Valpey's Squad, With 4 New Faces, Practices Under Game Conditions

A football player lay face down on the soggy turn; men in red and white jerseys gather around the still form.

Art Valpey's voice carried across the practice field. "You have exactly two minutes to get him either off the field or ready to play."

"That's pretty heartless thing to say," a spectator observed.

On the row of benches next to him, a furniture turned around. "When the coach says actual game conditions, he means actual game conditions. Two minutes is all you can delay the game."

The spectator moved away.

Only Kick-off Missing

There were other signs of "actual game conditions," even down to referees and their natural consequences, penalties. The only thing missing, in fact, was the kick-off. As far as injuries go, it is the most dangerous; and besides, it takes up too much time.

The Whites, made up mainly of varsity men, beat the Reds, 40 to 0.

Actually, there were only four new faces on the Whites. In no special order, they belonged to tailback Carroll Lowenstein, fullback Johnny West, end Al Wilson, and end Fred Ravreby.

Big Little Man

Lowenstein, whose weight and height both considerably increase when he puts on football cleats, is the little man who played such a large hand on last season's freshman team. By hand or by foot, he can propel the ball with admirable accuracy.

During the afternoon's entertainment, he demonstrated these long-sought abilities by completing five out of seven passes, two of them for touchdowns, and by once punting the ball 55 yards. He also carried the ball for a third score. Lowenstein is expected to contribute to Harvard's passing attack next fall; but unless Jim Kenary's, Jimmy Noouan's and/or Chuck Roach's dead throwing arms return from Limbo by next September, he is Harvard's passing attack.

West was a fullback a la Ted Fritch with the freshman team two years ago, but was sidelined last season with a mild case of blue-book fatigue. The new Lamont practice field seems to have cured his ills, however, and West will probably be filling in for Chip Gannon next fall.

California Import

Wilson is a transfer student from Southern California, where he played freshman football. John Fiorentino, Walt Coulson, and Red Hill, all ends last year, are graduating. Wilson, a fullback at USC, is now an end. If one diving catch of a Lowenstein pass indicates anything, the fast 200-pound pre-med student may be a good one.

Ravreby is another converted end. He played tackle on the freshman team last fall, but is better known for his grip on the Harvard heavyweight boxing championship. He achieved this latter honor for exactly two minutes and ten seconds work, the Ravreby equation of two knockouts.

After viewing the Yale game movies four times, it becomes obvious that Dike Hyde will be one defensive end. The other might well be Ravreby--but then there is a young man named Bob Di Blasio.

Pain in the Backfield

Di Blasio, never a defensive standout last fall, was a pain in the Red backfield all afternoon. He stopped Red ball carriers short of the line of scrimmage seven times, for a grand total of 51 yards. He was thus personally responsible for as much lost yardage as the whole Red team could gain in 60 minutes of football.

So right now, it looks like Wilson, Ravreby, and Di Blasio for Coulson, Hill, and Fiorentino.

This leaves Dike Hyde exactly where he was, except for one very important duty--that of kicking the extra points. Emil Drvaric's graduation left a big hole in this department, but Hyde stepped into it with ease, converting on four out of six points after touchdowns.

He had four straight until a teammate, just before the attempt, yelled "Automatic Hyde." It is to be hoped that said teammate will tape up his mouth before the next Dartmouth game. Dartmouth has defeated Harvard by a margin of a single extra point twice since 1940.