YARDLING ELEVEN IMPROVED AFTER ANDOVER CONTEST

Following the Yardlings' impressive showing against the highly touted Andover eleven last Saturday, Coach Skip Stabley was very cheerful about the prospects for his 1941 team yesterday.

At the present time only two men, Captain William R. Tully at Center and tallback Joe Gardella, are certain of starting berths against the Brown Freshmen next Saturday.

Gene Lovett, who has been holding the inside track at left end is being hard pressed by Bob Feary and Lawrence White, while Joseph Kaufman is clinging doggedly to his position on the other flank.

Elser Top Tackle

Largely due to his play against Andover when he blocked two punts, Peter Elser is ranked as the top tackle on the squad with Reed still in the fight for the post on the right side. Walter Tibbets or Theodore Tewksbury will start at left tackle with the former having a slight edge.

Running guard is a problematical position with three men in the running. Bill Brown, Don Lowrie, and Bill Underwood lead the fight for this right guard post and no prediction can be made as to who will get the starting call. At the other guard there is apparently no preference between Charlie Curtis and Tom Lacey.

Tully Outstanding at Center

Elected by his teammates a week ago Tully captained the team for the first time last Saturday against Andover. The Yardling leader has been outstanding in the forward wall throughout the season and should have little difficulty in keeping the pivot position in the remaining games.

Gardella, the only back sure of his post behind the line has been badly battered but showed in the Andover contest that he is always dangerous, playing all but the opening minutes of the game and scoring the lone Crimson touchdown. In the event that Gardella is disabled. Coach Stahley can rely on Charles Burnett for tallback.

Two Dons, Elbel and Donahue, are alternating at the wing back post, while Bob James, who also is a signal caller, is about on a level with John Santosuosso for the left halfback berth. The latter has been out with injuries but will be a serious contender for a place in the backfield with his return to the squad this week.

Three Losses to Date

To date the Freshmen have lost three consecutive games. In the opening Exeter tripped the Yardlings up by a 2-0 count. Worcester trounced the Crimson 21-6, while Andover eked out a 7-6 victory on a slippery field Saturday.

Brown, which defeated Worcester 6-0, will be the next encounter for the Freshmen. Despite Crimson improvement the nod must go to the Bruins because of their showing against the Academy team from Worcester.

Stahley who has resumed coaching Freshman teams after spending last year with the Jayvees is using his own system based on that of the Varsity. This is a radical change from the strategy employed a year ago when the Yardlings were drilled on Yale plays.

Fundamentals Stressed

As is customary, greater emphasis is based on fundamentals in preparing men for Varsity material than on winning games. Subsequently practice is spent almost exclusively on blocking and tackling.

According to Stahley the team is becoming much sharper in these elementary but all-important branches of the game. More encouraging to the coach is the greatly improved spirit of the entire squad. Because of this change for the better, the Yardlings are expected to be more impressive in later games than was anticipated at the start of the season.