Leverett Shuts Down Mather

Good things certainly do come in small packages, as any Leverett House football player will tell you.

Led by 5-ft., 5-in. running back Woody Lennon, Leverett trounced Mather in the finale of the house football regular season, 18-8, yesterday at Soldiers Field.

Leverett finishes with a 3-1 record to remain in second place in the AFL division. Mather--the only house football squad not to qualify for next week's playoffs--drops to dead last in the division with an 0-3 mark.

The concrete monolith has now not won a game since 1983.

Lennon, who compiled 74 yards on just nine carries, spelled out Mather's imminent doom when he ran for a touchdown on Leverett's first offensive play of the game.

Taking over at the Mather 19 after Mather's first disastrous possession, Leverett quarterback Stu Peterson pitched out to the 145-lb. Lennon. The speedster used his blockers well (Glen Mesaros, in particular) while tearing around right end and dove into the endzone to give his team a 6-0 lead.

Although it was blessed with great field position all day long, Leverett couldn't score again until the second half.

Once again relying on the speed and determination of Lennon, Leverett lengthened its lead in the third quarter. The sophomore sensation sprinted for a 20-yd. gain from the Mather 30, and several plays later, scored from 10 yards out.

"It was exactly the same play as the first touchdown," Lennon said of his second score. "But on this play, they overplayed it a little, so I cut back."

Facing a 12-0 deficit, Mather wasn't about to keel over and die.

Quarterback Ted Tutun, sub- stituting for the injured Mark Meredith, miraculously turned a third-down quarterback sweep into a -yd. touchdown dash--the longest scoring run this year in house football and Mather's first points of the three-game season. Once Tutun turned the corner at the sidelines, it was nothing more than a footrace.

Mather's two-point conversion--a power sweep into the endzone by Lanny Thorndike--trimmed the Leverett lead to four points.

A fumble by Lennon near mid-field gave Mather a chance to take the lead, but Mather got no farther than its own 46.

Lennon redeemed himself by picking up 25 yards on the ensuing Leverett possession, which culminated in a 19-yd. touchdown pass from Peterson to Dave Lyons and effectively wiped out any hope of Mather comeback.

In spite of his outstanding performance, the modest Lennon was quick to praise his offensive line, which is led by Mesarus and Mike Pakalnis. "The front five are the backbone to the offense. I just carry the ball while they do the work."

While Leverett depended primarily on Lennon, Mather also counted on one man to carry the team. But unlike Lennon, who played just offense, big Joe Kenary supplied almost all of his team's offense and defense: he picked off a pass from Peterson, he prevented a Leverett two-point conversion attempt at the one, and he powered his way for 24 yards on one Mather possession.

Leverett will meet Eliot House, the AFL's third-place finisher Wednesday in the first round of the playoffs