Lamirande, Jackson, Brown lead All-District football team BY TIM MORRIS Staff Writer Howell High School's NJSIAA Central Jersey Group IV state championship topped everything in 2007. FILE PHOTO Howell Rebels quarterback Tim Lamirande passed for 2,356 yards and 25 touchdowns and also rushed for four more scores as he led his team to the first state football title in school history. Cory Davies' Rebels won the school's first football state title in style, ripping West Windsor-Plainsboro South, 46-13, in the final played at Rutgers University. It was a remarkable game as quarterback Tim Lamirande led an offense that could do no wrong. Every play they ran, including a hook-andlateral, worked to perfection as WWPS had no answers to Howell's offensive perfection. It was a game that you could only dream about and Howell made it a reality. After a close call against Colts Neck (27-21) in the first round, the Rebels were a juggernaut in their final two playoff games, scoring 95 points and taking their place among the state's best in 2007. Along with the state title, the Rebels won the school's first outright Shore Conference Division title (Constitution) en route to an 11-1 record, the finest in school history. Mark Ciccotelli's Freehold Borough Colonials (7-3) were champions as well. They won the Federal Division title outright in '07 including their season-making 27-21 triumph over the team that had been the division's bully, Middletown South. With that, and a 7-1 regular season record, came the state playoffs. Brandon Brown brought excitement to the game every time he touched the ball for Freehold Borough and Robert James hit anything moving on defense. Colts Neck and Ashton Jackson were 6- 4 and returned to the state playoffs. Manalapan welcomed new coach Tom Gallahue with a winning record (6-4). Lamirande and Jackson head up the News Transcript's 2007 All-Freehold Regional District Football Team's Offense. Manalapan's Craig Peterson is the other quarterback with Howell's Dave Hayes, Manalapan's Dave Presby and Freehold Borough's Jahquan Fenn the running backs. The fullback is Sean Burns of Manalapan. The wide receivers are Chance Carrick and Brian Battaglia of Howell, Brown, and teammate Jimmy Flotteron and Freehold Township's Ryan Spadola. Manalapan's Jimmy Gilburn is the tight end. The offensive line consists of Alex Killian and Nick Libonati of Howell; Brandon Carter and Peter Gerbehy, Freehold Borough; Justin Boxman, Colts Neck; Kevin Collins, Freehold Township; and Tom Sozzi, Manalapan. Colts Neck's Eric Spillane is the placekicker and teammate Jeremy Dinkin the kick returner. Heading the All-District Defensive Team is Colonial linebacker James. Colts Neck's Taylor Howes and John Weber; Howell's Joe Sabatello and Nick Riccio; Manalapan's Tim Freuh and Anthony Zaharakis; Freehold Township's Mike Suppa; Freehold Borough's Luis Torres; and Marlboro's Matt Bobrow are the defensive linemen. James, Howell's Mike Fiorello, Colts Neck's Sean Smith and Richie Foligno; Manalapan's Bryan Tamalone; Freehold Township's Matt Faiella; and Marlboro's Eric Herburger are the linebackers. The secondary has Howell's Jason Amato; Freehold Borough's Gerry Plescia and Tyler Russo; Colts Neck's Kevin Callelo; Justin Mazor and Jimmy Falcone, Manalapan. Freehold Borough's Brian Prisk is the punter and Marlboro's EJ Tucker, the utility player. When he passed for 357 yards in Howell's opening-game 28-26 win over Colts Neck, Lamirande removed any questions about the health of Howell's spread offense. It was in very good hands. With his strong, accurate arm, he added the deep pass to Howell's offense. Lamirande broke his wrist in the second game of the season, but, was able to return two weeks later with a cast on his left wrist and there was not stopping him or the Rebel express. He saved his best for the Central Jersey semifinal and finals where he threw a combined nine touchdowns. No body could have played the position better. He had five touchdowns in a 355-yard effort against Montgomery in Howell's 49-20 victory. He was 16-for-19 for 247 yards and four touchdowns in the state championship final. He passed for 2,356 yards and 25 touchdowns completing 179 of 281 passes. Lamirande scored four times running the ball. Peterson was productive again with the passing game helping the Braves maintain their winning tradition. He passed for 1,431 yards and 14 touchdowns. He was only intercepted four times. The senior did the punting and placekicking for the Braves as well. Jackson was one of the Shore's most exciting players earning his nickname 'Action' Jackson. He was a threat to break any play in to along gain every time he touched the ball. He had for 1,178 yards and scored nine touchdowns. He returned two punt for touchdowns and even threw for one. Howell's offense became virtually unstoppable at midseason when Hayes became a force on the ground. During Howell's 36-14 win over Brick Township, Hayes carried the ball 35 times for a school-record 289 yards. From there one Howell could beat you with Lamirande's arm or Hayes' legs. The senior surpassed 1,000 (1,065) despite the late start and between running and pass receiving (38 for 178 yards) and kick off returns, scored 14 touchdowns. Presby put together another 1,000-yard rushing season for the Braves. A tough runner inside the tackles, he collected a lot of yards after contact. He picked up 1,097 yards and scored 12 touchdowns. Presby owed a lot his yards to the blocking talents of Burns. He not only helped open holes for the Brave running backs, but, protected Peterson as well. At times it was running back by committee at Freehold Borough, but, it was Fenn who was the team's most consistent. Despite missing games due to injury he was the leading rusher for a ground attack that totaled 1,345 yards. Before the season began, Davies said he had the finest receiving corps he'd ever had at Howell and, it played out that way. Chance led the Shore in receptions with 56 for 891 yards and eight touchdowns. He didn't do a bad job placekicking (three field goals) and playing in the secondary either (four interceptions). Battaglia was right up there with 42 catches for 500 yards and five touchdowns. He filled in for Lamirande when he was injured and led the Rebels to a win over Middletown North. He was 16-27 for 231 yards and two touchdowns at t he QB. What both Carrick and Battaglia had was the talent to turn short passes into long gains. They also had an understanding of the offense and knew how to get open. Brown and the Big Player were synonymous The Colonial speedster was as feared as anyone in the Shore when he got his hands on the football. He returned three punts and one kick-off return for touchdowns. As a receiver he averaged more than 20 yards a catch (32 for 675 yards) and scored seven touchdowns. Including a touchdown run, the junior playmaker had 13 touchdowns. And, by the way, he intercepted four passes. Flotteron complimented Brown's downfield talents by being the sure-handed possession receiver who moved the chains. He also pulled in 26 passes for 278 yards and a touchdown. Spadola pulled down 39 passes in 2007 and with it he brought the vertical game to the Patriot offense. The junior will be a go-to player next fall. Tight end may not be for every offense, but the Braves certainly used it to their benefit this fall. If fact, it was the move of Gilburn to tight end that helped the team bounced back from a 1-3 start to go 5-1 the rest of the way. Defenses had no answer for his penchant to go deep. Gilburn averaged close to 30 yards a reception with 29 for 740 yards. He was on the receiving end of eight of Peterson's touchdown tosses. Gilburn was equally strong on defense at safety. No offense puts up points or moves the ball consistently without an offensive line. Killian and Libonati, senior, anchored an offensive line that allowed Lamirande time to throw and opened holes for Hayes. The Rebels averaged more than 330 yards of total offense a game. Carter and Gerbehy were the cornerstones of a young offensive line that jelled during the season. The highlight was driving the ball downfield for the final eight minutes of the game against Middletown South. Sozzi, Collins and Boxman held their respective lines together. As seniors they provided leadership and set the example for the others to follow. Spillane turned into a huge weapon for Colts Neck. He connected on eight of his 11 field goals and none of his misses were inside 40 yards. His long kick was 46 yards in the season finale at Freehold Borough. He also had kicks of 40, 39 and 38 yards. James for the defense James was the Defensive Player of the Year in his division and anyone who ran into the Colonial force would attest to it. He had 95 tackles including 16 for losses and sacked the quarterback six times. All were team highs. There wasn't anywhere on the field that he couldn't make a play. His leadership and work ethic were equally important in turning the Colonials into winners this fall. The Howell defense was often overlooked because of its explosive offense. However, the Rebels had playmakers on that side of the ball as well. Throughout the season, the bend-don't-break D seemed to always made the defensive stand when it had to. Sabatello, inside tackle and Riccio at end, were the players who made it happen on the line while Fiorillo led the squad in tackles and had two interceptions. Torres was a force whether it was on the defensive line or offensive line. He had two quarterback sacks and seven tackles for losses on defense for the Colonials. The Colonial D ranked in the to p 10 in total defense allowing under 200 yards a game. Freuh and Zaharakis were Manalapan's inside and outside forces on the defensive line. Along with linebacker Tamalone, they spearheaded a defense that ranked among the Shore's best yielding 200 yards of total offense a game. Suppa used his quickness to wreck havoc on offensive lines. He consistently occupied two blockers. Bobrow had four sacks for the Mustangs. Howes and Weber were the frontline of a defense that ranked eighth in total defense the Shore giving up 172 yards a game. They allowed less that 700 yards rushing for the season. Linebackers Smith and Foligno were the run-stoppers for the state-playoff Cougars. Faiella, a junior, gives Patriot fans something to look forward to next year. He makes plays from sideline-to-sideline. Herburger, a senior, led the Mustangs in tackles and had two quarterback sacks. Amato had a state playoff final to remember himself. He intercepted a pair of WWPS passes and returned one for a touchdown. He also scored a touchdown on a pass reception. The defensive back had five interceptions on the season including four in the playoffs. He was a major player in Howell's spread offense catching 40 passes for 707 yards and seven touchdowns. Plescia and Russo were two reasons the Colonials were a tough team to pass on this year. Each had an interception in a secondary that permitted just six touchdowns. Mazor and Falcone gave the Brave defense balance. It was difficult to run or throw the ball against. Prisk, whose passing opened the Borough offense up this year, was a solid directional punter for the Colonials who provided field position. As a QB, he passed fro 1,235 yards and 11 touchdowns. Callelo and Dinkin were both important two-way players for the Cougars as wide receivers and defensive backs. Dinkins added kick returning to his repertoire. Both are good cover backs who can play the run as well. Tucker did everything save carry the water for the Mustangs. The junior caught 25 passes for 235 yards and one touchdown and scored on a 90-yard kick off return. He averaged 23.1 yards per kick return. As a defensive back, he had 35 tackles. Those earning Honorable Mention for 2007 are: Chris Brandl (offensive line), Chris Chiarelli (quarterback), Alex Muka (linebacker) and Ryan Moore (utility); Leo Reason (defensive line), Richard Schwartz (linebacker), Hooti Gregory (offensive line) and Alex Fernandez (wide receiver), Freehold Borough; Jeff Koubek (offensive line), Ashton Ailey (defensive line), Adrian Williams (linebacker), Justin Shaw (linebacker) and Rob Mara (wide receiver), Freehold Township; Joe Martinell (offensive line), Chris Puglisi (defensive line), Ian Harvey (linebacker), Kyle Marlborough (linebacker) and Rob Handy (wide receiver), Howell; Justin Dattolo (linebacker), Chirs Essner (linebacker), Chris Pelicano (wide receiver), Lane Griffin (wide receiver) and Chris De- Mauro (offensive line), Manalapan; and Marc Ng (linebacker), and Rich Santora (defensive back), Marlboro.