Rebels try to maintain winning momentum

Howell High School’s senior football players have a tough act to follow, but head coach Cory Davies is confident they have what it takes to keep the train moving forward.

Howell High School running back Shanti Maurice finds a hole in the Matawan defense during the Rebels’ scrimmage in Matawan on Aug. 27. Howell will open the 2010 football season on Sept. 11 at home against Toms River North High School at 6 p.m. SCOTT FRIEDMAN Last fall behind graduated quarterback Jimmy Ryan (now at Montclair State University), the Rebels set numerous school offensive records while winning the Shore Conference Constitution Division title, reaching the Central Jersey Group IV state semifinals and putting up a 9-2 record.

The 2009 Central Jersey appearance was the team’s fourth trip to the state playoffs in five years and the Rebels have never failed to reach at least the semifinals. The Rebels won the Central Jersey Group IV title in 2007 and were finalists in 2006.

Davies’ playoff record is an enviable 7- 3 over the last five years.

This year’s Howell team is strong on seniors but thin on experience (only two starters are back on offense and three on defense). The seniors know what it takes to win after experiencing last fall’s championship season, but they were not carrying the load. This time around, they are looked to as the leaders.

“It’s a matter of getting all the inexperienced players to play like they are experienced,” said Davies, now in his 20th year at Howell. “They are seniors, but they don’t have a lot of playing time. I’m confident they will come around.”

Much of what will determine Howell’s success begins on the offensive line, where only Tim Donaldson, a junior tackle, returns. Donaldson (6-4, 300) has the chance to be an outstanding lineman before his career at Howell is finished, according to Davies.

Senior tackle Brian Shalette (6-4, 300) lines up on the other end. For the first time in several years, Howell’s offensive line will be anchored by size and power.

Center Nick Schwarz and guards Christian Peck and John Labozzetta, all seniors, complete what could be a very strong line. Jake Conover, Matt Hadley and Tyler Gejo will split time with the starters.

Although Howell employs a spread offense which can produce big plays and gaudy offensive numbers, which takes some of the attention away from the offensive line, Davies said, “you still have to win up front.”

If Howell wins that battle, Davies believes the offense can continue to flourish even though the Rebels graduated all but one of their skill players (Ryan Handy).

The Howell starting quarterback may know as much about the Rebels’ offense as anyone and that is because Ryan Davies is Cory’s son. He has grown up watching his father run the spread offense. Davies saw valuable playing time last fall and is ready to take charge of Howell’s high-octane offense.

“He understands the offense as well as a lot of quarterbacks we’ve had,” his father said. “We’ll see how he translates that to the field.”

At 6-3 and possessing a strong arm, Davies will bring the vertical game into play this year, which should open things up more for the short passing game. Yards gained after a catch is made will remain a crucial part of Howell’s offense, however, opposing defenses will still have to defend against the deep pass.

Handy, who has all-state potential, is the only returning receiver from what was Howell’s finest group ever. The senior caught 35 passes for 492 yards and seven touchdowns in 2009. He leads a unit that is very quick and can turn a short pass into a big play.

Benton Burdin, who was primarily a running back in 2009, will now be catching the football, although he will still carry the ball on occasion.

Mike Clark and Jack Gailing complete a receiving unit made up of all seniors that the coach believes has the potential to be very productive. He expects this to be a balanced unit, with no one or two receivers dominating the statistics.

“We want to spread the ball around,” said Davies.

Eli Blue will do the bulk of the duty running the ball. The senior displayed a lot of potential when he filled in for starter Will Hayes last year (6.1 yards per carry, three running touchdowns and two receiving). This year Blue will be asked to do it on a game-in and game-out basis.

Although the passing game is king at Howell, the ability to run the ball and make a defense defend the spread attack remains important.

Howell has an added weapon in Handy, who may be the Shore Conference’s best placekicker. He has a range of more than 40 yards and is very accurate. He made 6-7 field goal attempts in 2009 and went 34-38 on extra point attempts.

“Anytime we’re on the 30 or in, we’ll try a field goal,” said Davies.

Handy’s punting is also a weapon. He has become very proficient at pinning teams inside the 20. He also has a strong leg that can kick his team out of trouble from deep in its own territory.

On the defensive side of the ball, Howell will stick with its 3-4 alignment. Like the offense, there is talent, but not a lot of experience.

“We’ll play as aggressive as last year,” Davies said. “We would like to make things happen and create more turnovers.”

Up front in the middle of the 3-4 at nose tackle is Conover. He is the only returning starter on the line. He commands doubleteams and that is critical to Howell’s defensive line play.

Gejo starts at one tackle, with Peck, Labozzetta, Donahue and Shalette all rotating on the line.

Linebacker play is the key to the 3-4. Senior Rob Rigby is coming off a big 2009 season in which he was second on the team in tackles. He and Jesse Rockhill are the inside linebackers. Ryan Dambach, Mike Lamantia, Tyler Ott and Tory Robinson are the outside linebackers.

The linebackers have to make plays for the Howell defense to be effective.

Handy leads a solid secondary at safety. He came up with a team-high four interceptions in 2009. Max Fontaine moves from linebacker to safety, where his instincts to make plays will be important.

Howell is looking to put more pressure on opposing quarterbacks this fall and one way to do it will be by using Handy and Fontaine on safety blitzes.

Burdin, Clark, Vinny Roman and Brandon Yaegel are Howell’s cornerbacks.

Shore Conference football is going back to its previous division names that are used in all of the other sports. That means Howell is in the A North division and not the Constitution division.

Howell will kick off its 2010 football season at home on Sept. 11 when the Rebels welcome Toms River North at 6 p.m. The Mariners are expected to be one of the conference’s better teams and this could be a good barometer for the Rebels coming out of the gate.

Howell will play at Freehold Township (Sept. 16, 6:30 p.m.) and at Marlboro (Sept. 25, 1 p.m.), before hosting new A North foe Middletown South on Oct. 1 at 7 p.m.

Colts Neck High School will be Howell’s new Thanksgiving opponent. The Rebels and the Cougars will kick off the series on Nov. 24 at 6 p.m. in Howell.