Bob Acosta steps down as St. John Vianney football coach

St. John Vianney head football coach Bob Acosta has resigned after one season with the Lancers, the school announced in a news release on Saturday.

The Lancers went 9-4 this past season and reached the NJSIAA Non-Public A semifinals after beating rival Red Bank Catholic in the first round. It marked St. John Vianney’s most wins since going 10-1 in 2017.

St. John Vianney finished ranked No. 7 in the Shore Sports Insider Top 10.

“As the head football coach at St. John Vianney High School, I was deeply committed to the football program,” Acosta said in a statement. “Recently, I have had personal circumstances to attend to and felt it best to resign from my position.”

St. John Vianney has now had four different head coaches since the 2019 season. Acosta is the first Shore Conference coach to step down during this offseason.

The well-traveled Acosta had come to the Lancers after coaching at numerous high school and college programs over the past 15 seasons.

“St. John Vianney High School is focused on moving forward for the benefit of its student-athletes and community,” the school said in a statement. “Our foremost priority remains the spiritual, academic and social development of our students and student-athletes. This sudden announcement was unexpected and we will will begin the search for a new head coach immediately.”

Acosta’s abrupt departure calls into question whether the Lancers will return some of their top talent for next season during an age of frequent transferring.

Running back Abdul Turay, who will be a junior next season, led the state in rushing with a school-record 2,517 yards and 35 touchdowns on his way to earning SSI Most Valuable Player honors. Turay has a host of FBS offers and returns as one of the top players in New Jersey next season.

Quarterback Zach LaBarca, who will be a senior next fall, is also coming off a strong season. LaBarca earned SSI second-team All-Shore honors after throwing for 1,903 yards and 15 touchdowns and running for 750 yards and 5 touchdowns.

Offensive lineman Robert Yakovchuck, defensive back DJ Carter and linebacker Danny Breen, who will be seniors next fall, also return after all being named third-team All-Shore by SSI.

Scott Stump is a freelance reporter, newsletter writer and editor who first started covering Shore Conference football in 1999 and has covered basketball, baseball and seemingly every other Shore Conference sport at some point. 

You can contact Scott at [email protected]