Freshman Gridders to Re-align Defense For Tigers' Strong Single Wing Attack

The Harvard freshman football team, defeated in their last two games, will send a shuffled backfield against Princeton today.

Coach Henry Lamar plans to start George Crace at quarterback against the Tigers. Crace, who is the third Crimson starting quarterback in the last four contests, has seen limited action this year.

"The boys seem to have a little more feeling of security with Crace," Lamar said. "He handles the ball club a little better out there."

Crace replaces Rex Blankenship who took over from Terry Wynne in the B.C. game and started against Dartmouth. Blankenship compiled an impressive set of statistics, but he failed to engineer any scoring drives.

Week Lay-off

The Yardlings had a week lay-off for mid-term examinations, but this week they have spent most of their energy preparing a defense for Princeton's single wing.

Lamar plans to use a six man line against Princeton, with the ends meeting the play, but will be ready to shift into a five man line or even a seven man line. Much of the pressure will be on Crimson linebackers Frank Veteran and Dave Riley to seal the holes that single wing trap blocks open up.

"The single wing has a great advantage today," Lamar explained. "The power and the trapping in the single wing make it difficult for a team that is accustomed to the T offense." "The Tigers run good flood patterns off deceptive action passes," he added.

Princeton started off slowly, but they have improved rapidly, according to Lamar. Both teams are new to the single wing and the outcome will depend on whether Princeton's offense has mastered the intricacies of the system or Harvard's defense has learned how to cope with its unusual features.

The freshman have been erratic on the way to their 1-2 record. They swamped Columbia in their opener with Terry Wynne at quarterback, but made costly errors against B.C. and Dartmouth in their last two games. Five times they lost the ball inside their opponent's 20 yard line after long drives.

"We've been practicing going on the cadence and holding onto the ball," Lamar said. "But if we continue to make those kinds of mistakes," he said, "it's going to be a long Saturday afternoon."