to expect in the beginning,” Grant said. “Then, when we won the first state championship, two more followed. We then expected to be in the mix for one every year.”
With Grant’s guidance, Hillside qualified for the state playoffs every year since 2017, with the exception of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic season, where there were none. He had only one season less than .500 at Hillside and not making the playoffs, his first in 2016, and just one season at .500, which was last fall.
Grant succeeded Halim McNeil as Hillside’s head coach in 2016. McNeil, who played his high school football at Union, went on to become the athletic director at Hillside.
One of Grant’s assistant coaches was former Union standout Darnell Stapleton.
“God blessed me with a great group of kids at Hillside,” Grant said. “They had faith and trust in me.”
Before becoming the head coach at Hillside, Grant was an assistant coach at Malcolm X. Shabazz High School with head coach Darnell Grant, his older brother. Darnell Grant, who coached against many Union teams while the head coach at his alma mater Irvington, is now the head coach at West Orange High School.
“Leaving Hillside is bittersweet,” Grant said. “There’s always new beginnings. Halim McNeil was good to me. We’ll always be known as 140.”
The 140 Grant refers to, especially in many team photos, is Hillside’s exit number off the Garden State Parkway.
Getting Union back on track, the Farmers have finished at less than .500 the past three seasons and are already underway.
“There is a lot of pride in Union,” Grant said. “It just needs to be re-energized.”
Barris Grant’s record at Hillside
2016: (4-6) – no playoffs;
2017: (9-3) – Central Jersey, Group 2 champions;
2018: (11-1) – Central Jersey, Group 2 champions; lost the Central Jersey vs. South Jersey Group 2 championship Game to Haddonfield, 17-7, at MetLife Stadium;
2019: (12-0) – South Jersey, Group 2 champions; won the Central Jersey vs. South Jersey Group 2 Regional Championship Game against Cedar Creek 25-3 at Rutgers;
2020: (4-2) – COVID-19 pandemic season, there were no playoffs;
2021: (7-3) – Central Jersey, Group 2 semifinals;
2022: (9-2) – North 1, Group 3 finalists;
2023: (6-3) – North 1, Group 3 quarterfinals; and
2024: (5-5) – Central Jersey, Group 2 quarterfinals.
Record: 67-25 (.817)
Sectional playoffs: 12-4
Group 2 Regional title games: 1-1
Barris Grant coaching resume
2001: Graduate assistant at Mississippi State
2002: Assistant coach at Irvington with his brother, Darnell
2003-2005: Assistant coach at Benedict College in Columbia, S.C.
2006: Assistant coach at Irvington with his brother, Darnell
2007: Defensive coordinator at Mercyhurst College in Erie, Pa.
2008: Linebacker coach at New Mexico State
2009: Defensive line coach at McMurry University in Abilene, Texas
2010: Internship with Tampa Bay Buccaneers
2011: Defensive coach with Abilene Roughriders of Arena Football League
2012-2015: Offensive coordinator at Malcolm X. Shabazz with his brother, Darnell
2016-2024: Head coach at Hillside
Union football head coach records
Miss Durling, one season, 1922: (0-7-2, .000)
Harold Burke, two seasons, 1923-1924: (0-6-4, .000)
Harry Lake, 21 seasons, 1925-1945: (82-81-19, .503)
Charles Walters, five seasons, 1946-1950: (11-30-3, .268)
Ray Foster, two seasons, 1951-1952: (2-12-2, .143)
Jack Garrabrant, five seasons, 1953-1957, (27-11-6, .711)
Richard Weber, 12 seasons, 1958-1969, (65-31-10, .677)
Joseph Bizzaro, seven seasons, 1970-1976, (31-30-2, .508)
Lou Rettino, 19 seasons, 1977-1995, (171-23-4, .881)
John Johnston, one season, 1996, (8-3, .727)
Gary Zakovic, four seasons, 1997-2000, (28-13, .683)
Marc Crisafi, six seasons, 2001-2006, (35-29, .547)
Brian Sheridan, five seasons, 2007-2011, (32-19, .628)
Dominic Cuniglio (interim), one season, 2012, (5-4, .555)
Lou Grasso Jr., 11 seasons, 2013-2023, (67-49, .578)
Jason Scott (interim), one season, 2024, (2-8, .200)
Photos by JR Parachini