Injuries Plague Crimson Preparations; DeMars Will Start for Steven Harrison

Harvard football coach John Yovicsin may have to dip into his reserve force against Penn Saturday if the Crimson's injury situation does not improve rapidly.

Three starters-cornerback Rick Frisbie, defensive tackle Mark Steiner and offensive tackle Eric Honick-are listed as "questionable" participants for the Penn game.

Yovicsin said yesterday afternoon that it may be Saturday before he knows whether any of the three will play, but emphasized that the sidelined players are "in our most critical areas."

There will be at least one change in the Crimson lineup this week. Sophomore halfback Ted DeMars has been running with the first team offense all week and, according to Yovicsin, DeMars probably will start in place of junior Steve Harrison.

DeMars came on against Dartmouth to rush 18 yards in four carries and score the Crimson's final touchdown on a superb 75-yard run on a swing pass. Harrison, who gained 125 yards against Cornell, was held to only eight yards on nine carries in the Dartmouth game.

Three Injuries

The three injured players are presently in varying stages of recovery. Frisbie sat out last week's game against Dartmouth in order to rest his ankle, which he injured in practice on the preceding Tuesday. This was after he was knocked out in the second quarter against Cornell.

Frisbie has been running well this week in practice and, if he is ready to play on Saturday, sophomore Steve Golden will move to safety.

"We want to get them both in the lineup," Yovicsin said yesterday. "Golden has been playing extremely well and Frisbie is just too valuable to our team."

A Bigger Worry

A bigger worry, however, is the condition of Steiner's hyper-extended left elbow. When he injured the elbow in preseason workouts, he missed ten days of practice, and he has yet to participate in contact work this week.

It will be hard to find an adequate replacement for Steiner, who has been one of the bulwarks of the Crimson defense this season. A decision on whether he can play will be late coming, but two sophomores-Ted Comfort and Scott Butterworth-have been dividing time at his position.

Honick's knee was badly bruised in the Dartmouth game, and Wednesday was his first day of contact this week. He was limping slightly then and participated in only part of the offensive drills.

Wednesday night the knee stiffened up on him and he was going only half speed yesterday.