Power football and an aggressive defense brought the Howell Pop Warner Jr. Midgets (ages 11-13) a championship this fall.

The Lions, won the B Conference of the Jersey Shore Pop Warner Football League and then went on to capture the Jersey Shore title with a win over a powerful Asbury Park team. That win put Howell into the Eastern Regional, where the winner will advance to Florida for the Pop Warner national championships.

Bill Hill, the head coach of the Lions, praised the entire team with the season’s success.

“We’re an evenly balanced team and we play well together,” said Hill. “We have a good offensive line. We play power football and we’ll throw the ball in the flat.

“On defense, we’re aggressive and we use multiple fronts,” he added.

Howell’s offense combines off-tackle power with variations of the Delaware wing-T, which takes advantage of the team’s speed.

Halfbacks Nathaniel Sheridan and William Hayes have been the featured runners in the offense. Although Sheridan is more of a power back and Hayes is a scat back, both bring big-play potential.

Wingback Bill Hill and fullback Kevin Borden help spring Sheridan and Hayes with their blocking. Both are running threats as well with Hill doubling as a receiving threat.

Quarterback Johnny Bukowiec can be a difference-maker because of his athleticism. Hill noted that because of Bukowiec’s speed, the Lions use him on bootleg runs and spring passes. His dual role makes it more difficult for teams to defend Howell’s offense.

Corey Carrick has emerged as Bukowiec’s top receiver.

A deep offensive line has made things click for the Lions. Paul Cassidy, Andrew Boxman, Joseph Yutko, Luke Kinzel and Robert Rigby are an outstanding unit that wins the battle at the line of scrimmage.

Fortunately for the Lions, they proved to be very deep on the line because injuries put Yutko, Kinszel and Rigby on the sidelines for parts of the season.

Andrew Jones, Jacob Bonfig and Brian Wilson did outstanding jobs filling in and keeping the offense moving.

Howell’s defense is as balanced as its offense. Bonfig, Rigby, Kinzel, Wilson and Borden do as good a job controlling the line of scrimmage and getting after running backs on defense as they are pushing teams around on offense.

Corners Bukowiec, Sheridan, Hayes and Carrick cover well and are versatile enough to move up and make plays against the run.

Linebackers Hill, Borden, Wilson and Maxwell Fontaine typify the team’s aggressiveness attacking ball carriers in waves.

After securing the B Conference title with a 7-1 record, the Lions moved on to the playoffs where they were very impressive in beating Asbury Park, 28-12, for the Jersey Shore title.

The Lions changed their offense for Asbury Park, putting Sheridan and Hayes in the backfield at the same time. Instead of running right at the AP defense, the Lions caught them off-guard with counters and mixed-direction runs that took advantage of their speed.

The Jersey Shore championship put the Lions into the Eastern Regional, where they started off strong with a 24-6 win over the East Orange Rams. Three more wins and the Lions will advance to the Pop Warner national championship in Florida.

The Howell Junior Midgets are: Joseph Conklin, Johnny Bukowiec, Nicholas Maldari, Corey Carrick, Matthew Swayze, William Hayes, Maxwell Fontaine, Brian Wilson, Matthew Oeftering, Bill Hill, Kevin Borden, Nathaniel Sheridan, Conner Marsh, Joseph Rada, Luke Kinzel, Andrew Jones, Thomas Deaklyne, Paul Cassidy, Joseph Yutko, Patrick Sporn, Andrew Boxman, Jeremy Symons, Jacob Bonfig, Robvert Spinelli, Andrew Spampanato, Brian Deakyne, Derrick Lewis and Robert Rigby.

Hill’s coaching staff has John Boxman, Pat Maldari, Kevin Swayze, Kevin Borden, Mark Kinzel and Paul Cassidy.

Hill, one of Howell High School’s all-time great athletes, is happy to be back in his hometown coaching his son and giving something back to the town’s youngsters.

“It’s a dream for me to come back and be able to work with the kids,” he said. “It’s special to be at home.”