Howell and two-time defending state champion Saint Joseph qualified for the best-of-five baker format finals of the Marisa Tufaro Classic with identical pinfalls.

The upstart Rebels, who were unranked in NJ.com’s preseason statewide Top 20, broke the tie with a three-game sweep of the top-ranked Falcons in the championship match at Majestic Lanes on Saturday afternoon.

“They kind of snuck in under the radar,” Saint Joseph coach Rusty Thomsen said of Howell. “They always have a good team and they bowled well all day. They qualified and they earned it in the title match. They beat us fair and square. Kudos to them. Hats off.”

Tommy Lee, Braden Motondo, Paul Lampe, Kayden Parodo and Jayden Straus composed Howell’s underclassmen lineup.

“They had a great day,” Howell coach Bob Wetzel said of his fab five. “They don’t get intimidated by anyone. They are all juniors on this team, so it’s a younger team but they are starting to come into their own and they believe in themselves.”

Wetzel said besting a talent-laden field that included five state-ranked teams gives his bowlers “the belief in themselves that they can do this and they belong here.”

“Everyone keeps telling them next year is going to be their year, but they believe this year is going to be their year.”

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Proceeds from the event, at which bowlers and their coaches donated hundreds of new and unwrapped toys for children in need this holiday season, will benefit The Marisa Tufaro Foundation, which assists pediatric patients and underserved children throughout the greater Middlesex County area.

“This is probably my favorite tournament of the year just because of the cause,” Thomsen said. “We go in with a mission and a goal of winning, but today the outlook is a lot different. Getting mad today is not allowed. Everybody wore their (Marisa Tufaro Foundation) bracelets and understood why we were there. Knowing you are able to make a difference you leave feeling good.”

The wildly successful tournament, which Woodbridge head coach Amanda Small founded and continues to run with support from her high school and school district, fundraised more than $8,000 and generated thousands of toys for donation its first three years.

“The kids competing in this tournament are not only great bowlers, they are great young men and women,” Wetzel said. “They understand how lucky they are with everything they have in their lives and they want to give back.”

Patrick Lacroix of Bayonne had the highest series of the tournament with a 793, followed by Will Cunningham of Saint Joseph (761) and Michael Martins of Roselle Park (733).

Monroe’s Andrew Wysokowski, who opened the tournament with a perfect game, had the highest game of the tournament, followed by Martins (288) and Lacroix (278).

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Bayonne (3,076) and Jackson Memorial (3,055) joined Saint Joseph (3,198) and Howell (3,198) in the best-of-five baker format semifinals.

Howell swept Jackson Memorial and Saint Joseph defeated Bayonne 3-1 to reach the finals. The Falcons were without two-time defending state individual champion Kai Strothers, who was competing in a national tournament.

“It’s a whole different ballgame when you are missing probably the best bowler in the state, but we don’t look at it as making excuses,” Thomsen said. “It’s next man up and everybody stepped their game up. We expected to do well but there were a lot of question marks about it missing such an important part of the lineup.”

The Marisa Tufaro Foundation will donate the collected toys to Hands of Hope for the Community to distribute as holiday presents to Middlesex County children in need later this month at Saint James Episcopal Church in Edison.

“This is the second year in a row that Hands of Hope is going to benefit from all the toys that are collected from all of these student bowlers from across our county and state who come out and supply these donations for our kids,” said Charlie Tomaro, president of Hands of Hope for the Community, referring to the 32 boys and girls teams who competed in the tournament.

“We’ll probably have about 250 to 300 kids come out on Dec. 21 and each will receive three or four toys apiece. And as they are walking out the door with their toys they are smiling like crazy.”

Tomaro said he recently spoke with a mother who was concerned about being able to provide presents for her children this holiday season.

“She said to me that she didn’t know what she was going to do for toys for her kids this year and she started crying,” Tomaro said. “I said we are going to take care of that.”

Since its inception, The Marisa Tufaro Foundation and Hands of Hope for the Community, whose mission includes alleviating food insecurity throughout Middlesex County, have enjoyed a longstanding partnership.

Earlier this year, Hands of Hope for the Community recognized The Marisa Tufaro Foundation for its “dedicated efforts in fostering positive change within the community” as the honoree of its annual Tee Off Against Hunger.

The Edison Chamber of Commerce named The Marisa Tufaro Foundation its 2024 Organization of the Year, while the YMCA of Metuchen-Edison-Woodbridge-South Amboy presented the nonprofit with its prestigious Barnes Community Champion Award last year.

Established in its namesake’s loving memory seven years ago, The Marisa Tufaro Foundation has donated more than $350,000 to fulfill its mission.

The nonprofit has also spearheaded multiple initiatives resulting in the collection of thousands of toys, nonperishable food items, winter coats, baby supplies, and other items for donation upon which it has placed no monetary value.

In addition, the foundation has awarded 46 scholarships totaling $33,000 in Marisa’s name to high school seniors and sent 27 elementary and middle school students to a weeklong summer art camp at Rutgers University’s Zimmerli Museum.

Born with a complex cardiac defect, Marisa Tufaro lived with a medical condition that restricted her from some physical activity, but never prevented her from bowling.

Marisa, who died in 2017 at the age of 13 from a rare form of cancer following six open-heart surgeries and a heart transplant, enjoyed her time at Stelton Lanes in Piscataway and at Milford Lanes in Delaware during family vacations.

Despite being hospitalized for more than two years and attending hundreds of doctors’ appointments, Marisa was an Edison Township Public Schools honor roll student involved in myriad extracurricular activities.

She is the inspiration behind the Marisa Tufaro Classic, which Small founded in 2018.

“Amanda wanted to offer another option for a holiday tournament to kick off the year, and she came up with the idea to host one in Woodbridge Township to benefit The Marisa Tufaro Foundation,” Woodbridge athletics director Joe Ward said. “We were 100 percent on board when she brought the idea to us. Amanda is hard-working and dedicated to the sport of bowling. She’s always looking to assist the school and the community in any way she can, and I think this is a great example of that.”

The Marisa Tufaro Foundation is eternally grateful for the support it has received from Woodbridge High School and the entire scholastic bowling community.

South Brunswick, Old Bridge, J.P. Stevens, Sayreville, Edison, South Plainfield, Carteret, East Brunswick, Woodbridge and Monroe joined Saint Jospeh as representatives of the Greater Middlesex Conference competing in the Marisa Tufaro Classic.

“We’ve been blessed beyond words with amazing support from so many people,” said Marisa’s mother, Cyndi Tufaro, who is also the foundation’s executive director.

“Our nonprofit doesn’t take a second donated or a penny raised for granted. The kindness and generosity of Woodbridge and the entire high school bowling community has been extraordinary.

“We hope their benevolence is exponentially returned.”