To Tell the Truth

Three football teams may show up at Princeton's Palmer Stadium this afternoon at 1 p.m.

The first is the home team--the Princeton Tigers, owners of a 1-4 overall record, 1-2 in the Ivy League.

The second is the visiting team--the scoring machine known as the Crimson. In its first game of the year, Harvard rolled up 34 points against Columbia. In its most recent game, the Crimson exploded for 42 points against Dartmouth.

The third is also the visiting team--the goose-egg layer known as the Crimson. In its second, third and fourth games of the season, Harvard put a total of zero points on the scoreboard, while giving up 44 to Holy Cross, 24 to William & Mary and three to Cornell.

The version of the Harvard squad that takes the field today--offensive power or offensive dud--will go a long way toward determining whether the Crimson is a serious contender for the league title or just another also-ran. The gridders (2-1 Ivy, 2-3 overall) are currently in second place in the Ivies behind Penn and Cornell, both 3-0 in league play.

Princeton knocked off Harvard last year, 11-6, on a 75-yd. free-kick run-back by Tom Urquhart. But Urquhart graduated, as did standout Princeton quarterback Doug Butler, owner of nearly every passing record in Tiger history.

And the after-effects of Butler's graduation are apparent this year. Princeton's lone victory was a 20-14 triumph over lowly Columbia. In their four loses, the Tigers have been outscored, 148-46.

Despite the numbers, Princeton's offense is not weak. Senior quarterback Brad Hammond, at 6-ft., 2-in., is tall enough to get the job done--and in last week's 48-28 loss to Lehigh he led his squad to 21 fourth-quarter points, completing 13 of 22 tosses for 185 yards with no interceptions.

"[Butler] was a great quarterback, and our offense revolved around him," Princeton Co-Captain Ned Elton said. "We miss him. But we have full confidence in Brad."

Against Lehigh, halfback Greg DiFelice exploded for two fourth-quarter touchdowns on runs of one and eight yards. DiFelice is only fifth among Princeton rushing leaders, however.

Fullback Jerry Santillo leads the Tigers in rushing with 214 yards, and a 3.9 yards-per-carry average. Santillo is followed by halfback Derek Wassink, who has rushed for 110 yards this year, a 2.8 yards-per-carry average.

Hammond's primary receivers are split end Jeff Baker--who caught a 16-yard touchdown strike against Lehigh and leads the team with 190 yards on 16 receptions--and Wassink, who has caught 11 passes for 126 yards.

Harvard, on the other hand, may have found a secret weapon in sophomore quarterback Tom Yohe.

Because of injuries to quarterbacks Dave Landau and Bill Koehler, Yohe started against Dartmouth last week and passed for 106 yards and rushed for 122. For his efforts, he was voted Ivy League Player of the Week.

"Princeton plays basically the same type of game as Dartmouth," Yohe said. "So we're going to run the same type of plays--with a few new ones."

Yohe, the starting quarterback on the freshman team last year, may go to the air more Saturday. And many of his passes will be sailing toward wide-receiver Joe Connolly, who leads the team with 15 receptions for 211 yards. Connolly is also the only Harvard receiver to have scored a touchdown this year.

"Princeton has a weak cornerback we might pick on," Connolly said. "But we're going to stick with the same game plan we used against Dartmouth. Our schedule gets tougher and tougher from here on out--we need to get this game under our belts."

If the passing game doesn't work, Yohe can turn to his running backs--Brian O'Neil (33 carries, 160 yards) and George Sorbara (47 carries, 154 yards). Or Yohe can simply run the ball himself.

Like the Crimson's game against Cornell, Saturday's contest may end up being a defensive one. A touchdown or two may be enough to win it.

The Tigers are led on defense by free safety Dean Cain, who has 33 solo tackles and 16 assists on the year. Defensive end Elton also is an imposing figure, with 16 solo tackles and six assists.

"We've played some good halves," Elton said. "But we've had trouble at other points in the game. As long as we play consistently, we'll be all right. I'm looking for a low scoring game."

The Crimson defense, like its Princeton counterpart, has been solid sometimes and poor at others. Led by Captain and linebacker Scott Collins, the Crimson defense turned in a tremendous performance against Cornell, limiting the Big Red to a mere field goal. Against Holy Cross, however, Harvard collapsed and allowed 44 points.

But the Crimson defense and its cornerback tandem of Don Heberle and Rick Patton should hold Hammond in check--at least in the beginning of the game.

In the meantime, the Harvard offense must show that the potency it displayed last week against Dartmouth, and earlier against Columbia, was no fluke.

Will Harvard turn out to be a scoring power or an offensive fizzle? It will be up to Yohe to prove that the goose eggs the Crimson laid in three games this season won't reappear on the scoreboard at Palmer Stadium.

"I think we're out of that cycle--the games in which we didn't score," Yohe said. "At least, I hope so."