Football Team Will Face Columbia In Contest of Disappointed Elevens

Two teams with shattered hopes--Harvard and Columbia--meet at 1:30 p.m. today in New York's Baker Field, and the loser may not win another game the rest of the season.

Morale, the stuff that holds a team together, is beginning to be a problem for Crimson coach John Yovicsin and Columbia mentor Buff Donelli. One more loss would be enough to put either squad into the lulled state of passive acceptance that is almost impossible to shake.

Reports from New York this week have indicated that the Lion squad thinks the student body has given up, after a 49-0 shellacking by Princeton and a 30-8 pasting by Yale. And even members of the team have claimed, "We were over-rated."

At Harvard, the quitting of halfbacks John Damis and John Shipman may or may not have been the first signs of a growing unrest. But when a team with such obviously fine material begins to lose and look bad in the process, something is very, very wrong.

The injury to quarterback Charlie Ravenel is not the only excuse for the Crimson's sudden demise. Sophomore Terry Bartolet, in his first varsity starting role against Cornell, gave the Crimson its best passing attack in years. Bartolet threw for seven completions in 15 attempts, including a beautiful 42-yard pitch to end Bob Boyda, and gained 109 yards.

Unfortunately the trouble goes deeper than the quarterback situation, although a healthy Ravenel is enough to make any coach happy. In the Cornell game, blocking and pass protection was not up to the standard set in the opener against Holy Cross, and the entire team seemed tentative and unsure. "Senioritis" is one charge that might be leveled at several players.

And, of course, in any losing season, attention turns to the coaching staff. Some of the complaints about Yovicsin and his assistants have been:

To much shuffling in the backfield. Larry Repsher tore Holy Cross apart for 89 yards in eight rushes. Since then, he has seen little action and has carried the ball only six times. Also, during games, backfield men go in and out on nearly every play.

Bad calls. Although Dave Ward has shown little accuracy, field goal tries have been called at key points in both losses. With third and four on the Cornell 40 last week, Yovicsin sent Tom Boone in to try a pass, even though the team was moving well on the ground. It failed, and the drive petered out.

No scoring plays. Once inside the 10, Yovicsin relies on quarterback sneaks almost exclusively, when a sweep or a jazzy reverse might get around the opponents' massed defenses. The Crimson is flashy enough at midfield, but becomes overly cautious near paydirt.

None or all of these accusations may be true, and the Columbia game will go a long way towards verifying or discrediting them.

Pete Hart, recovered from an injured hand, is expected to replace Bert Messenbaugh at end in the starting lineup for the Crimson, and either Steve Cohen or Jon Christensen will fill the center spot vacated by the injured Tony Watters