With Big Green Teams
DAME FORTUNE HAS handed Earl Brown two serious setbacks as the first signs of Indian Summer announce the gridiron season and the Dartmouth football squad continues to prepare for the opening game with Holy Cross (two weeks away as of this writing). First, and most important, are the injuries to three key men—Scott Miler, Bill Bennett, and Bob Hicks. Second, and even more disheartening since it could have been prevented, is the ever growing list of ineligibilities, which has already taken a toll of Frank Kiernan, Lou Sappannos, John Walker, and Carl Ward, without the Navy list.
Last season Coach Brown, who had succeeded Tuss McLaughry as head coach, lost only one prospect through an ineligibility ruling, and no one was injured prior to the Holy Cross game, which the Indians managed to win 3-0 on a lastminute field goal. This year the story has reversed itself, and as a result the potentiality of the Big Green eleven has been weakened.
Scott Miler, who at the outset of practice was predicted to be an outstanding back, mainly because of his exceptional running ability, has been sidelined for over a month and is not expected back in uniform until the Notre Dame game in Boston, October 14. Bill Bennett, one of the four lettermen on the squad, has been lost for the rest of the year because of an internal disorder which has 'hospitalized him for four weeks; and Bob Hicks will not see action until after the opener, unless his injury heals faster than is anticipated. A former University of Tennessee center, Hicks was counted upon to hold down this position on the 1944 eleven, and although Gordon Grant has improved, he will fall short of filling the vacancy left by Hicks.
Dartmouth's coaching staff (one of the youngest in the country) of Milt Piepul, Walt Marshall, and Earl Brown has been working with an 85-man squad since July 17 and as each succeeding day passes it is evident that this year's eleven will in no way be equal to last year's group which won six of its seven games to gain third ranking in the East. Brown, then in his first year as a head m.entor, had only one problem, which he solved. He had to install a new system, and at the same time make fifteen or twenty individual stars work as one unit. These men—Andrejco, Mangene, Vorys, Burroughs, Monahan, Russell, to mention only a few—were already proven at other colleges, and some had already been signed for pro football. However, this year his problems are many, and although pre-season predictions are always precarious, it is hard to see victories over Notre Dame, Cornell, and Yale, which has risen from the depths of obscurity to become one of the leading powerhouses in the East, if not in the country.
Inexperience is the main weakness on paper, but lack of depth will be the cause of any defeat the Big Green may suffer during the long eight-game schedule. In a recent talk, Earl Brown stated that "it is hard to go beyond the first two teams. We have a good freshman ball club, with several sophomore stars."
The three returning lettermen are Carl McKinnon, Art Young, and Hal Clayton. McKinnon won his letter in 1942 when, as a freshman, he starred for Tuss McLaughry. Young, talented backstop for Jeff Tesreau's nine, saw limited work as a reserve guard behind Roger Antaya and Charlie Bodley; and Hal. Clayton, at present the outstanding prospect on the team, alternated with Alex Wizbicki.
That was the nucleus of the lao-man squad when the first day of practice began in July. Added to these three men were two transfers, Ted Youngling and Bob Hicks, the latter now lost for three weeks. Youngling, 195-pound guard, played some for Carl Snavely's Cornell team and may develop into an outstanding lineman, although he is not expected to oust McKinnon from his starting right guard berth.
At left guard a newcomer has stolen the spotlight, Nick Fusilli, aoo-pound rugged Marine, whose only experience was gained at Paterson (N. J.) East Side High School. Nick is undoubtedly one of the most promising linemen ever to don a Big Green uniform, and for that reason has kept Art Young from the first team. These four players will be one of the reasons for any success enjoyed by the current eleven, and give the Indians four of the best guards in the country. The center of the line, as a result, is better than last season, with the exception of Alvarez, and it will not be surprising to see a majority of the plays go in this direction. However, with Hicks temporarily sidelined, the center has become a weak spot, mainly because Coach Marshall has not found anyone to replace Gordon Grant, now filling the spot left open. Grant, former Middlesex prep ace, is ten pounds lighter and three inches smaller than Hicks, but makes up for it by his clever- backing-up of the line. This, unfortunately, does not compensate for the experience which Bob gained at the University of Tennessee. Behind, Grant, moreover, there is little to count on.
Three giant tackles are at present battling it out for starting honors, with the edge going to Bob Harvey at right and Wid Washburn at left. The third man is Walt Morton, Navy V-12 trainee. Harvey and Washburn saw limited action in the latter part of the 1943 season and have an average weight of 215 pounds to go along with the valuable playing time they have seen.
If Dartmouth is to enjoy even a fairly successful year, the ends will have to improve 100% over what they have shown to date. Although Brown himself was an All-American end, he has not been able to uncover or even develop anyone who can fill Monahan's or Russell's shoes. Herein is the real weakness of the Green, and it will have to be remedied. None of the prospects has ever played college ball, and in each case high school play was limited to reserve duty. The two outstanding prospects, and their margin is only hairline over their rivals, are Gerry Peck and Roy Morter, right and left end respectively. Peck is a clever receiver and faster than the others, but lacks the weight necessary for defensive play. Morter, potentially the best end on the team, has had trouble in carrying out his assignments, but is a good tackier. Three other candidates have been pressing them, with Rollin Sontag, a product of Poly Prep in Brooklyn, leading the field. Although the heaviest man among the ends, he has had no experience with which to cope with opposition wingmen, one of whom will be Paul Walker, Yale's All-American. Roger Hammond and Ed Miller are close behind, but both are newcomers to football. Perhaps the biggest blow up to now was the loss of Frank Kiernan, 6' s" Chicago Latin hopeful, through the medium of low marks. Moreover, Norm Falkin, allmetropolitan Brooklyn Tech star and one of the outstanding end prospects to enter Dartmouth in recent years, will not be able to play until the Brown game because of a first-term ruling.
Two strong backfields will be the power that the Indians will have to rely upon this year, and here there is no lack of high school stars, who, with four years of normal playing time behind them, might develop into some of the finest backs in the country. The starting first-team group is expected to be Hal Clayton at full, Charley Holt at quarterback, and Ed Gingrich and Dick Bennett at the halfs. Clayton has been regarded by sportswriters as. a possible All-American, and to go along with his 205-pound, 6' 1" frame he has an entire year under the Brown "T" formation. Clayton has tremendous leg drive, and is counted upon to carry the burden of kicking extra points.
Holt, reserve halfback in 1942, will be the signal caller and in recent scrimmages has revealed considerable ingenuity. Although he is only a fair passer, Piepul considers him the most improved player on the squad. Bennett is well known in Greater Boston circles despite his 16- month's stay on Guadalcanal, which won him a coveted medal. While at Waltham High he won all-state honors, and this year he will do plenty of running, kicking, and passing. A 17-year-old freshman, Ed Gingrich, is the one triple-threat back on the squad. Last year Ed co-captained the Winthrop (Mass.) High team to one of its best records in years, and now is the Number 1, and only, right halfback oh the team who is capable of filling the spot left by Bob Mangene and Joe Andrejco. Besides his passing and hard running, he will carry the burden of punting, which may equal Monahan's efforts.
To spell these men Brown has Britt Lewis at quarter; Harry Bonk, a talented fullback, despite his size; and Lenny Robinson at half. Robinson, who played at Mineola High on Long Island, may start the Crusader game in place of Bennett.
Although only 22 men have been mentioned, the squad numbers over 35, the majority of whom will see little action in coming encounters. Throughout this review, experience has been the key word, and this is what the squad lacks, particularly necessary in the "T" formation. This is what Head Coach Brown has mentioned as the main weakness, and this is what last year's team had. The general prospect is not too bright, especially if last year's record is to be taken as a standard. The schedule is harder, and, with the exception of the Ivy League champ, Pennsylvania, the opposition has improved. Three opponents appear at this stage to be almost insurmountable—Cornell, Yale, and Notre Dame—but actual results differ a great deal from what is down on paper, and Dartmouth will be represented by the best that the material on hand permits. So much for the football picture. Although the gridiron sport naturally holds the spotlight during the next two months, other Big Green teams are also active this fall.
VETERANS OF 1942 TEAM, Charlie Holt '45 (above) and Carl McKinnon '46 are both back as members of the V-12 Unit. Holt is directing the Big Green at quarterback and McKinnon is again at guard.
VETERANS OF 1942 TEAM, Charlie Holt '45 (above) and Carl McKinnon '46 are both back as members of the V-12 Unit. Holt is directing the Big Green at quarterback and McKinnon is again at guard.
A QUARTET of NEWCOMERS to the Big Green backfield squad this season are left to right Ed Gingrich '48, freshman from Winthrop (Mass.) High, Joe Hayes (Marine), Harry Bonk (Navy) and Dick Bennett (Marine) . Gingrich and Bennett halfbacks, and Bonk, fullback, have been teaming up with Charlie Holt '45, quarterback, as a top back field unit.
1944 Eleven, Composed of Inexperienced Players, Still a Big Question Mark as Start of Season Arrives
