HOWELL – The Howell High School boys’ lacrosse team had a slogan during its 2025 season.
It was O.N.E. It stands for Only Need Everybody.
“We preached it every day,” coach Anthony Bonjavanni said. “Everyone needs to contribute and they need to do it at a high level. Your best players need to be your best players. Role players have to earn more for themselves. Young kids on the sidelines need to have their energy felt on the sidelines.”
The Rebels played with plenty of energy. Enough to go 14-5 overall. Enough to go 7-1 in the nine-team Shore Conference Colonial Division in which they placed second to Toms River East. And enough to tie the single-season program wins record set in 2017 and 2022.
Quite the improvement from last season’s 6-12 overall and 1-6 Colonial Division records.
“These kids really rose to the challenge and set a tone from day one of the preseason,” Bonjavanni said. “They wanted to make this season memorable. Last year’s struggles left a bad taste in everyone’s mouth – myself included. We went out and added three new young assistant coaches. Two are Howell alumni. They brought a ton of youthful energy and fresh ideas.”
Howell hosted East’s Raiders in its second regular-season game, a 10-7 loss. The Rebels did some soul searching and erupted for 10 straight wins.
“We found out a lot about ourselves after dropping that game,” Bonjavanni said. “The boys had a sense of urgency and accountability that really elevated us for the rest of the season.”
Senior midfielder Vin Meehan and senior defender Colin Finnegan were named second-team all-state. Meehan, Finnegan and senior midfielder Nick Turturro were named first-team All-Colonial Division. Finnegan was named the division’s Defensive Player of the Year.
Named second-team all-division were senior defender Tristan DeLucia, senior attack Jayden Devino and junior midfielder Cole Reinsdorf.
Meehan scored 62 points on 36 goals and 26 assists and scooped 60 ground balls. Meehan, who will play for Lenoir-Rhyne University of NCAA Division II, missed the remainder of the 2024 season after suffering a knee injury in his second game.
“He’s as competitive as they come,” Bonjavanni said. “He can impact the game in so many ways on both ends of the field. He was second on the team in scoring and second in caused turnovers. Short sticks typically don’t take the ball away at the rate he does.”
Finnegan finished with five points on four goals and one assist and hustled to 66 ground balls. He’s off to Embry Riddle Aeronautical University of Division II and will compete in lacrosse.
“Colin is a four-year varsity starter and arguably the best defender we have had at Howell,” Bonjavanni said.
Turturro, who also played soccer for the Rebels last fall, put home 42 goals and added 21 assists for 63 points. He notched 19 ground balls. He will play soccer for Loyola University Maryland.
“He is a tremendous athlete who excelled in soccer and lacrosse,” Bonjavanni said. “He ranks in the top 10 in school history in career goals and career points.
DeLucia, who scooped 34 ground balls, added three goals and one assist for four points. Devino wound up with 26 goals and 24 assists for 50 points and added 18 ground balls. Reinsdorf netted 27 goals, added 10 assists for 37 points and scooped 16 ground balls.
Senior goalie Adam Baker, who will play lacrosse at Manhattanville University of Division III, made 155 saves, allowed 102 goals and added 14 ground balls.
“Baker started playing as a freshman and became a real difference maker for us this season,” Bonjavanni said.
The Rebels were strong on both sides of the field. They scored 193 goals and handed out 103 assists. They added 440 ground balls. They won 184 of 337 faceoffs.
“We played an athletic brand of lacrosse,” Bonjavanni said. “We applied pressure on the defensive end, wanting to turn teams over. That allowed us to get out in transition and push the ball in between the 30s. Having athletic defenders who could handle the rock and midfielders who could play on both sides of the ball allowed us to do that. Our attackmen were strong finishers and they rolled the ball back at an effective clip.”
One of the Rebels’ most exciting wins was an 8-7 conquest of visiting Manalapan in four overtimes. It was the winning streak’s ninth victory. Howell trailed 6-1 in the second quarter and 6-4 at halftime. The teams were tied at six through three quarters.
Turturro erupted for five goals, including the winner on a coast to coast play, and added two ground balls. Meehan added one goal, one assist and three ground balls. Junior attack Mike Kelly added two goals and one ground ball. Reinsdorf added one goal and one ground ball.
Baker, who made nine saves, added one ground ball. Senior midfielder Jack Elias won nine of 19 faceoffs and added four ground balls. Finnegan and DeLucia added three ground balls each.
Junior midfielder Anthony LaBruzzo and senior defender Colin Spires added two ground balls each. Junior attack Mason Morgan and junior defender Michael Mangano added one ground ball each.
Bonjavanni said he and assistants Nick Farrar, Kyle Harms, Logan Dennison (a 2020 Howell grad) and Colin Fay (a 2022 Howell alum) enjoyed coaching the team. Harms, Dennison and Fay were first-year assistants.
“Anytime you have a senior and junior heavy team, you have an opportunity to compete but also enjoy it,” said Bonjavanni, a 2005 Howell graduate who starred in lacrosse for the Rebels. “It’s their team and their experience. They wanted it to be meaningful so it was. They brought the juice when they needed to and kept it light when they needed to. I’ll always appreciate this team.
“The boys were a fun group to be around. They rallied around each other and spent a lot of time together. They captained themselves.”
The Rebels’ junior varsity team was 8-4 overall.
“Our seniors led from the front,” Bonjavanni said. “We have a strong junior class. The key reasons for our success were our senior and junior leadership.”
Bonjavanni owns a 133-92 overall career record in 12 seasons at Howell. Named the 2022 Conference Coach of the Year, he is a Howell High School Counselor.
