With the Big Green Teams

THERE is, among some philosophers of history, a reasoning that the events of the ages occur in a seemingly cyclical pattern. They discern in the course of human events a recurring scheme of things. If this be true, the 1968 edition of Dartmouth football will rank with the finest of bygone years.

Think back over the past six seasons of Dartmouth's performance in the Ivy League. The year 1962 produced the first undefeated, untied aggregation since 1925 and the Big Green's second formal Ivy League championship. A year later, Dartmouth shared the crown with Princeton. The 1964 team had to settle for a fourth-place finish.

The Indians of 1965 need little introduction. Their undefeated record, Ivy championship, and Lambert Trophy performance rank them as perhaps the finest team in Dartmouth annals.

On to 1966 and another instance where the laurels were divided - Dartmouth, Princeton, Harvard - and then a year ago the pattern came full circle for the second time. By closing the 1967 season a notch behind Yale's championship team, the Indians set the stage for the commencement of a new cycle of championship, then a co-championship, to be followed by a year of untitled reward.

As this is written Coach Bob Blackman's forces have yet to complete preseason practice. Ahead lies what may easily rank as the most consistently difficult succession of Saturdays a Dartmouth team has ever known.

The prelude to the Ivy League schedule much - improved New Hampshire and Holy Cross — is a foretaste of the strength of the 1968 competition. The fate of Dartmouth and Princeton, which rank with Cornell as the chief pretenders to Yale's throne, will be resolved with dispatch as the largest crowd in Memorial Field history descends upon Hanover for the first game of the Ivy schedule on October 12. It will be the first step on a momentous trek.

It was Blackmail's former aide, Joe Yukica, now the coach at Boston College, who shed light on a key reason why Dartmouth should fare well this fall. "There is no better weapon for a football team than a winning tradition," he said, shortly before bringing the Eagles to Hanover for a preseason scrimmage. "Dartmouth has that tradition. It will always produce the necessary reaction in the face of adversity."

If the Big Green ever faced up to adversity, they certainly did before the opening kickoff of this season. One of the most gruelling 18-day periods of double sessions drew to a close in midSeptember and led Blackman to quip, "I'm not sure who's happier to see double sessions end, the players or the coaches."

The blistering pace, which produced an unusually heavy number of assorted injuries, showed the mettle of this squad.

"We are going to be a good team," said a bone-weary Bill Koenig, the riflearm junior quarterback from Salem, Ore.

"This team has more spirit than the others I've been on at Dartmouth," said Bill Donovan, senior halfback from Concord, Mass., who spun off an eye-opening 76-yard scoring run in the annual Green and White intrasquad game.

The captain — quiet, conscientious Randy Wallick — also points to an unusual attitude on the squad. "You've got to give Yale the edge, but I think we have a good shot at the title," said Randy.

The scholarly end from Dixon, III., is best described as a man who leads by example. As hard as each player has worked this fall, none has given more than Randy. "The pre-season work was tough," he said, "but I'm confident it will make us a better team."

Here is a general assessment of the Indians at this early juncture:

(1) A lightweight but veteran offensive backfield will have good speed and pass-catching ability.

(2) An offensive line which was hard hit by graduation must be rebuilt around Wallick and tackle Deke Olmsted.

(3) A promising defensive line is expected to unveil a number of new faces and improve with age.

(4) With the graduation of two exceptional performers, Gordie Rule and Steve Luxford, the defensive backfield is among the biggest question marks. It is proving to be one of the brightest situations for Blackman & Co.

The competition for positions is hottest at quarterback where Koenig, who shared duties with Gene Ryzewicz last fall, is being challenged by sophomore Jim Chasey.

"Koenig has a remarkably strong arm and can really fire the ball," said Blackman. "Jim Chasey has the potential to be one of our finest quarterbacks."

Chasey, who stands 6-1 and hails from Los Gatos, Calif., has shown poise and agility. He threw eight touchdown passes for the freshmen last season. At the same time, Koenig was collecting 600 yards in the air as a sophomore and was gaining the vital experience to meet the challenge of field leadership.

Not to be overlooked, either, is senior Bill Kinschner from Cleveland, the young man who has been holding for field goals and extra points. He'll likely see spot duty.

If they remain healthy, the halfback trio of Bob Mlakar, Bill Donovan, and Bob Lundquist could prove devastating.

Mlakar is the lithe junior from Cleveland who exploded as a sophomore to earn a reputation as a pass-receiver and deceptive runner. He led the Indians with 25 receptions and was the top man in punt and kickoff returns. He may be one of the finest backs in the East this fall.

The onus of injuries continues to dog Lundquist who played only 65 seconds in 1967 after breaking his collarbone in a pre-season scrimmage. The swift senior from St. Paul, Minn., who stands 6-1 and weighs 190 pounds, suffered a sprained ankle and broken nose prior to the opening game. He responded quickly, however, and should be one of the best passreceivers in the league.

"Fellows like Bill Donovan and our fullback, Dave Boyle, are perfect examples of why our backfield picture looks pretty good," said Blackman. "Bill weighs only 170 pounds and Dave, who weighs 178, was by 30 pounds the lightest fullback in the league last season. Still they are such tremendous competitors that some of our bigger men haven't been able to move past them in the lineup." Boyle, from Hendersonville, Tenn., is the Big Green's top returning rusher.

The major hurdle in both the offensive and defensive lines is inexperience. On the offensive side, the primary concern is to bring along replacements for All-Ivy tackle Hank Paulson, guards Skip Small and Jerry Kirkpatrick, and center Dave Skinner.

Four juniors - John Ritchie from Long Beach, Calif., Tim Schad from Grand Rapids, Mich., Dave Mills from Muskegon, Mich., and Ed Smith from Kirkville, N.Y. - are the early succes- sors at tackle, the two guard spots, and center. Supporting them is primarily a sophomore group. The need for building game experience is obvious.

Wallick and Jack Wimsatt from Chevy Chase, Md., offer a veteran end combination but that picture was unsettled when Wimsatt pulled a hamstring on the first day of practice. His recovery has been slow and a sophomore, Darrel Gavle, from Albert Lea, Minn., has shown good blocking and receiving ability as his replacement.

The defensive line is being anchored around tackle Jeff Norton from Albany, N.Y., and Pete Lawrence, the 6-4, 230-pound end from Cherry Hill, N.J. Ernie Babcock, who plays alongside Lawrence at left tackle, is a strong 6-5 junior from Milton, Mass.

"Our defensive linemen and linebackers are progressing slower than we had hoped," said Blackman. "We were looking for early help from some sophomores and juniors but they haven't come along nearly as fast as we had expected."

Coach Jake Crouthamel, whose dour expression sometimes belies the situation, has the good fortune of a substantial stock of defensive backs. The two best appear to be Sam Faber, the tenacious rover back from Harrisburg, Pa., who is president of the Undergraduate Council this year, and Rick Wallick. Rick is Randy's twin brother and has stamped himself as the man to beat at left halfback. He and Faber are working with pint-size safety Jack Roberts, the 5-9 junior from Stevens Point, Wis., whose fourth-quarter interception launched the drive toward the deciding field goal against Princeton, and Joe Adams, another junior from Muleshoe, Tex., who has gained the right halfback assignment.

Word on the kicking game is both bright and otherwise. Pete Donovan, whose accurate toe proved decisive last fall against Harvard and Princeton, has shown himself to be stronger this fall. The junior from Chevy Chase, Md., has been connecting from the 30-yard line and beyond.

The punting situation, which reached low ebb last year, was dealt a severe blow when a fine sophomore prospect, Jay Bennett from Edina, Minn., was idled indefinitely with a kidney injury. The jury is still out on a reliable punter.

All told, much will depend on the rapid development of an aggregation of sophomores and a number of juniors who saw jayvee action a year ago.

There are also some new faces in the coaching staff this fall. Charlie Harding, one of the University of Virginia's finest quarterbacks and a successful high school coach at Middletown, Pa., for the past three years, was named offensive backfield and end coach following the sudden death of Earl Hamilton, who had worked with Coach Blackman for 15 years.

Quent Currie, who had been freshman line coach, has moved to a similar position with the varsity staff, succeeding John Anderson who is now with Joe Yukica at Boston College.

Coach Bob Blackman with Captain Randy Wallick (l) of Dixon, Ill., starting offensiveend, and twin brother Rick Wallick, veteran performer at defensive halfback.

Aerial view of Memorial Field showing the new football stands (right) which areready for the '68 season and will increase total capacity from 15,000 to 21,000.

Quarterbacks who will be directing theBig Green attack are (l to r) Bill Koenig,Bill Kinschner, and Jim Chasey.