Howell growing into a force this lacrosse season

Brett Carroll
Staff Writer

Questions concerning the experience and the offense have been answered by the Howell High School boys’ lacrosse team.

The emergence of some new players have help guide Howell this spring.

“We moved the ball well,” junior Joseph Sorrentino, who plays on the attack, said. “We got it around and made some good cuts. We made a lot of good passes towards the middle. We hit the creases really well today.”

“I think our offense finally caught up with our defense today,” Howell coach Anthony Bonjavanni said. “Our defense has been our calling card all year. We knew that going into the season. That’s where the majority of our returning starters were. So, at the end of the day, we knew that’s what we were going to hang our hat on. It was nice to get a good 48 minutes and have a lot of guys touch the ball on offense today.”

“Our defense always comes to play,” senior defender Braedon Baldwin said. “We always bring it. Today was another day under five goals. Today the offense did its thing as well.”

Those remarks came after Howell posted a 12-2 victory over Marlboro High School on April 16 in Marlboro.

The 12 goals were the most the Rebels had scored through their first seven games of the season. That triumph lifted Howell’s record to 5-2.

Sorrentino sparked that victory over Marlboro with four goals and two assists.

Bonjavanni was pleased on how his Rebels took control of the middle of the field.

“Something we also did really well today was face-off really well,” Bonjavanni said. “Even in our two losses, I think we have controlled the middle of the field well. We clear well. We ride well. We always talk about limiting a team’s second chances, and making sure we get them on our end. I think now with the offense added, it’s really just working young guys in and getting them a chance to play. The more they’re out there, the more comfortable they’re going to be, and I think we’re starting to see that now.”

“Yeah we have a young offense and our defense is really experienced,” Baldwin said. “But these guys have improved so much, even just from our first game. How far they’ve come is actually phenomenal.  So, if they keep this up, we’ll be a hard team to beat.”

“Just continue to play and get better,” Sorrentino said. “We just got to continue to play as a team, and continue to get better. We’ll be fine if we do that.”

Although Howell’s offense has improved, Bonjavanni praised his star defender.

“Ernie Ornesti, he’s been great.” Bonjavanni said about his junior. “That was one spot on the defense that we weren’t sure about coming into the season. We didn’t know who was going to take that third defenseman spot. But everyone on the team will tell you, he’s been phenomenal all year for us and we hope that continues. Then, on attack, [sophomore] Logan Dennison has taken that QB roll for our offense. He and [Sorrentino] have been guys that have bounced around in positions for us last year, but have really spearheaded our offense this year. [Senior] Pat Handy has been great for us in midfield. He’s been that two-way force at middy that we didn’t think we would have. He’s definitely been an offensive punch from that position, so that’s good.”

The Rebels will have another chance to flex its muscles when they travel to Toms River High School South on April 26 for a 3:45 p.m. game.