Jake Harmon entered this week second in the state in scoring with 36 points, but his value to Andover’s boys’ lacrosse team can be measured in other ways.

“Jake has been a leader on this team from the time he first stepped on the varsity field as a freshman,” Huskies coach Ken Weikel wrote in an e-mail. “Every day I am more impressed with his attitude and work ethic. He is a great leader and mentor to his younger teammates.”

Harmon, a junior, is helping guide Andover through a transitional year. He was one of two non-seniors in the starting lineup last season. Now he’s helping to guide a program that counts six seniors and 23 freshmen in its ranks.

Harmon spoke with Star Tribune reporter David La Vaque about his important roles on and off the field as mood setter and goal scorer.

Q Is being a leader, whether by example or with your words, important to you?
A I always feel like I should take charge and lead the team. I feel like the guys around me really respect what I have to say. I try to talk it up with the guys and get them going as best as can.

Q If your coach had one complaint about you, he said you’re reluctant to score at times.
A Yeah, I don’t know. Sometimes I feel like I’m hogging the ball and I want to see my teammates get some points, too. I have one teammate, Jonathan Bruesch, who I work with really well. And Nick Tollinger has assists on about 80 percent of my goals. Nick always finds me. Even if I’m barely open he weaves passes to me.

Q Looking at the team record, Andover is 3-0 when you have at least seven points and 0-4 when you have three or fewer. It seems like the team responds when you have a good game.
A The games we win it’s not just me scoring more but usually we get three or four goals right away. The games we lose we start really slow. We haven’t really mastered how to come out fast, and it’s killing us.

Q What can you take from your three-game losing streak?
A All those games were away games, so we’re on the bus and then we watch the JV play first. It’s been hard to get the tempo back up for our game. But we’re working on it.

Q What is your role in fixing the situation?
A I have to get the guys going the best I can and it’s hard to get a whole group going. You have to know your teammates because if you say one thing it might get two or three guys going and if you say another thing it might get a few more going.

Q You play Blaine on Wednesday and another big scorer in Michael Culshaw-Maurer. Does that add a little something extra to your motivation?
A I used to play with Michael. We’re both attackmen so we don’t really see each other on the field. But it’s a lot of fun playing a guy like that because you feel like you have to prove something.

Q It’s a short season but do you feel there is still time to work out the kinks?
A We’ve been lucky to not have injuries so all we’re doing is getting stronger and learning from our mistakes. It’s hard to lose but I feel like we’re growing as a team.