YALE HAS STRONGEST TEAM IN YEARS

For several seasons the Yale coaches have been hampered by the fact that while they had an excellent line, they had but mediocre backfield material. Taking hold of the coaching situation this fall, Coach Jones found almost the opposite was the case. Although the forward men were still powerful, he had acquired not only one good set of backs but indeed two complete backfields of first string calibre. In quarterback O'Hearn and Captain Aldrich he has two fine "triple threat" men. Both can either run, pass, or punt, and around them an almost invincible offense has been built up. As other men in the first team backfield Mallory and Jordan have proved their worth as line plungers and end runners. For the second string Coach Jones has Neidlinger, Speiden, Oed and Becket, a quartet of backs who are almost up to their first team companions and who can be substituted in the first string backfield without seriously weakening the combination.

With these men as a basis, a most versatile Blue attack has been built up. Owing its great strength to the fact that in it forward passes, delayed passes, and hidden ball plays are constantly mixed with the regular running attack, it has again and again outwitted its opponents.

Aldrich Chief Ground Gainer

The Yale season opened officially on September 24 when in the sweltering heat the Elis shut out Bates 28 to 0. The smaller college came to the contest after only two scrimmages and played a hard, plucky game but their backs could do nothing against the Blue's heavy forwards. Playing an excellent defensive game, the Yale line, however, failed to develop the requisite punch when the lighter eleven held them for downs on the four yard line. Captain Aldrich proved the chief ground gainer making several scintillating end runs as well as gaining consistently through the center of the line.

The next Saturday, after being held scoreless in the first two periods by the strong line play of the Vermont eleven, the Bulldog came back in the second half and registered a 14-0 victory. Five unsuccessful attempts at field goals were made by the Elis, and in the first half of the contest Yale threatened the opposing goal four times but lacked the drive necessary to score. Differing little from the tactics used against Bates in the opening game, the Eli play was featured both by the alert defensive work of the line and by a noticeable lack of brilliance on the attack.

Off-tackle plunges by Jordan and Captain Aldrich were the basis of the Yale offensive, very few other formations being tried. Eight passes, two of which netted 10 yards were the only departure from "straight" football.

North Carolina Defeated 34 to 0

The following week in a pouring rain, North Carolina came to the Bowl and was overwhelmingly routed 34-0. Again the line held like a stone wall, allowing the Southerners not a single first down, but this time the Eli attack began to give promise of the power to come. Jordan and Captain Aldrich in the backfield, as usual did the ball carrying, keeping their footing in an uncanny manner on the slippery field. Time after time they ripped off long gains around end and through the line,--the Yale leader once getting loose for a 62-yard dash for a touchdown. For the first time the Yale play really opened up, 13 forwards being completed out of the 16 attempted.

Yale's goal was threatened for the first time in the season when Williams invaded the Bowl on October 15. Three times the little college manipulated the forward pass so successfully as to reach the 15 yard line. Each time, however, they lost the ball, when Yale, rallying at the last moment, knocked down the pass in the final down. Neither side seemed able to gain by straight football, the contest taking the form of attempted forward passes and long distance punts. O'Hearn, out during the early part of the season because of a severe attack of hay fever, played his first game for Coach Jones, guiding the team brilliantly and ripping off several runs which went for many yards.

By the margin of a single touchdown, the Elis triumphed over the West Point eleven in a thrilling game the following Saturday. For three periods the Yale team out-played the invading outfit and well deserved the 14-7 win which they carried away, but it was only by the narrowest margin that the Cadets' comeback fell short. In the last few minutes of the final period the Grey and Black team uncovered a dazzling series of forward passes and taking the pigskin in midfield carried it in six plays down the field and over the line. Uncovering a similar attack on the following kick-off, two plays brought the ball to Yale's 18 yard mark but the offense collapsed when the next attempt grounded harmlessly behind the goal posts. Captain Aldrich again starred for the Blue, intercepting a forward pass and dashing 70 yards before he was downed, while Jordan provided the Elis with their chief offensive power by means of his excellent line plunging.

But a rest was due Yale after this gruelling struggle. The game Brown team proved no match for the charge of the heavy Eli line and the elusive runs of the shifty O'Hearn and Aldrich. The final score was 45 to 7 while Yale scored in every period except the third. Showing a great reversal over the early season form, the offensive strength of the Yale team overshadowed its defensive powers. Seven times it marched down the field for a score, using the forward pass almost exclusively, but in spite of ths overwhelming preponderance, the eleven could not prevent the Brown Bear from reaching the 20 yard line three times and scoring in the initial period on an intercepted forward pass.

With the Princeton game a scant two weeks away, Coach Jones did not wish to risk last minute injuries to his first string players and therefore it was a band of substitutes which came up against Maryland for another overwhelming victory of 28-0. At no time during the game were the Southerners dangerous, since only once in the contest did they succeed in reaching even the Blue 30 yard mark. Jordan proved the chief scorer, bringing in three touchdowns while Captain Aldrich made one tally and got off several beautiful forwards.

Enraged by the defeats of two successive years Yale battled the Princeton Tiger last Saturday and emerged triumphant from the struggle on the long end of a 13-7 score. Captain Aldrich and quarterback O'Hearn were the soul and spirit of the Blue offensive. Time after time they dodged their way through the the whole Tiger eleven for gains of many yards and threw passes to some end or back or to each other. Aldrich added to his credit by sending over two perfect drop kicks, while it was the speedy quarterback who from Princeton's 18 yard line sidestepped and twisted his way through every Orange and Black defender and past the last white line for the first taste of the Tiger hide.

The Eli attack was well-nigh invincible, forwards, runs and punts all coming from the versatile O'Hearn who proved himself a master in the art of triple threat. But it must be admitted that Princeton was not as formidable against Yale as against the University the preceding week. Handicapped by the loss of Keck early in the game, the Tiger eleven seemed to miss his inspiring presence and to lack the drive which they possessed the Saturday before. But no credit must be taken from Yale, they have overcome the defeats of years by conquering Princeton, and today they will seek to lead the University also into the column of New Haven victims