Crimson Vies For Ivy Lead; Kubacki May Start

It's rather unnerving to talk with Crimson quarterback Jim Kubacki the day before the game which will determine the Ivy title, today's Harvard-Brown match in Providence.

"Yeah, it's the biggest game of the year," Kubacki said yesterday while muching calmly on a grilled cheese sandwich. "But it's not that big a deal."

As of yesterday, Kubacki was slated to start. The shoulder injury which was kept him out of pads since Penn hurts. He may not play. "But," he said, "you stand the chance of being hurt every time you go out there. I'd like to finish the job I started."

What about the spirit, the television, the title, Brown's alleged late-hits--wouldn't it be different today?

Kubacki impatiently slapped down his sandwich. "Look," he said, "I don't see it as a spirited game. It's a war. When you play Columbia or Princeton, you play good hard games and shake hands afterwards. All I want to do at Brown is beat them and leave."

Harvard's gridders are confident. And if they know what they're up against today. It's because the Bruins have been bantering about it all year, ever since their successful scrimmage at Harvard this past September. The Bruins' press clippings hang like invitations all over the Crimson's locker room.

Offensively, Brown boasts three threats. Should Q.B. Bob Bateman, 6'5" and 195 lbs. sixth nationally in total offense and eighth in passing, connect with Bob Farnman, the country's leader in pass receptions, the results could be devastating for the Crimson.

Halfback rushing champ and co-captain Kevin Slattery, 5'9" and 175 lbs., will be hungry for the remaining 166 yards he needs for an all-time one-season Brown rushing record of 700 yards. That may mean a lot to a Bruin.

Last year, Slattery emerged from Brown's 10-7 victory over Harvard as ABC's Offensive Player of the Game, though he goes into today's game injured, as he has been all year.

The third Bruin threat is kicker Jose Violente who has already racked up 46 points this season. Good kicking could make a difference in what promises to be a close game.

A young and improved Harvard defensive line led by Lou Bernier, with 49 tackles and 14 assists, intends to rush Bateman and contain both he and Slattery. Ends Bob Baggot and Russ Savage will be especially important in bringing down Bateman should he roll out for a pass.

The Crimson's secondary cornerstone, cornerback Bill Emper, has the challenging assignment of the fleet-footed and shifty Farnham, a task for which he is proven well-qualified. Assisting him will be mean adjuster George Newhouse, second in Crimson overall defense stats.

But the Bruins triple-offensive-threat should look meager when the Crimson offense steps on the field. Protected by the Ivies's best offensive line, quarterback Kubacki, third nationally in total offense, remains a running and passing threat, with 420 yards for 97 carries. If Kubacki does not start, near-hero of the Princeton game Tim Davenport, will fit well in Kubacki's cleats.

Either can pass to a host of accomplised receivers--Jim Curry, Tommy Winn, Bob McDermott and Mark Taylor. This should prove especially annoying to Brown's secondary, which in past weeks has been more susceptible to the pass than the run.

Crimson coach Joe Restic said yesterday that Harvard's biggest job offensively would be to hold off the Bruin's blitzing defensive front. Leading the venomous pack will be aggressive and hard-hitting Phil Bartelett, 6'3" and 240 lbs.

But after preparing for Harvard's complicated offense all week, it will be a miracle if the Bruin defense has any strength left for today's game. "We've been preparing for Kubacki," said Brown coach John Anderson yesterday, "which means we've been preparing for everything. It's pretty difficult."

To say that today's game will be the roughest yet for Brown and Harvard would be a gross overstatement. Both teams are very able on both sides of the ball.

How will the Crimson gridders handle what Harvard captain Dan Jiggets termed "street fighting with pads"?

"I know what I would do," offered Restic Thursday. "I would become very, very aggressive. My basic instincts for survival would come out." Then Restic looked even more serious, "of course, in a very, very clean sense," he added.