Gatto's Running, Passing Make Him 'Back of Week'

Shifty Vic Gatto was named Ivy League Back of the Week yesterday for his performance in Harvard's 14-12 win last Saturday over Cornell.

Gatto carried the ball 26 times for 80 yards in the game that kept Harvard in a three-way tie for first with Dartmouth and Yale. He also completed two passes including a 41-yarder to Will Stargel on a tricky fake inside reverse that gave the Crimson their first touchdown.

Earlier in the same drive he had connected with Joe Cook on a 12 yard option pass. And on a key fourth and one situation at the Harvard 31, he plunged for the first down.

The Junior from Needham, Mass., is the shortest back in the league at 5 feet 6 inches, but he weighs in at a chunky 185. He is now tied for third in Ivy League rushing with 135 yards in two games.

Despite Gatto's heroics, Harvard continues to occupy a miserable fourth in the Ivy League in both team offense and team defense. That's a big come down from a year ago when the Crimson was first in the nation in rushing offense, first in defense (points allowed per game), and third in points scored per game.

Yale has played pushovers--Columbia and Brown--and is at the top of the league in every major category. Yale is first in both offense and defense, and backs Don Barrows and Calvin Hill are one-two rushing.

The Crimson's next opponent Dartmouth hasn't looked sensational statistically either. The Indians are third in offense and fourth in defense.

The total yardage figures don't mean much to professional forecasters. The UPI's morning line yesterday installed the Crimson as 2 point favorites for Saturday's big game.