The memories of that chilly December evening at Rutgers Stadium that warmed the hearts of everyone who ever followed Howell High School are history. Gone also are the seniors who were the heart of Howell’s 2007 NJSIAA Group IV state sectional championship team (the one that dismantled West Windsor-Plainsboro South, 46-13, in the final).
Above: Howell High School’s Phil Adamo (No. 4) hits Colts Neck’s Cody Bello hard enough to knock the ball loose during a recent scrimmage. Below: Howell’s Ryan Moore (r) tries to rush for a few extra yards during the scrimmage. With only three players who were starters last year returning, it is indeed a brand-new year for the Rebels. But head coach Cory Davies isn’t ready for his club to take a step backward in ’08.
“We don’t want to lower the bar,” said Davies. “We want to reload rather than rebuild.”
Winning is now expected at Howell. Over the past three seasons, the Rebels have gone 8-3, 7-5, 11-1 winning the Central Jersey state sectional championship along with the Shore Constitution title in 2007. They made the states each year going 6-2 in the playoffs. The Rebels advanced to the state finals the last two years, winning it all, of course, last December.
JEFF GRANIT staff The ’08 Rebels are both young and inexperienced, but they do have the advantage of having practiced every day against state champions and having seen up close what it takes to win.
Davies pointed out that he has a big junior class that is filling the shoes of the graduated seniors. They have to understand, Davies said, that “their time is now.”
The three returners to the lineup — Chris Puglisi, Adam Feehan and Rob Handy — are quality players.
Puglisi, a senior, a defensive lineman last year, will play inside linebacker and anchor the offensive line.
Feehan, who was injured at midseason, and Handy, who moved into his wide receiver slot, are part of what is the team’s strength: a very deep receiving corps.
Feehan, a senior, was a big play receiver with a healthy 28.4-yards-per-catch average before his season-ending injury. He scored one touchdown. He and Puglisi are the team captains.
Handy, a junior, played a big role in the state playoffs. He averaged 16.9 yards a catch and scored three touchdowns.
Joining them downfield are Phil Adamo, AJ Brzozowski and Will Hayes. In October, Red Bank Catholic transfer Joe Murphy will beef up the receiving unit.
“We have pretty good receivers,” noted Davies.
All of Howell’s receivers are surehanded and are big in the yards-aftercatch category. They turn short passes into big plays, which is what makes Howell’s spread offense work.
Senior Chris Simmons will get the bulk of the work carrying the football, with Rob Malfara, Will Hayes and Ryan Lowe also getting touches. The running game became an important part of the offense last year with graduated Dave Hayes rushing for more than 1,000 yards, forcing teams to honor the running game.
The big question at Howell is who will replace All-State quarterback Tim Lamirande and his 25 touchdowns and 2,356 passing yards. Three players are vying for the position: senior Richie Jones and juniors Jimmy Ryan and John Bukowiec.
All three have their strengths, and Davies will wait until the team has played all four of its scrimmages to decide who will tuck in under center and run what has been a very productive spread offense.
Puglisi anchors an inexperienced line at tackle. Chris Kokot is the tackle on the other side of the line with Cole Panaccione the center. The guards include Troy Culmone, Anthony Gedell, John Gifford and Rob Sabbagh.
The early signs are that this unit, which does have good size (Kokot is 6-5, 280) can pass protect, which is important to Howell’s offense.
Travis Mascitelli and Ryan Handy are vying for the place-kicking chores
The m.o. of Howell’s underrated defense in ’07 was bend don’t break. They surrendered yardage but always seemed to come up with the big play that stopped drives — none bigger than a fourth-down stop deep in their own territory against Colts Neck in the first round of the state playoffs. The 27-21 win was the springboard to the state title.
Puglisi looms large here, moving to inside linebacker from the line. The Rebels will again line up in the 3-4. Simmons will join him on the inside with Lowe, Charles Ross and Jake Burti rotating outside.
Up front, Sabbagh is on one end and Kokot is on the other side. Chris Tedeschi and Culmone will rotate on the line.
The secondary may well be the strong point of Howell’s defense, with Feehan, Hayes and Justin D’Angelo at the corners spelled by Rob Handy. The safeties are Adamo, Brzozowski and Dom Bisozio.
The tools are there for the Rebels, but it is a question of how long it will take the underclassman-dominated squad to adjust to varsity football. The team has the potential to move the ball through the air and has playmakers on both sides of the ball.
There will be some new teams on the schedule with Howell moving to the Shore American Division. That means Manalapan (away on Oct. 10) and the annual Thanksgiving Day game with rival Freehold Township are now division games. One of the nondivision opponents the Rebels picked up is Freehold Borough (home on Nov. 7). These two teams haven’t played in 20 years.
Howell kicks the season off with a familiar foe, Brick Township, on Sept. 13 at 1 p.m. This time the game is non-conference. After a bye week, the Rebels are back on the road at Jackson Memorial Sept. 26 at 7 p.m.
The home opener for the defending state sectional champions isn’t until Oct. 3 when Toms River North makes a call for a 7 p.m. start.
Tim Morris may be contacted at [email protected].