With the Big Green Teams

IF there is one thing that can be said with reasonable certainty, it is that the 1968 Dartmouth football season is a montage of absolute unpredictability.

One well-defined fact that marks the early weeks of the campaign is the nearperfect performance by Princeton in defeating the Indians 34-7 on October 12 before a record Hanover gathering of 19,635 spectators. While that encounter is hardly the optimistic note upon which to preface this review of the first four games, it is worthy of note that on the heels of that dubious encounter, Bob Blackman's forces unleashed an awesome display of offensive power that thoroughly dismantled Brown 48-0 a week later.

A quick chronicling of events since September 28 will give the impression that the 1968 Indians are descendants of some sort of undulating serpent - the season's performance has been one of peaks and valleys, both from the standpoint of performance and spirit.

A good pre-season practice period was brought to a resounding climax with a well-earned 21-15 victory over highly regarded Boston College. Green optimism was carried a step further as a tremendously improved New Hampshire team visited Memorial Field and was put down 21-0.

Then the roof caved in. Not only were the Indians defeated by Holy Cross in Worcester, 29-17, and a week later by Princeton, but the squad was struck with a rash of injuries that was unparalleled in Blackman's 19 previous seasons as a head coach.

There you have it - high spots and very low spots - but as these notes are penned on the eve of the trek to Cambridge, it looks as though the Indians have begun to find themselves, both spiritually and physically. This is a young team, utilizing a wealth of juniors and sophomores. It has its share of experienced seniors and it would be an injustice at this early season juncture to say that the team is building toward 1969. As Coach Blackman pointed out on the eve of the triumph over Brown, there is great similarity between this team and the 1959 Indians who came out of their first four games with a tie and three losses and proceeded to win the last five games.

The entire campus felt the misery of the Princeton loss but the Indians, gathered in Davis Varsity House after the game, were not about to throw in the towel. The game challenged each man on the squad to prove that this is a good team. There was electricity in the air the following Saturday and the rain-drenched crowd saw the Green explode.

Playing without the services of four regulars (Deke Olmsted, Pete Lawrence, Sam Faber, and Rick Lease), and with a flock of others at less than full strength, the Indians bombarded Brown from every angle. After three performances that were less than spectacular, the ball started to bounce for the Indians.

This was literally true on the second touchdown of the day for Dartmouth. It was early in the second period and sophomore Jim Chasey was at quarterback. His call was a pitchout to the left side to halfback Bob Lundquist. As Lundquist was about to turn upfield he was completely hemmed in by Brown defenders. He shoveled the ball back to Chasey who was trailing the play. The ball came to Chasey on a bounce and the agile signal-caller looped around the traffic, cut diagonally across the field and headed toward a touchdown. He was caught at the one yard line after a 62 yard run and fumbled the ball into the end zone where Captain Randy Wallick smothered it for the score.

The Brown game was one of Randy's finest efforts at Dartmouth. The Indians' leader is a quiet captain whose credo is simply, "Do as I do." There isn't a harder worker in the history of Dartmouth football than Randy Wallick and his leadership has helped make this Indian team one of the best-honed arrays in many years on the Hanover Plain.

In addition to recovering the fumble for six points, Randy made a spectacular catch of a 36-yard touchdown pass from Bill Koenig after time had elapsed in the first half against the Bruins. He took the ball on his fingertips and his momentum sent him sliding into the goal post.

Most encouraging about the Brown victory was the total offense performance. The Indians accumulated 493 yards rushing and another 115 passing for 608 yards of total offense. The effort was six yards short of the Ivy League record set a week earlier by Yale against Brown. The total rushing yardage broke a 10-year-old record set by Princeton against Columbia by just two yards.

Briefly recapping the Brown game scoring, in addition to Wallick's two touchdowns, the Indians were bolstered by Lundquist and Tom Miller, the latter a junior halfback who also has looked good as the squad's punter. Both scored twice. Lundquist took a flat pass from Chasey and went 58 yards down the sideline for one score and skirted left end for 31 yards and another. Miller took a 20-yard scoring pass from Koenig and closed the afternoon's action with a 21-yard run late in the third period. Clark Beier scored Dartmouth's initial touchdown on a one-yard plunge.

Beier's tale is an interesting factor in the Dartmouth football picture this fall. A 5-10 junior from Brookfleld, Wis., he stepped into the starting lineup against Princeton after Bob Mlakar was lost for the season on the final play of the Holy Cross game. (Mlakar suffered a broken leg and another starter, sophomore middle guard Bob Kelcourse, was also lost indefinitely with a knee injury against the Crusaders.)

Beier is the quickest man in the Dartmouth backfield. He broke loose for 15 yards and the Green's only touchdown against Princeton after his backup man, Tom Quinn, had returned a Princeton kickoff 73 yards midway in the first period.

The injury picture was never gloomier than during the days before the Princeton game. During midweek, 11 players were unable to practice with varying injuries. By the kickoff several were back in action but during the first half both Pete Lawrence, the 6-4, 230-pound defensive end, and Deke Olmsted, the best interior offensive lineman at left tackle, were both sidelined with injuries.

The physical problems didn't help the Indians but it cannot be used as a reason for the loss to the Tigers. Princeton's performance was nearly flawless. On offense the Tigers uncorked not one but three tailbacks - Scott MacBean, Brian McCullough, and Dick Bracken - and moved the ball around the Dartmouth flanks with discouraging efficiency. The depth of this year's Princeton team is best shown at tailback where Bracken, their captain and total offense leader for the past two seasons, is now the third man on the depth chart and also alternates at fullback.

Dartmouth's spirits zoomed after the Indians scored on Beier's run but the situation darkened as Princeton twice held the Green inside the two-yard line. These turning points showed that it wasn't to be Dartmouth's day, particularly in the fourth period when Princeton took the ball on its own one-yard line and marched 99 yards in 22 plays for the final score.

The consensus among the Dartmouth coaches following the game was that the Indians had not played poorly but that Princeton played one of its finest contests. The Tigers controlled the ball for 99 plays compared with 52 for Dartmouth.

The biennial trek to Fitton Field in Worcester was little short of a nightmare. Coming off a well-earned but lackluster victory over New Hampshire and with the thoughts of the key Ivy League debut with Princeton lurking in the wings, nothing went right for the Indians.

With the help of a short Dartmouth punt and a pass interference penalty against the Green, Holy Cross took a quick lead. The Crusaders recovered a Dartmouth fumble seconds later and on the first play Phil O'Neil passed to Holy Cross' fine end, Bob Neary for a 45-yard touchdown. Another Green fumble led to a third Crusader score before Chasey guided a 66-yard drive that was capped by Mlakar's nine-yard run for the touchdown.

Holy Cross' 19-7 halftime lead was cut to two points early in the third period as Pete Donovan kicked a 36-yard field goal and the Indians quickly followed with a 55-yard drive, culminating in Lundquist's one-yard plunge. But that was as close as the Green could come. An intercepted pass was returned 36 yards for a Crusader touchdown and the Purple added a fourth-period field goal.

The season opened with a solid win over New Hampshire that was significant in that the Dartmouth defense held a dangerous New Hampshire attack in check (including a fine goal line stand in the third period that might have given UNH a big morale boost had they scored) while the offense moved the ball for 116 yards on the ground and 142 in the air. Lundquist scored twice on runs of two and 17 yards, and Dave Boyle, the pint-sized fullback (180 pounds), added another.

There are several players who merit comment for their play thus far. Chasey, who has been the starting quarterback since the Princeton game, is revealing the poise and ability to react under fire. A fine competitor, his style differs from Koenig's in that Chasey throws a softer pass and is a more deceptive runner.

Boyle is another key man in the backfield. Despite his size, he is an amazingly effective blocker and a tremendous asset in leading the power sweeps.

The overall play of Randy Wallick at right end and John Ritchie, a junior who plays beside Randy at tackle, has added to the success of the running game, which jumped from eighth place in the Ivy League statistics after the Princeton game to second place following the Brown contest.

Larry Killgallon is a 205-pound junior from Bryan, Ohio, who probably feels a bit like a rubber ball for all the bouncing he's done through both the offensive and defensive lineups since his freshman year. He's been a fullback, a tackle on both offense and defense, and now is proving his value as Bob Kelcourse's replacement at middle guard. Larry was outstanding against both Princeton and Brown after missing five weeks of activity with a broken leg suffered during the first week of pre-season practice.

In looking back, the early weeks of the 1968 season bear many similarities to the 1964 season when Princeton came to Hanover and administered a 37-7 defeat to the Green. The Indians proceeded to bounce back from that long afternoon and every indication is that they are reacting in same fashion this fall.

The flood of injuries appears to be subsiding and the prospect of evening some accounts with Yale and Cornell for the only defeats in 1967 make the coming weeks loom much brighter.

It is a young team that seems to have overcome its early bout with adversity and is preparing to reveal its true ability.

industrialist Takejiro Shindo (c) had leading roles in creating the Foundation to promoteAmerican studies in Japanese schools and universities.On a power sweep against Brown, Bob Lundquist (27) carries behind the blockingof guard Dave Mills (69), quarterback Jim Chasey (17), and fullback Dave Boyle (41).

On his way to Dartmouth's only touchdown against Princeton is halfback Clark Beier,who went around end for 15 yards. End Jack Wimsatt (88) cleared the way.

A headache for Dartmouth all afternoonwas Princeton tailback Brian McCulloughshown sweeping end for a 7-yard score.

Charley Silcox (11) directs an up field attack against Brown. Forward Gary Gasparraces ahead at left, and running with Silcox is Stelios Orphanoudakis. Defendingfor the Bruins is Tom Morrissey, a Hanover boy. Brown won 6-3.