Big Green Teams

DID you ever get the feeling as you watched a football game, either live or via the tube, that there is something in- nately insidious about the rhythmic chant generated by the masses as they plead for their stalwarts to hold the goal line secure.

You know the one: "Deee-fense, Deee-fense!!!"

I don't know about you but whenever I hear that mournful cry, there's a subconscious reaction that makes me wonder, "Am I using the right deodorant?" And, presuming the initial response is in the affirmative, the next question is, "Is it enough?" And then, if you're like me and spend an occasional hour in front of the tube on a Sunday afternoon or into the waning hours on Monday, and the next thing you see is a commercial plumping the stuff you've forsaken, you're really not at all sure.

Well, that chant may trigger different reactions in different people but where Dartmouth's football team is concerned, "Deee-fense, Deee-fense" has become the sweetest sound this side of Guy Lombardo.

Not that it hasn't been melodic in past seasons because it certainly has. What makes it more meaningful in 1974 is that Dartmouth's defenders have played an even greater role in providing positive notes for a season that is destined to be the Green's first losing campaign since 1968, the year before the five-year championship tear began.

Heading into the final week of the season, Dartmouth had a 3-5 record with third place in the Ivy League race the reward for victory in the wrap-up at Pennsylvania It's been a season that has seen the breaks which Dartmouth men (and, of late, women) presume to be their divine right where football is concerned become the prize of the foe.

To put things in a positive light, the victories over Columbia (21-0) and Cornell (21-9) came on the heels of narrow losses to the teams destined for the top spots in the standings - Yale and Harvard. These wins have been the product of more consistent offense than evident through much of the season and a perpetuation of the defensive sive effort that has made the Green the best in the league in that regard - although Yale and Brown would probably challenge the statement.

To capsule the record since our last offering, when Dartmouth stood 0-3, the Green nudged past Brown, 7-6, on the strength of halfback John Souba's 51-yard run, the conversion point provided by Norwegian specialist Chris Bjelland, and the defense which limited Brown to a pair of field goals. Brown, incidentally, is no longer the doormat that most presume is the Bruins' historic destiny. Ask Harvard, which was knocked from the cham- pionship doorstep by Brown, 10-7.

The Crimson, visiting Hanover for the first time since 1955, came away with a 1715 victory that was salvaged by the lastsecond, finger-tip deflection of a Mike Brait-to-Tom Fleming pass. Fleming, who was below par for most the season with a sprained foot, had beaten the Crimson secondary on the last play of the game, but the Harvard safety, Joe Sciolla, managed to nudge the ball off course. It marked the first time since 1968 that Harvard defeated Dartmouth; in the last four games the difference in total points between the two teams is seven.

Then came Yale, unbeaten powerhouse of the Ivy this fall. It was supposed to be a laugher for the Elis as Dartmouth's beleaguered forces entered the Bowl. When it was done and Yale had staggered away with a 14-9 victory by thwarting Dartmouth's late drive ten yards shy of a dramatic upset, all that Carm Cozza, the Yale coach, could say was, "I'm glad it ended when it did."

The Columbia game marked the emergence of halfback Roland Griggs. Columbia, headed toward another long season, gave the Green some problems for a while but Mr. Griggs, from Newark, Ohio, answered some of them when he replaced Souba, sufferer of a knee injury that required surgery. The red-headed sophomore ran for 20 yards on his first carry and finished the day with 125 yards in 27 carries. He also scored a touchdown and set up two others that were scored by junior fullback Rob Swenson. This, plus the ultimate reward for the defense - its first shutout of the season - made the Houseparties weekend a bright one.

Then to Cornell. The Big Red has had about as much success against Dartmouth during the past 20 years as Brown and Columbia, winning only two times since 1955. Still, the Green was clearly in another underdog role as it hit Schoellkopf Field. A couple of field goals, plus Fleming's good punt return that set up quarterback Tom Snickenberger's scoring dive in his first and last appearance before the hometown fans, made it 14-3 at halftime,

But Cornell recovered a fumble and quickly went 11 yards to come within range. Dartmouth, at this point, was in trouble as Cornell mounted another drive. Then along came Skip Cummins, the junior rover back who stands beside linebacker Reggie Williams as the finest athlete on this team, Tom Fleming notwithstanding. Cummins, who you'll recall is also the New England javelin record holder, stepped between Cornell quarterback Kevin Sigler and his intended receiver, and picked off the pass.

"It's a tough pass to defense, but also a dangerous pass for the offense to protect if it's intercepted," said Crouthamel. Cummins swiped it in front of the Cornell bench and took off down the sideline, thinking as he went, "Oh, my God, they're going to catch me, they're going to catch me." No one came close to Cummins on the 68-yard sprint, and Dartmouth's defenders had the next best thing to a shutout - a touchdown all their own. It sealed the game with nine minutes to play and from the Cornell stands came chants of "Good-bye, Jack," an ominous tune for Mr. Musick, the former Dartmouth assistant coach who beat the Green in his first try back in 1967 but has been unsuccessful ever since.

Through all the problems of offensive inconsistency, produced in large part by the fact that Crouthamel has had to produce eight different starting lineups as a result of assorted injuries, the defense has been the story of this season. Statistically, the Green has actually improved on its record of a year ago when it was winning gold helmet awards and assorted kudos during Dartmouth's comeback drive to the 1973 title.

Reggie Williams has been awesome in leading the defense. The 215-pound middle linebacker from Flint, Michigan, has averaged close to 15 tackles per game, has had a pair of interceptions and has been so conspicuous in every game that he is a shoo-in to repeat as an All-Ivy selection, a virtual certainty for All-East honors and, whether this season or next, will warrant legitimate All-America candidacy.

While Snickenberger and junior Mike Brait have been working at quarterback to bring order to the offense, the defense has kept Dartmouth close. The absence of the big play, the customary outside speed and the sizeable inside runner-blocker that didn't surface have taken a toll on the offense. Meanwhile, the defense has been doing its thing with abandon, like in the Yale game when the Elis scored the first two times they had the ball and then got stymied to the tune of 74 yards of total offense in the second half.

It's been a season that has evoked comments that this Dartmouth team has not been competitive. That is utterly absurd. The difference between a 3-3 record in the Ivy League at this juncture and a 6-0 record is 14 points. Looking at it from another standpoint, five straight Ivy League championships, in the eyes of seven other teams in this league, isn't particularly competitive, either.

SOCCER

After losing five games by a goal, it might have been understandable for Dartmouth's soccer team to pack its tent, fade into the sunset, and await better times in another season. Such was not the case for Tom Griffith's first team. After beating Princeton, 5-0, the Green played well in a losing cause to the Ivy champs from Brown, 5-3, and then stumbled in a perplexing duel with Harvard, 2-1.

Then began the revival. At Yale, the Green gave up a goal in the first minute of play but came back to even things with Steve Alford's score. It ended that way, 1-1, but it was a beginning.

Led by junior Bruce Bokor, the stubby forward from Tenafly, New Jersey, and goalie Mark Porto from Westwood, New Jersey, Dartmouth turned back Columbia 3-0, and then stopped Cornell, the topranked team in the NCAA District Two tourney, 1-0. Porto got both of the shutouts (Columbia hasn't scored on him in three years) and Bokor, who has scored but one goal this season, continued to contribute assists. He had a pair against Columbia, and fed Keith Mierez for the lone tally at Cornell. Entering the final game, he was the Ivy League's scoring leader with nine points, all on assists. That equaled an Ivy season record, and he also has a more than substantial hold on the Dartmouth season and career records for assists.

Heading toward Penn, the Green had a 3-2-1 record in Ivy games, the best showing for the booters since 1964, when Whitey Burnham's squad shared the Ivy title "The Cornell game was a real confidence builder," said Griffith. "A lot of our players haven't really known what it's like to win. They're beginning to believe in themselves."

CROSS COUNTRY

After building three dual wins, including an upset win at Columbia, the Green runners were the victim of injury, illness, and some solid competition as Harvard and Northeastern visited Hanover and took convincing wins. The dual season, however, served as a prelude for Coach Ken Weinbel's primary target, success in the championship meets.

It didn't come out that way. In the Heptagonal meet, the Green was a disappointing eighth, and Dartmouth's first man to finish was freshman Dean Stephens, from Thomaston, Connecticut, who was 28th. Next came the New England meet at Boston, and Dartmouth finished fourth behind excellent teams from Providence, Massachusetts, and Northeastern. Andy Walker, a junior, was the first Green finisher in 18th place and Stephens was 23rd.

That set the stage for the IC4A meet on the same Van Cortlandt Park course in New York as was used for the Heps. While all of the Dartmouth times improved measurably over the Heps performance, the Green still finished 16th; Stephens was the Green leader in 63rd place even though his time was 21 seconds better than he had run at the Heps.

FIELD HOCKEY

Dartmouth's field hockey squad produced a 6-2-2 record, the best for Coach Aggie Kurtz's squad since the women's sport was established in 1972. The finale was the Northeast College Tournament in which the Green won two of three matches, defeating Wheaton and Central Connecticut. From that tournament Sandy Helve, from Boxford, Massachusetts, was chosen for the collegiate team entered in the Northeast Sectional Tournament. Mary Corrigan. who joined the Dartmouth staff this fa" and will take over as field hockey coach next season, was selected to coach the collegiate all-stars. Freshman Jane Kirrstetter was the leading scorer for the season with 11 goals.

FROSH-JV SPORTS

For the second straight season, Dartmouth's jayvee football team - the Triple-A squad - posted an undefeated (5-0) record. The team was led by sophomore quarterback Kevin Case, from Davenport, lowa, who completed 29 of 44 passes for 414 yards and seven touchdowns (he also ran for four scores and gained 246 yards rushing). The varsity reserves averaged 37 points per game, allowed only 47 points total in five games and, except for a 31-28 win at Massachusetts, were never in a close game.

Dartmouth's frosh gridders posted a 4-2 record in their first season under coach Wayne Donner. The frosh beat Maine, Harvard, Yale, and New Hampshire while falling to Brown and Boston College.

The freshman soccer team, led by Roy Matic, of Cleveland, Ohio, who had six goals, produced a 5-3-2 record, and came through with three wins and a tie (over previously undefeated Exeter) in the last four games.

The Jayvee cross country team had a final record of 0-3, while the jayvee field hockey team was winless in four games.

JACK DEGANGE

Winter Schedules

BASKETBALL - December 2, Vermont; 5, Holy Cross; 19, at Harvard; 27-28, Kodak Classic (Dartmouth, Georgetown, Syracuse, Rochester) at Rochester; January 8, Maine; 10, at Princeton; 11, at Pennsylvania; 18, Springfield; 20, at Boston College; 25, at Boston University; 28, St. Anselm's: 31, at Columbia; February 1, at Cornell; 7, Brown; 8, Yale; 11, at New Hampshire; 14, Pennsylvania; 15, Princeton; 21, at Yale; 22, at Brown; 25, Harvard; 28, Cornell; March 1, Columbia.

HOCKEY - December 2, at New Hampshire; 4, at Boston University; 29-30, UNH Tourney at Durham, N. H. (Dartmouth, Pennsylvania, St. Mary's, New Hampshire); January 10, Vermont; 11, Cornell; 15, at Harvard; 18, Pennsylvania; 21, at Boston College; 25, Yale; 28, at St. Lawrence; 30, at Northeastern; February 1, Clarkson; 6, Boston College; 8, at Cornell; 14, at Princeton; 15, at Pennsylvania; 19, at Yale; 22, Brown; 24, Providence; 26, Harvard; March 1, at Brown.

SWIMMING - January 11, at Navy; 15, at Connecticut; 18, Pennsylvania; 25, at SPringfield; February 1, Princeton; 7, Colgate; 8, Army; 15, at Yale; 22, at Cornell; March 1, Brown; 6-8 ESIS Championship Meet at Dartmouth 27-29, NCAA Meet at Cleveland, Ohio.

Marty Milligan (88) helps ground Cornell rushing leader Dan Malone during the Greenwin at Ithaca. Abandoning the run, Cornell passed ... and passed 45 times in all.

Skip Cummins intercepts against Columbia.He got the decisive touchdown at Ithaca.