Adams Wins Inaugural Game

For many Adams House residents, A Comedy of Errors conjures up a playwright named Bill and a river named Avon.

But about 20 Adams House students--the house football Flames--gave new meaning to the term yesterday, and created history in the process.

Despite sloppy play by both squads, the Flames squeaked by Mather, 6-0, to emerge victorious in their first house football contest ever.

A physical Quincy team shut out Leverett House, 20-0, in the first game yesterday at Soldiers Field.

In its first year ever to field a house football entry, Adams didn't play like a typical expansion team on the opening kickoff, forcing a Mather fumble on the 32-yd. line.

Three penalties were called before Adams could run a play from scrimmage, and when it finally snapped the ball, the Mather defense sacked quarterback Buddy Fletcher--twice.

But Fletcher then connected with Kermit Alexander on a 27-yd. touchdown pass to tally the first six points ever scored by A-House.

The touchdown, followed by a failed two-point conversion, was good enough for victory. Mather posed a threat in the second quarter when quarterback Mark Meredith ran 34 yards to the Adams 11-yd. line, but a wild snap on a fourth down conversion attempt foiled the drive.

The game was far from the artistic success Adams House is known for. Possessions by both squads resulted in foul-ups: an interception here, a fumble there, several failed fourth-down conversion attempts, and many penalties.

A deep Mather penetration into Adams territory late in the fourth quarter nearly ruined the day for the expansion team, but a dropped pass in the end zone and a three-person sack at the end turned out the lights for Mather (now 0-2).

"I thought our roll-out passes worked well today," Fletcher, Flame quarterback and co-coach, said. "And I was impressed with our pass defense."

"We did well," Co-Coach Bob Zafft agreed, "but everything has to be one or two steps quicker. Things have to be crisper."

But Quincy House's Mark Minor couldn't have been crisper in leading his team's defense to a convincing shutout of Leverett, 20-0.

Several minutes after Quincy quarterback Danny Sullivan evaded a would-be sacker and sprinted into the end zone for a 6-0 advantage, Minor and fellow defender Chris Aldridge nailed a Leverett runner and forced a fumble that Quincy recovered deep in Leverett territory.

Quincy running back Tim Manges--apparently stopped by three defenders at the two-yd. line--managed to escape their hold and bull into the end zone on the ensuing drive. A two-point conversion extended the Quincy lead to 14-0.

Minor scored his team's final touchdown in the fourth quarter when he stepped in front of a Stu Peterson pass and ran 35 yards untouched for another touchdown.

Defending champion Quincy, now 2-0, has shut out both of its opponents. But Minor saw a difference yesterday. "We played much more intense today," the junior said. "We played heads-up, ready-to-go ball."

Leverett falls to 1-1.