Football: Six Easy Piećes

IN the afterglow of a 19-14 victory over Penn, Dartmouth's 100 th against an Ivy League team since 1956, and on the eve of a duel with Brown, a team that arrived in quest of its first win in Hanover since 1928 and its first victory over the Green since 1955 ("Dartmouth is the last skeleton in our closet," said Bruin coach John Anderson), consider the assets of some of the principal contributors to Dartmouth's best getaway in three years:

E Before I: Bob Freidl's contribution to Dartmouth football in 1974 was such that the 1975 press guide, alleged to be a picture of accuracy, mispronounced his name in the phonetic pronunciation guide. The senior from Easton, Pennsylvania, quit football as a sophomore, returned to play with the jayvees in 1974, and "decided to come back in shape" this fall.

Condition and the experience gained with the jayvees have made Freidl (as in idle, but hardly the case) Dartmouth's top running back this fall. Operating from the deep position in the I-formation, Freidl has averaged better than four yards per carry, scored a couple of touchdowns (both in the 28-7 comeback over Holy Cross), and provided the speed to the corners that was missing in 1974.

I Before E: Jeff Rieker (as in seeker) has been one of three defensive ends (Dan Murphy and Marty Milligan are the others) who have rotated through the flanks for two seasons. Never conspicuous, Rieker is a typical get-the-job-done type in a defense that has been dominated by a flashy linebacker corps. He missed a good deal of the 1974 season with a foot injury but has picked up a couple of fumbles and averaged four tackles pér game. The intricacies of Dartmouth football should be a snap for the Illinois transplant who now lives in Trumbull, Connecticut. This premed chemistry major currently stands first in the Class of '76 with marks that are in molecular weight range of 4.0.

The Extrovert: there was no way Mike Feasel could elude the contingent of Psi U's who descended on the Dartmouth sideline as the Holy Cross game ended. Feasel, who had just carted an intercepted pass 67 yards for the final of four touchdowns (a better single-game production than in any game in 1974), was transported across campus and invited to digest a couple of brews in celebration of his efforts. The safety from Ohio declined, so the brothers bathed him in the stuff instead.

"I'm a character, I like to do things loud," says Feasel, who has become one of the spiritual leaders among the seniors on this team. He did his thing loudly against Penn, too, returning a punt 57 yards to set up a field goal that contributed to the win that was the 499 th all-time football success for the Green. Working as the deep tandem with Tom Fleming, Feasel has helped restore one of Dartmouth's deadliest weapons, the punt return, to game-breaking proportions.

Mutt, Jeff and Dirk: How many teams have the luxury of two placement specialists, one for the short-range kicks and another for attempts from howitzer range? Look no farther. When the season began, it was expected that Jake Crouthamel would use either Chris Bjelland, the senior who was Dartmouth's scoring leader in 1974, or sophomore Nick Lowery, but not both. Well, Jake's using the pair.

Bjelland is a blond Norwegian whose asset is better consistency. He's Jeff in this kicking combination, while Lowery, who had a 51-yard field goal attempt during a pre-season scrimmage sail over the upright, is a lanky specialist who has developed a valuable talent for kicking off either out of the end zone or in squiggling fashion to the goal line. They collaborated for seven of the 19 points against Penn.

And Dirk? Last name is Nelson, and he's the punter from Middleport, New York, who has been specializing since a head injury during freshman baseball forced him to retire from the contact phase. The combination of experience, poise, and "holding the ball out a little bit farther" has added nearly five yards to his punting average (41.4 for seven kicks against Penn, including boots of 52 and 53 yards).

"Their kicking game made the difference," said Penn coach Harry Gamble, and Nelson has steadily mastered the art of putting the ball into the depths of opposition territory. "The kicking game is often overlooked in the final statistics," Crouthamel says, "yet it can be the determining factor in a close game." Harry Gamble would agree.

There's a new play in theDartmouth playbook, andit's called the Main StreetSweep. It starts when MikeFeasel intercepts a pass andreturns it 67 yards for atouchdown, as he didagainst Holy Cross (right).Part Two is the roundtripfrom Memorial Field to thePsi U house (above andbelow). His total yardagewent unrecorded - and sodid locker-room commentson his beery uniform.

There's a new play in theDartmouth playbook, andit's called the Main StreetSweep. It starts when MikeFeasel intercepts a pass andreturns it 67 yards for atouchdown, as he didagainst Holy Cross (right).Part Two is the roundtripfrom Memorial Field to thePsi U house (above andbelow). His total yardagewent unrecorded - and sodid locker-room commentson his beery uniform.

There's a new play in theDartmouth playbook, andit's called the Main StreetSweep. It starts when MikeFeasel intercepts a pass andreturns it 67 yards for atouchdown, as he didagainst Holy Cross (right).Part Two is the roundtripfrom Memorial Field to thePsi U house (above andbelow). His total yardagewent unrecorded - and sodid locker-room commentson his beery uniform.