Columbia in Top Condition for Game

Flushed with the first fruits of victory, Coach Lou Little spent long hours polishing his winged-T offensive this week in preparation for this afternoon, when the dangerous Columbia Lions will help Harvard inaugurate its season at Soldiers Field. Virtually the same men who crushed a highly rated Rutgers eleven last Saturday will be on hand to face the Cantabs.

Have Never Beaten Crimson

Having suffered nothing more serious than a few bruises and slight sprains thus far this season, the Light Blue is expected to be in top physical shape for the Harvardmen in the first game of the series since 1901. Little will have the "Goal Dust Twins," Gene Rossides and Lou Kusserow, starting at the quarterback and fullback positions with Billy Olson and Jack Nork getting the nod at the halves.

Leon Van Bellingham will be the fifth member of the Lion backfield, with Bob Russell being called in for punting. All of these backs except Russell are seniors.

Briggs Game Captain

Tackle Hank Briggs has been named game captain of the team. He will be aided in the Lion forward wall by an all-veteran crew consisting of Gene Shekitka at center, Chuck Klemovich, who does the placekicking, and Joe Karas at guard, Clyde Hampton at the other tackle, and Adam Rakowski and Bill Lockwood on the ends. All are two year lettermen except Lockwood, who deserted the basketball court to try and fill the shoes of the departed Bill Swiacki this season. Klemovich was the outstanding lineman in the Rutgers fray by virtue of his savage tackling and three conversions. He is an expert at flat on-side kickoffs, while Russell has had phenomenal success in punting out-of-bounds in the coffin corners.

Little spent a good deal of this week's practices explaining the Harvard single wing attack and having the second team run through Crimson plays. Cambridge fans can count on Kusserow to do most of the log work for the Lions with Rossides doing the passing.

Lack Reserves

The one fly in the Lion ointment is the crippling lack of reserve strength which may force Little to play the entire game with less than fifteen men. Although the first eleven is a strong, experienced unit, the reserves are far below standard. Pass defense, which spelled disaster in the two losses the Lions sustained last season (Penn and Yale) seemed much improved in the Rutgers opener in which Columbia intercepted four of 21 Scarlet passes, and could have had two others were it not for fourth down situations.

Columbia is confident of victory and sure of its own scoring punch. The question will probably be whether or not the Morningsiders can stop Valpey's single wing, a formation with which Little's T-bred Lions are none too familiar.