Princeton Football Team Ready To Tackle High-Flying Crimson

"Take arms against a sea of troubles," Princeton Coach Dick Colman might say to his football players Saturday, "and by opposing, end them."

The opposition Colman has in mind is undefeated Harvard, rolling into New Jersey atop a wave of polite hysteria over the prospect of an underfeated season. But what the Crimson has to worry about is that Princeton has finally recovered from an epidemic of injuries that turned it into an ambulatory patient for the first part of the year.

The Tigers certainly look healthy now. They squashed Penn 30-13 two weeks ago, and then came back last week to beat Brown 24-7. Colman regarded the Brown game with so little sweat that he put in his defensive backs on offense during the last quarter. Princeton, still very much in the Ivy League race with a 3-1 Ivy record (4-2 overall), wants badly to continue its surge by knocking off Harvard.

Colman will finally be able to play a backfield Saturday that isn't put together from bits and pieces. Both tailback Bob Weber and fullback Dave Martin have recovered from injuries and will be ready to play. Colman had been using a sophomore, Dick Bracken, at tailback, and his fullback has been Bill Berkley, who is much happier as a punter.

There's not much to be done about the offensive line. The two top offensive tackles, Homer Ashby and Bob Hausleiter, have been lost for the season, and there are now four sophomores starting in the interior line.

On defense, the Tigers are strong but slow. It will be up to veteran ends Larry Stupski and Capt. Walt Kozumbo to contain Bobby Leo and Vic Gatto. Middle guard Lee Hitchner will probably plug up the center of the line effectively.

John Yovicsin, who is probably getting used to Big Games after Cornell and Dartmouth, has set his defenses to stop Princeton's single wing. Choking off the short passing game has probably been high in his mind, especially considering how the Tigers picked Harvard to pieces last year on passes from Ron Landeck to Lauson Cashdollar. After seeing how well Penn's Bill Creeden was able to throw short against the Harvard secondary, Colman would be insane if he didn't tell Bracken and Weber to do the same thing.

Vic Petzy Returns

A staple of the single wing is the power sweep, and the return of Vic Petzy to his defensive end post will help the Crimson turn the sweep inside. But Bob Hoffman, who did a fine job in the two games Petzy missed, will probably be the starter again at end along with Capt. Justin Hughes.

Another defensive standout, tackle Skip Sviokla, will be ready to play again. The 230-pound Sviokla, who was hobbled by two bad knees and ankle injuries, sat out the Penn game although he could have played if necessary.

Of offense, Yovicsin will try to get his fast halfbacks outside Princeton's heavyfooted defense. Quarterback Ric Zimmerman has shown a propensity to go for the quick six points on long passes, and he may test the Tigers' vulnerability to the bomb.

On balance, it looks like a close game, and certainly a vital one for Harvard on the path to the League crown. Princeton is a three-point underdog, but the Tigers feel that they are a different team than the one that lost to Dartmouth and Colgate, and almost to Columbia, early in the season. But the Crimson smarts from losing to Princeton for two years running, and will be fiercely protective of that big, fat 6-0 record.