Rebels Roll Past Spartans in the Rain, Improve to 3-0

Despite the tough conditions, including wind and a driving rain, the Howell boys lacrosse team quickly adapted to the weather scoring five goals in the opening five minutes in their battle at Ocean high school on Friday.

By the time the game was done, the Rebels had one of their most dominating performances of the season so far as they destroyed the home team Spartans by an 11-3 margin. 

The Rebel's attack was a team effort, fueled by sophomore Alec Dambach. Dambach lead the team with four goals and picked up two assists as well. As the game got underway, it took the sophomore just 53 seconds to net his first score of the contest.

Howell did a great job throughout the game by getting their hands dirty in the goalscoring areas. Only two of the Reb's 13 shots that reached the cage were stopped, a sign that many of them found their intended targets.

"We're doing as well as we possibly can record wise at this point," said Howell head coach Derek Reichenbecher, "the goal is to keep getting better every day, and we'll have another chance tomorrow morning."

Following Dambach were a pair of juniors, Ryan King and Ryan Leonard, with two goals each. King picked up two assists to go with his scores on the day. The duo teamed up and scored goals a minute apart, which helped add to the advantage early.

King took advantage of a nice spin move and beat the Ocean goaltender on his first goal. Later in the game Leonard's second score came as he stole the ball from a Spartan and unleashed a quick shot to make the score 8-1 prior to halftime.

"Ryan King really did a good job today, especially toward the end of the game." said Reichenbecher.

King was one of the older players left in when many of the younger players got a taste of action in the fourth quarter.

"He really took charge and that was something I was pleased to see, being a leader out there." said Reichenbecher.

With an 8-1 lead at halftime, Howell only outscored Ocean 3-2 in the second half.

"Part of it was taking care of business early and the boys shutting down a little bit, and another big part of it was a few of the schemes they switched around defensively." said Reichenbecher.

Goaltender Nick Schwarz looked strong, making eight saves. Smart, solid clears were also an important part of his game on Friday as well.

Tyler Ott, Kevin Scott, and Rob Hart each had a goal to round out the scoring for the Rebels.

Howell will be on the road once again tomorrow morning, traveling this time to Toms River South. With the 10 a.m. matchup, the Rebels will look to improve to 4-0 against the Indians. They will return to A North action on Wednesday with a game against Marlboro.