Zukerman Replaces Gunn at Center As Offensive Line Shifts Yet Again

Junior center Marty Zukerman will replace Don Gunn in the starting offensive line for Harvard Saturday. The substitution of Zukerman means that the varsity hasn't used the same line two weeks in a row since the Cornell game: it leaves guard Roger Noback and tackle John Peterson as the only lineman to start every game.

"We knew before the season started that one of our big problems would be the offensive line." Coach John Yovicsin admitted. "At five of the seven positions we were counting on inexperienced players. We were hoping they would develop, and they have quite a bit, but you can't expect to go through the tough Ivy League schedule with that inexperience and win all your games. As a matter of fact. I think we've done pretty well, considering this."

Tiger Trouble

Gunn who was on the JV last year, and Zukerman. who took a year off from school, are typical of the inexperience Yovicsin was talking about. Gunn has been starting at center all fall but ran into trouble last Saturday. Part of it came from a bad back and part from a 6-2 220-pound Princeton middle guard named Lee Hitchner.

Experiencing similar trouble was another of Yovicsin's cases-in-point, left tackle Peterson. Like Gunn. JV graduate Peterson has worked unstintingly this year, according to Yovicsin, but he was just no match for a defender with the size, speed, and savvy of Princeton's Paul Savidge. The Tiger captain handled Peterson easily, but Yovicsin and his staff are sticking with the junior because his understudy, sophomore Bob Brooks, has even less experience.

Guard Duty

The return to two-platoon football further weakened the offensive line--most experienced players went to the defense. But at left guard. neither Joe O'Donnell nor Max Evans could take up the resulting slack and middle guard Dick Berdik was returned to the offensive unit during the Dartmouth game.

At ends, Yovicsin started the year with Dan Calderwood, who had one reception to his credit in 1964. and Maury Dullea. who was deprived of even JV training last year because of his value to the varsity as a kicking specialist. Since then, Yovicsin has experimented with sophomores Carter Lord, who missed the first month of practices with an injury, and Joe Cook, who was not even listed on the pre-season roster.

The two acknowledged stars of the offensive line are Noback, a reserve JV fullback in his sophomore year, and right tackle Steve Diamond, who has recovered from a wrist injury he suffered in the Dartmouth game. Both were on the second line last year.

Attack Slowed Down

It is no secret that the offensive line has not developed into one of championship caliber: that Harvard has scored only two touchdowns in its last four games is proof of that.

The problems stem from more than just inexperience. There is a lack of the balance and quickness linemen like Savidge and Stas Maliszewski possess. And of course, the constant shifting of personnel has hampered the cohesion that any unit develops only after long and constant practice together.

But one can't point to the offensive line as the cause of all Harvard's troubles. The Crimson's almost total inability to mount an effective passing attack means that the defenses are stacked to stop Harvard's runs. There is probably no offensive line in the League that has more pressure on it than Harvard's.