Howell girls team wraps up division bowling title
Sixth straight crown for Rebel girls
BY TIM MORRIS
Staff Writer

Howell’s girls had to earn this one.The sixth straight Shore Conference Southern Monmouth Division won by the Rebels was easily their toughest, as coach Dave Clampffer noted.

“This won had some bumps in the road,” he said. “All of the girls stepped up for us.”

The Rebels had to win 24 straight games to remain one game ahead of Ocean Township in the two-team race for the crown. The Rebels clinched their sixth consecutive title at the Shore Lanes in Neptune on Thursday beating Asbury Park, 3-0. Howell finished the season at 50-4 with Ocean second at 49-5.

The two teams were eyeing each other at Shore Lanes, looking to see if either would blink. While Ocean was putting Manalapan away, 3-0, the Rebels had to match against the third-place team.

“They fought us all of the way,” Clampffer said of Asbury Park. “All three matches came down to the 10th frame.

“Meghan Kelly, who was switched to anchor, bowled her best series,” he added.

Kelly had a high game of 246 and followed it with games of 209-210, for a 665 that helped put the finishing touches on the championship.

Unlike previous years, where Howell had the title clinched before the final match, Ocean Township fought them tooth and nail. Ocean actually handed Howell its four losses with two 2-1 wins during the season. But the Spartans slipped up, dropping three games against everyone else while Howell was 48-0. The Spartans ended the season with 21 straight wins, which should have been enough to at least have tied the Rebels, but Howell did not blink over the final eight matches to continue their mastery of the division.

“The girls are used to pressure and they responded,” said Clampffer. “Brittany Budra and Meghan Kelly became our leaders.”

Howell not only had the Spartans in hot pursuit behind them to deal with, but an injury to a key bowler. A fractured foot ended Megan Miller’s season early, and she had been the team’s anchor. Clampffer described the loss as a big crack in the door.

Casey Alberti and Katie Raffele did a fine job of helping Howell absorb the loss of Miller, while Amanda Stefan and Melissa Miller were steady and dependable all year in the starting lineup with Budra, Kelly and Megan Miller (before her injury).

While Howell was winning its sixth straight title, Manalapan’s boys kept the division titles in the Freehold District. Eileen Ruszala’s Braves didn’t have to win Friday’s match with Ocean having already wrapped up Southern Monmouth Division title. With their 3-0 win, the Braves finished the season at 43-11. Freehold Township was second at 36 1/2-17 1/2. Howell was third (35-19).