After Colts Neck took the Southern Regional boys volleyball team into a third game, before the Rams ultimately put away the Cougars in the Shore Conference Tournament semifinals, Howell snuck up on Southern in the final. No, the Rebels didn’t win the SCT title, but the Rams learned a lot about their opponents that evening.

Last week when the Rams and Rebels met in the NJSIAA South Jersey Group IV quarterfinals, there were no surprises. In fact, the circumstances worked against the Rebels.