WindMill Boys Lacrosse Team of the Week: Howell

Every week this spring, WindMill Restaurants and Shore Sports Network will be selecting a Boys Lacrosse Team of the Week based on its performance over the past week.

The WindMill Team of the Week for Week 1 (March 27 to April 6) is Howell, which opened the season with a 4-1 record that included a win over district rival Freehold Township to ascend into the Shore Sports Network Top 10. Shore Sports Network was at practice Tuesday to present the Rebels and head coach Anthony Bonjavanni with a special certificate and a $300 WindMill gift card.

The Rebels opened the season with a 12-3 victory over Red Bank Regional before falling to second-ranked Christian Brothers Academy, 15-6. Howell responded, however, with a huge 4-2 victory over rival Freehold Township. The Patriots were ranked No. 5 in the Shore at the time while Howell was unranked. Sophomore attackman James Fay led the offense with three goals while senior goalie Jared Jablonski came up big with 15 saves. Junior Vaughn Meehan also had a great game by winning 9 of 10 face-offs.

Howell kept the momentum going with a 10-4 win over Jackson Liberty and then a 13-7 win over Brick Memorial where a seven-goal third quarter put the game away.

The victory over Freehold Township helped the Rebels jump into the SSN Top 10 where they are now ranked No. 5.

Defense has led the way for the Rebels as they have allowed just 6.4 goals per game through their first five games. Jablonski, a first-year starter, has made 59 saves with a .648 save percentage. Junior defenseman Thomas Damelio leads the team with eight takeaways while junior Sean Murphy and sophomore Theo Deberghes have seven takeaways each.

Fay is Howell’s leading scorer with 12 goals and four assists for 16 points. Junior attackman Logan Dennison is right behind him with five goals and 10 assists for 15 points while Meehan has contributed six goals and five assists and senior midfielder Jared Badillo has eight goals and two assists. Meehan has also been a valuable asset in the face-off circle by winning 63 percent of draws and picking up 46 ground balls, an average of 9.2 per game.

Howell returns to action on Wednesday with a Class A North game against Marlboro. The Rebels will then host Middletown North on Friday to close out the week.

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