Football
Since the last report, when Dartmouth had defeated New Hampshire and Brown and lost to Penn, the Indians have gone on to tie Holy Cross 7-7, lose to Harvard 28-21 and Yale 19-0, and defeat Columbia 14-0 and Cornell 27-14. Dartmouth's record now stands at four wins, three defeats and one tie, while in the official Ivy League the Big Green is in fourth place with three wins and three defeats. Yale leads the league with a 6-0 record, followed by Princeton, 5-1, and Pennsylvania, 4-3.
Dartmouth has not looked really impressive in any game thus far. The Big Green has shown occasional flashes of power when halfbacks have burst clear and now and again the passing has begun to look like the Bill Beagle era. On defense Dartmouth has also been erratic, holding with bulldog tenacity at certain times and then yielding at other crucial moments.
Certainly the chief factor for this showing has been the injury list. Seldom has a Dartmouth team been hit so hard by injuries, particularly to top players. Sports writers have taken to referring to the Dartmouth team this fall as "the crippled Indians" the "injury-riddled Dartmouth team" and "Blackman's bandaged brigade." One writer even went so far as to suggest that the game might better be played at Dick's House (the College infirmary).
Penalties and fumbles at crucial points have also hurt. Dartmouth has fumbled 33 times in seven games, an average of almost five fumbles per game, and the Indians have lost 18 of these bobbles, more than half. In 1955 Dartmouth was the least penalized team in the nation. This fall the Indians have drawn 25 penalties, many of them major ones, for a loss of 254 yards - nearly 40 yards in each game.
In scoring, however, Dartmouth and her opponents are neck and neck with the Indians accounting for 11 touchdowns against 11 for the opposition and running 396 plays against 386 for the opposition. Dartmouth has ground out 1,015 yards rushing and 617 yards through the air and has completed 41 out of 99 passes attempted.
On an individual basis, Dartmouth has few Ivy League leaders this fall. Captain Bob Rex leads the Ivy punters with a 41.4 yard average, while quarterback Mike Brown ranks fourth in passing with 32 completions in 69 attempts for 490 yards and two scores. Halfback Lou Rovero, thanks to the Columbia game, is back in the ground-gaining lead with 287 yards in 49 carries for a 5.9 yards-per-try average. Halfback Jim Burke has carried 58 times for 185 yards and a 3.2 average, while halfbacks Brian Hepburn and Jim Mueller have 3.4 and 4.0 averages respectively. Ron Fraser leads in the pass catching department with 11 receptions for 147 yards, trailed by Dave Moss with five for 73 yards and Monte Pascoe with four for 77 yards.
Finally, here are the highlights of the most recent four games:
Dartmouth 14, Columbia 0
In its final home appearance before some 9.000 shivering Houseparty fans Dartmouth defeated Columbia 14-0. Veteran halfback Lou Rovero returned to the Big Green lineup after a three-week absence, while Columbia's great quarterback and passing ace, Claude Benham, had to sit out the game with an injury received the previous week when Columbia upset Cornell. That was the difference. Rovero ran back a punt for 68 yards in the third quarter for the first Dartmouth score and dashed off a sparkling 31-yard run in the fourth period to set up the Indians' second score. Columbia, with Carmen Marnell replacing Benham, completed only three passes in 18 attempts and gained only 112 yards on the ground - less than Rovero's individual total of 173 yards in 26 carries. Rovero's yardage against Columbia, incidentally, has been exceeded only once, this by Dartmouth's great fullback Bill Roberts who piled up 195 yards against Holy Cross in 1949.
Except for Rovero's slashing runs and some clever ball-handling and passing by Dartmouth quarterback Mike Brown, the game offered little to the spectators who braved near-freezing weather to see the game. The first half was a scoreless fray with Columbia seeming to have the edge as they moved twice deep into Dartmouth territory, but pass interceptions in both cases stalled the Lion attack. Dartmouth, with Dave Bradley at quarterback, also rolled deep into Columbia territory, but fumbles and penalties at crucial points proved costly.
Early in the third stanza, with Mike Brown in the lineup, Dartmouth moved steadily downfield to the Columbia twoyard line. Brown's passing and Rovero's running were key factors in this drive, but a holding penalty stalled the attack and on the fourth down Rovero tried a field goal which went wide of the mark.
Columbia took over, could not move the ball and punted to Dartmouth halfback Jim Hernander on the 32-yard line. Hernander reversed to Rovero who cut over from the left side of the field and raced down the right sidelines for 68 yards and a touchdown. Guard Joe Palermo converted and Dartmouth led 7-0.
In the fourth quarter the Big Green halted a Columbia advance on the 18-yard line when Mike Brown intercepted a pass. The Indians moved for two first downs, then Rovero uncorked a dazzling 31-yard dash to the Columbia 19. Rovero, shaken up on the play, came out of the game to a standing ovation and watched as five plays later Mike Brown plunged over from the three-yard line for the final score. It was a disheartening loss for Columbia Coach Lou Little who retires this year but after upset wins over Harvard and Cornell, he can rest contented.
Yale 19, Dartmouth 0
A week before the Columbia game, the injury-riddled Dartmouth team met league-leading Yale in the Yale Bowl before 32,000 fans and lost by a 19-0 score. Fumbles and pass interceptions hurt the Indian cause, but there seemed no doubt that Yale was the better team, although certainly not up to the strength of their pre-season estimates.
Yale scored the first time it got the ball after the Big Green had lost it at the Yale 35 on a fumble. Dennis "the Menace" McGill scooted around left end for 24 yards, halfback Al Ward and fullback Steve Ackerman ripped through the Dartmouth line, and five plays later the Elis were camped on the Dartmouth 12. Quarterback Dean Loucks passed to Ward on the six and he went over for the score. A fumble and intercepted pass effectively stopped Dartmouth in the first period.
Dartmouth missed a golden opportunity in the second period when a long punt by Bob Rex was fumbled on the Yale 16-yard line by Yale's Stu Horwitz and Wayne Kakela recovered for the Indians. Dartmouth moved to the Yale 9 but was penalized for holding. Two of Brown's passes failed before he hit Hepburn on the 9-yard line again. However, another pass, this time by Doug Fusonie who replaced Brown, failed and Yale took over. Two minutes later, after an exchange of punts, McGill took the ball on the Yale 7-yard line and dashed 93 yards down the left sideline for the longest run seen in the Yale Bowl this year, and the Elis were out in front 13-0.
Quarterback Dave Bradley took over for Mike Brown who was injured slightly in the first half. Bradley had played against Yale the day before in the JV game, but showed no signs of strain and performed like a veteran. He sparked several Indian drives in the second half, but fumbles, interceptions and penalties prevented Dartmouth from scoring. Yale's final score came at the end of the game with their second and third teams in action. The Elis moved to the Dartmouth 10-yard line where a pass from Peet to Lourd scored just before the final gun sounded.
Harvard 28, Dartmouth 21
Certainly the most thrilling and spectacular game so far in the 1956 season was the annual Dartmouth-Harvard encounter played before a crowd of over 28,000 at the Harvard Stadium. It was a case, as Bill Cunningham '19 put it, of "Harvard strength proving too much for Dartmouth guile." After a 7-7 first period, Harvard led all the way.
Harvard's scores came largely as the result of steady, grinding land advances which the Indians seemed unable to halt, except on occasions. One Dartmouth score came from a pass and another was largely set up by passing. The third, and most spectacular of the afternoon, came in the third period when Dartmouth reserve halfback Jim Hernander took a punt on the Big Green 15-yard line and raced through what looked like the entire Harvard team, twisting and turning, then burst into the clear and sped for the score - an 85-yard run in all.
Harvard's first score came early in the first period on a seven-play, 40-yard advance sparked by a 16-yard pass from Simourian to Joslin. Halfback Walt Stahura, whose savage thrusts into the line hurt Dartmouth all afternoon, crashed over from two yards out. Dartmouth struck right back with Mike Brown passing 38 yards to end Dave Moss, then hitting Ron Fraser and Bob Rex to bring the ball deep into Crimson territory. A 15-yard penalty against Harvard for a personal foul brought the ball to the Crimson 2 and Mike Brown plunged over for the tally.
Harvard scored again in the second period on a sustained downfield march to go out in front, but the Indians tied it up in the third period on Hernander's long punt return. Late in the same period Harvard intercepted a Brown pass on Dartmouth's 36-yard line and then smashed the line in seven plays to pull ahead. In the final period, the Crimson got another TD when a Dartmouth punt was partially blocked and the Crimson halfbacks again went to work through the center. Dartmouth's last TD was scored in the final minute of play when Mike Brown completed three forward passes, the last one a ten-yard scoring toss to Bob Rex.
Dartmouth 7, Holy Cross 7
This game - Dartmouth's second home contest of the season - was covered briefly in a last-minute flash in the November issue. Actually the Big Green might well have pulled an upset by defeating the favored Crusaders, but fumbles and major penalties squelched several Big Green scoring thrusts and Holy Cross led 7-0 during most of the game. In a first half filled with fumbles and interceptions, neither team looked effective. With less than two minutes remaining in the half, Holy Cross recovered Burke's fumble on the Dartmouth 20-yard stripe and two plays later Holy Cross quarterback Bill Smithers passed to Captain Dick Arcand in the end zone. Arcand made a sensational, leaping catch and the Crusaders went off at halftime with a 7-0 lead.
After missing several good opportunities in the second half, the Indians got rolling with just five minutes left to play. Halfbacks Jim Mueller and Joe Graham ground out yardage, then Jim Burke, who had come into the game at halfback, sprinted 23 yards and Dartmouth had the ball on the. Crusader 12-yard line with just over two minutes to go. Mike Brown tossed a long one into the end zone and end Ron Fraser duplicated Arcand's feat by leaping high for an off-balance catch. Joe Palermo made the crucial conversion and the game was tied. Seconds later Dartmouth intercepted a Holy Cross pass and the fans came alive, hoping for a repeat of the 1953 last second victory. However, one of Mike Brown's passes was intercepted and the game was over.
Dave Bell, sophomore halfback, picking up four yards in the Harvard game before being stopped by the Crimson's center, Prichard.
Two bits of action in the Yale game show (top) sophomore back Brian Hepburn advancing to the Bulldog 9-yard line on a pass from Mike Brown, and (below) senior end Ron Fraser making a valiant try on another Brown pass. Both plays occurred in the second period.
Two bits of action in the Yale game show (top) sophomore back Brian Hepburn advancing to the Bulldog 9-yard line on a pass from Mike Brown, and (below) senior end Ron Fraser making a valiant try on another Brown pass. Both plays occurred in the second period.
Guilford Joyner (left), Dartmouth's new assistant track coach, formerly at William and Mary, poses with Head Coach Ellie Noyes '32 (center) and Captain Doug Brew '57 at a practice session! on Memorial Field, before the snow fell.
