Boys Lacrosse: Jake Sherman Leads Howell Past Jackson Liberty in Home Opener

By Brooks Grimes - Shore Sports Network contributor

HOWELL - The Howell boys lacrosse team gave its fans a warm welcome in the Rebels' home opener on Tuesday despite the frigid temperatures by knocking off Jackson Liberty 11-4 in a nondivisional game.

Senior Mark Buannic, who finished with three goals and four assists, helped the team pick up momentum early on by firing in the game's first goal, scoring with a shot into the bottom left side of the net from five yards out with 8:42 left in the first quarter. The Rebels didn't just stop there, as they followed quickly with Jake Sherman netting his first of five goals on the day only 33 seconds later. Senior Zack Ornstein then added to Howell's lead by scoring the Rebels' third straight goal, all of which came in a span of only 1:07, to make it 3-0.

Jake Sherman, who had five goals in Howell's victory, loads up for a shot against Jackson Liberty. (Photo by Ryan Demian)

Entering the second quarter, the Rebels were hungry for more as Sherman netted his second goal top shelf from 10 yards out, assisted by Buannic, less than one minute into the period to push the lead to 4-0. Sherman later assisted on a goal by Buannic, who extended Howell's lead to 5-0 by firing in a shot from 20 yards out with 5:46 left in the second quarter.

Read: Howell's Mark Buannic earns SSN Lacrosse Player of the Week honors

However, Jackson Liberty rallied to make it a tight game at halftime with three straight goals to cut the lead to 5-3 at the break. Howell head coach Anthony Bonjavanni spoke to the team at halftime, inspiring them to come out in the third quarter with an "all in" mentality.

"We are not afraid to make mistakes because we trust our tight-knit defense to get the ball back for our offense when we need it,'' Ornstein said about regrouping at halftime.

The Rebels put it all together on offense and defense in the second half with assistance of players off the bench, outscoring Jackson Liberty 6-1 after the break to pull away for the win. Howell's strong second half is an indication of the Rebels' improvement in several areas from last season.

"There was a large transition from junior to senior year for a lot of the players,'' Ornstein said. "There has been a mass growth in confidence from last year to this year. This shows the amazing job that our coaching staff has done. Not every player is always playing, but they still show up every day with a chip on their shoulder working hard because they know this team has something special."

The Rebels' second half effort in holding the Lions to one goal was anchored on defense by seniors Anthony Poszyoni, Cam Perrotto and Colin Mastowski. After coming into the game winning two close games on the road over Robbinsville and Randolph, the defense made sure Howell held a multi-goal lead for the entire game.

Despite the 3-0 start, Howell is looking to bigger things ahead.

"We haven't done anything yet or won anything yet,'' Ornstein said. "As of now, we are just like any other team."

The Rebels travel to Colts Neck on Tuesday at 10 a.m., looking to stay hot and extend their record to 4-0.

"We have some things to clean up," Ornstein said, "but we will be ready to run Tuesday at Colts Neck."