B.C. Freshman Gridders Slip By Crimson, 14-12

Strong-armed Richard Zimmerman led the freshman football team to a near upset of heavily favored Boston College in Newton yesterday.

The bigger, faster Eagles escaped on the long end of a 14-12 score when an 16-yard drive found its way to paydirt with one minute left in the game.

Even then the Crimson fought back, with three Zimmerman completions moving the ball to the B.C. 24 before time ran out. Harvard fans left the stadium proud as the parents of Columbia's Archie Roberts, and only the thought of, "Gee, but we almost won," tainted the sweetness of a truly great effort by the Yardlings.

The game began just as the sports scribes had predicted. Eagle fullback Brendan McCarthy, a 6 ft., 3 in., 208-pounder who reportedly received 305 college scholarship offers, had no trouble running in the wake of B.C.'s mammoth line, and the home team had seven points with the quarter still young.

Zimmerman Passes For TD

Then Zimmerman, whose only pass against Tufts last week had looked like an infield pop-up, went to the air. Three completions moved the ball to the B.C. 30 and, from there Zimmerman lofted one to end Bob Welz on the eight. Welz hauled it in between two Eagle defenders and toted it the rest of the way.

The conversion atempt, alas, was deflected and the half ended 7-6.

The Eagles started another drive right after the intermission, but it ended at the Crimson one-yard line, when B.C. quarterback Joe DiVito dropped the snap from center and Ed Stump pounced on it for Harvard.

A few minutes later the Crimson got another break. With a third down and long yardage situation on the Eagle nine, DiVito rolled out to pass, and hurried his throw to escape a mob of rushing linemen.

Don Chiofaro, the rock of the Crimson defense, picked off the aerial on the Eagle 30 and bulled his way down to the four-yard line. Three plays later Zimmerman snuck over for the score.

B.C. scrambled for its first downs on its final drive, getting one on a penalty and another on a fourth-down pass. The series ended with DiVito taking it over himself from the one.

The last-gasp Crimson effort was a spectacular show. With six Eagles playing back for pass defense, Zimmerman hit Ron Kram, then Carter Lord, and finally Welz to put the ball on the B.C. 24. On the fourth attempt a swarm of rushing linemen dragged Zimmerman down. The gun sounded before the Crimson could run another play.