Crimson Battles Yale Gridders Today

Greetings and salutations from an Eli rooter,

There's a rumor going around that you will probably not show up for this weekend's game. Would not blame you in the least if you did not, as you will probably get the worst beating you have had this year. You can probably pick up some good pointers on how to play football and we will show you the meaning of DESIRE and DETERMINATION. We have the desire to whomp you, and we are determined to do it Saturday. You lucked out on us last year and we are going to make certain that it doesn't happen again.

See you Saturday if you don't chicken out,

Your friends in the Yale Yellers Group

The rumor spoken of in this postcard--found in Tuesday's mail by coach Joe Restic's secretary--is, of course, false. The Crimson will show up in New Haven this afternoon to do battle with the Elis.

And if little in the way of championships is to be decided today in the Yale Bowl, there's always that little something extra that makes The Game The Game.

A victory today will provide solace in a dismal season for both the Crimson and the Elis. Picked by many in pre-season to finish one-two among the Ivies, Harvard and Yale, both 4-4 on the year, will be fighting for a first-division spot today.

A win by Yale, which upset Princeton, 10-6, last Saturday, would give the Elis the Big Three championship outright. A Crimson victory would throw the title into a three-way tie.

Yale's team this season can only be described as unstable. In the first eight games, the Elis have had three different starting quarterbacks, numerous positional switches between halfbacks, wing-backs, and fullbacks, and an almost complete turnover of defensive personnel.

One face which has remained in the lineup all year is fullback Dick Jauron, an All-Ivy fullback last year as a sophomore. But even Jauron who has picked up 845 yards so far this year, has changed positions since the beginning of the campaign. Yale coach Carmen Cozza switched Jauron from his natural halfback position to fullback early in the year when Greg Mierzwinski failed to provide inside power.

"The change really hasn't hurt Yale that much," Restic said. "Jauron's a guy with the speed of Hank Bjorklund and the balance and power of Ed Marinaro."

The current Eli quarterback is junior Roly Purrington, who started the season on the third string and took over the helm two games ago from Don Pfiel, out with a concussion.

Pfiel himself had replaced Chuck Sizemore in the second game of the season against Colgate when Sizemore, a senior, failed to move the offense.

Purrington will be remembered by Crimson fans as the third-string quarterback who came into last year's Harvard-Yale game in the fourth quarter in an attempt by Cozza to rally his troops after two other signal-callers had failed.

Purrington has an unimpressive 201 yards passing on the season, with 17 completions in 43 attempts.

"They just pass enough to keep the defense honest," commented Restic earlier this week. "They don't really have the receivers to present a serious passing threat."

Best of this weak band of receivers is Yale captain Rich Maher, who has caught 17 passes for 282 yards.

Eli Defense

The Eli defense began the season with a lot of holes to fill, due to the graduation of All-Ivies Rich Lolotai, Jim Gallagher, and Tom Neville.

Added to defensive co-ordinator Bill Narduzzi's problems has been a wealth of injuries.

Narduzzi has responded with weekly overhauls of his defensive line and linebackers. Lately, the Eli front wall has been led by Rick Fehling at middle guard and Bob Leyen at tackle.

Narduzzi has apparently found effective combination, as the Elis have allowed only 20 points in the last two games, with an outstanding performance against potent Princeton.

"Yale is so big and strong up on that front line. They don't give you much up the middle. Very impressive," Restic said.

A Few Tricks

But, as usual, Restic has a few tricks up his sleeve to attempt a picking apart of the opposing defense.

"Our offense will be a lot different this week. I can't elaborate on it now, but I'll guarantee you this: You've never seen it before," Restic said slyly yesterday.

The Crimson's ability to put some points on the board will not hinge on Restic's new sets, however. Most likely, quarterback Eric Crone's passing--and the protection he gets from the Crimson line--will probably tell the story for Harvard this afternoon.

Halfbacks Ted DeMars and Richie Gatto are both capable of great days, but the Yale line has been improving with every game and will be very grudging up the middle.

If the Crimson is forced to go to the air, it can only hope that Crone's passing, which didn't exactly riddle the Brown secondary--he threw three interceptions--last week, will improve.

Restic can always fall back on quarterback Rod Foster or even Frank Guerra, who hasn't played all year except for a couple of halfback-option pass plays.

"Besides the seniors, there's no one on the team I want to see get in there more than Frank Guerra," Restic said.