Amos 'n Andy

What happened to that ominous Bateman-Farnham connection? Farnham, who last week was the nation's leading pass receiver, touched the game ball only three times Saturday.

The answer lies with the defensive secondary, "The best overall defensive effort I've ever seen," said an ecstatic "Mean George" Newhouse, the Harvard adjuster, walking off the field after the Brown game. "We didn't make any mistakes."

Each of the Crimson secondary men worked Coach Joe Restic's plan to perfection. The efforts produced a day in which Bruin Bob Bateman, who last week was eighth nationally in passing, would rather forget: 7 for 18 and a measly 50 yards.

His ace receiver Bob Farnham, who last week set an Ivy record of 14 pass receptions in one game, was shut off by Bill Emper. Emper stayed stride for stride with the fleet-footed Farnham, exhibiting the speed he used to win the Pi Eta's Run for Daylight.

Emper picked off one of the only passes which came close to Farnham. Fran Cronin and Newhouse also chipped in with pass interceptions to fend off any Brown threats.

Their success in containing the highly touted Brown passing game is a tribute to outstanding coaching preparation. Said linebacker Eric Kurzweil Sunday, "We knew Brown would go with the pass and the coaches got us ready for that. They stayed up until one every morning watching game films trying to figure out game plans to stop Bateman."

A young, aggressive defensive line and blitzing linebackers pressured Bateman and lightened the secondary's burden. Tommy Joyce, named ABC Defensive Player of the Game, slowed Brown's running game, while sophomores Bob Baggot and Steve Kaseta rolled down Bateman when he rolled out for a pass as he was so fond of doing.

Offensive Player of the Game was--deservedly--Jim Kubacki. Kubacki completed a phenomenal 15 out of 18 passes for 289 yards, just two short of Stoeckel's 1973 Harvard one-game record. This so, noless, with a sore pitching shoulder which he had only used for two days before the game.

"I was surprised that I did well, "Kubacki said Sunday. "I can't explain what happened. But I went into the game and suddenly my shoulder didn't bother me anymore. I don't know who, but somebody's really on our side."

The atheist might say that "someone" was Brown. Kubacki was aided immeasurably by his play action passes which totally confused the Bruin defense. In three straight plays, Brown's linebackers, showing unusual agility, ran into each other.

Crimson receivers, particularly tight end Bob McDermott, had enough time to go out for a cup of coffee before each pass. There was rarely a Bruin defender within a ten-yard radius. It made you wonder if Brown's secondary had ever seen a pass before.

But all this would not have been possible had not Harvard's offensive line, impeccably coached by George Carras, picked up the Brown defense early in the game. The line, led by Captain and tackle Dan Jiggets, stood an impenetrable--usually--blockade, making the Bruin defense look defenseless.

The offense credited the defense for the victory and the defense credited the offense. But neither tribute was the result of false modesty. Harvard's victory over Brown was one game of which it is safe to say the whole team won.