LINE MORE UNCERTAIN
Up front the uncertainties are more frequent than the certainties. One thing is sure, though, the battles for positions that have unfolded day by day will help tremendously to mold a capable line.
At the ends there are six candidates so close together in ability that they can be covered with a blanket. During practice sessions first one pair and then another apparently cinches the starting honors, only to find that the next day changes the outlook completely. Here again the material finds no one candidate a brilliant standout. Harry Gerber, Joe Crowley, Fred Carey and Red Krumm all gained experience as sophomores. Newcomers Joe McDevitt and Roger Arnold, both big boys, are in the midst of the fight because they both have the size and natural ability to be good ends. Perhaps the season will find the entire sextet taking turns.
Would that the tackle squad had similar depth even though stars were lacking. Currently Charles (Stubby) Pearson and Chick Camp, both seniors, are the only pair ready to go against major foes. The remainder of the tackle group are big enough and willing enough, but greener than the jerseys on their backs. Three of the reserves are sophomores. Nick Daukas and Gus Clucas have everything it takes except game experience. Daukas, a 220- pound giant, and Clucas, another heavy- weight who can move with real, speed, will certainly arrive before mid-season. Until they gain the necessary poise, Pearson and Camp will have to be iron men when the going is difficult. But here again it looks as i£ good fortune as well as bad can find its way into the Dartmouth camp.
Just as an experiment more than anything else, line coaches Bill Bevan and George Barclay moved junior Maurice Dampier, letterman at center last fall, to tackle during the second week of drills. Dampier, a aio-pounder, looked so good it was hard to believe it would last. That's one reason why this 1941 squad is impossible to unfold in neat explanations and to add up to a statement of positive terms.
We feel also that the guard squad will not be at its best until a few games have been played. Of the five game-worthy candidates, three are sophomores. Johnny Peacock and Bill Marion were top-flight members of the freshman squad. The third lad, Steve Holmes, was an unsung frosh B- team operator, who has been making up for lost time ever since. Doug Stowell, senior, will be the ace of the lot at right guard if he doesn't run into injuries as he has for the last two years. Lee Anderson, a junior, will be a rugged defenseman and only lacks the speed demanded of the McLaughry attack guard, to step ahead of the newcomers, all of whom can move, and how!
At center it will be junior Rem Crego and sophomore Russ Isner. That's all there is, with no sign of any help in any direction should anything happen to these two pivot men. Of course, Pearson could al ways be shifted back in an emergency, but his departure from tackle, where he is completely at home in every way, would be a serious move to make. Both Isner and Crego must improve their work on offense if the split timing of Tuss' attack shall function as it can when every factor is smooth and well done. More than in the past, Dartmouth centers must place their passes on a spot no bigger than a dime if the deception and ball handling is to work as beautifully as it should, and no one realizes this fact more than the aforemen- tioned center pair. Defensively neither one leaves anything to be desired, with Crego still capable of backing up a line in the manner that thrilled the Cornell-game spectators from head to toes.
There are also a few boys here and there on the squad who may possibly be of help this fall. If so all the better, but such aid can hardly be counted upon in advance.
As for the new unlimited substitution rule, it will not mean much to Dartmouth football over all. There isn't the depth available to run players in and out of the game, and no rule change would make any appreciable difference in this item. How- ever, it will mean that more backs will be used and this finds the Big Green ready and waiting to swap blows with all comers. Little Ted Arico, for one, will be used extensively under the changed setup. Which certainly strikes a responsive note in this writer's ears, and we believe the alumni as well will be anxious to see Teddy more than he has been used in the past. For our money he packs more color and excitement into the mere act of running out onto the field than many gridsters do running a deep reverse. Wolfe and Kast are also headed for bigger years than they enjoyed as sophomores in '4O. Both have more confidence in themselves, both now have acquired the poise of veterans.
There are several other items regarding the 1941 prospects that deserve mention. This year every ball-carrying back will be asked to punt and pass. Naturally not all of them are top triple threats, but back- field coaches Dick Cassiano and Charlie Ewart have given them all enough school- ing so that they can, and will, pass and kick if the opponents disregard them as threats in these two departments of the offense. Take for example the Princeton game of last fall when the Tigers completely ignored Arico as a pass threat and ganged him only for his running ability. As it was, Ted ran all over the field, but had he had the additional weapon of the pass, he would have put that game, at least, so far on ice that no last-minute touchdown pass by Allerdice could ever have stolen victory out of Big Green hands. Krol from No. 2 back will also be brought back to pass and punt, giving him a wider range of duties than quarterback Norton performed during his noble three years of 100 per cent effort.
Another factor that we can well afford to stress is that the Big Green this fall will not be an easy team to quarterback from the grandstand, because more often than not spectators are going to be fooled, and fooled badly. Many times during the spring and early fall, this writer, standing right out on the field of action, has lost sight of the ball in play and so have the defensemen trying to stop the attack. It is also true that in the first games Dartmouth will be much further advanced offensively than defensively, which means scoring action for and against. It goes without saying that it has taken hours for Tuss to install his offense, and the defense has naturally suffered. Which is also O.K. in our little book as we, along with many another football fan, just itch to watch more fireworks and daring football than the Ivy League has displayed in recent years. Touchdowns are the thing you and you pay to see, so lets hope they fly thick and fast in every direction now that the offense all over the country is gradually catching up with the many complicated defensive strategies that have crept into the game of football these last five years.
Two REASONS FOR 1941 OPTIMISMCaptain "Stubby" Pearson, converted tackle, and Coach McLaughry, who will providethe Big Green with top-notch leadership this season.
FOUR MORE BITS OF GOOD NEWS Leading members of Dartmouth's strong end squad are (left to right) "Red" Krumm '43,Harry Gerber '43, Fred Carey '43, and Joe Crowley '43.
