Harvard Football After Last Year, Nowhere to Go but Up

IT WAS NOT a particularly enjoyable diversion to watch Harvard's football team play last year-unless you attended one of the six colleges that sent the Crimson down to its worst season since 1957. Generally considered to be the team to beat in the Ivy League with a flock of lettermen back from an undefeated squad, the Crimson stumbled through a night-Mariah Fall, absorbing a 41-24 whipping from mediocre Cornell, losing to Dartmouth, Princeton, and Yale and almost anyone else who could figure out a way to stop the Crimson's routine offensive system and pick apart its defense.

Only three victories brightened the season, and each one was somewhat tainted. Holy Cross, which seemed to be playing in slow motion while losing 13-0, actually was. A week later, the entire squad came down with infectious hepatitis and the Crusaders were forced to cancel the rest of their season.

Columbia, a traditional soft-touch, succumbed 51-0 two weeks later, and continued on its way to a 1-8 season. And Pennsylvania, which was a contender early in the season, was riddled by injuries, had just come from a 42-0 drubbing at the hands of Princeton, and was reduced to its fourth-string quarterback when it lost to Harvard 20-6 in late October.

Two of the six losses were understandable. Dartmouth, which rolled up four touchdowns before the Crimson could get on the board in the second quarter, was a solid club that continued unbeaten until its final game against Princeton. And Boston University, which shaded Harvard 13-10 in the second contest of the season, went on to a post-season bowl game in California.

But the loss to Cornell was inexcusable. So was the loss to Brown, the Bruins' only Ivy victory last Fall. And much of the blame fell upon the Harvard offensive system, and its founder, coach John Yovicsin. For Yovicsin still clung to the off-tackle, end sweep, halfback option cycle that had brought the Crimson ten consecutive winning seasons and a share of three Ivy titles. The system is viable, provided you have material than can overpower the opposition. If you don't, the opposition needs only to plug the middle or cover the ends at the appropriate downs, and you lose. It had gotten to be a common joke that you only needed one Harvard game film to tell you what the Crimson was going to throw at you. And it didn't really matter what year the film was taken.

A FEW things will be different this Fall, Yovicsin, hampered by a heart condition, will step down as coach at the end of the season. The disastrous results of the 1969 season, and criticism of his conservative strategy, which may or may not have had something to do with his decision, have at least caused him to liberalize his approach to the game. The Flanker-T has been scrapped in favor of a pro offense, which, if it doesn't make things better, will make them interesting, at least. Also, the Crimson will not have to contend with the pressure of defending a League title, as it did last year. There is a new, more vibrant attitude on the squad's part. Last year, there was no place to go but down. That can hardly be the case this Fall.

But the most tangible difference has been the installation of the new pro-style offense. By its very nature, it will force Harvard and Yovicsin to be more inventive and looser in their play repertoire. Yovicsin plans to pass more than any team in Harvard history, which of course isn't all that earthshaking. But the system will eliminate the predictability that plagued the Crimson last Fall, and replace it with an element of surprise that Harvard will need to have a winning season.

But in other respects, the same problems still return. There is no proven quarterback. There is no fast halfback of the caliber of Ray Hornblower. Both lines have to be rebuilt. And with the exception of All-Ivy performer Gary Farneti, there are no experienced linebackers. Given the quality and balance of the Ivy League this year, Harvard will have to cure these deficiencies before it can even think of being a contender.

With the installation of the pro system, the lack of capable quarterbacking is perhaps the most immediate concern. The problem was there last year, of course, when Yovicsin used five players and still never found any one of them to be satisfactory. Two of them, Dave Smith and Frank Champi, have graduated. Two more, John O'Grady and Joe Roda, have quit. That leaves junior Rex Blankenship, an adequate passer who started the Yale game last year, as the only man with experience.

Senior Bill Kelly, who was sidelined last Fall following a knee operation, has been switched back to quarterback after playing safety as a sophomore, but he'll need time to adjust. And none of the three sophomores, Rod Foster, Eric Crone or Frank Guerra, has all the tools necessary to move in either.

FROM their performances in scrimmages, however, Kelly and Foster may have the best chance of breaking in as the regular signal-caller. Kelly, at 6' 2", 195, has the best size of any serious contender for the position, can run and pass fairly well, and is probably the most knowledgeable field general. Foster, who split duties with Crone on the freshman team last year, is the flashiest competitor since John McCluskey to challenge for the quarterback slot. The speediest, most elusive runner on the team, he is a superb scrambler and is extremely dangerous when given daylight. But his passing is deficient, and this is a serious problem to bring to a system that will use three receivers. The Crimson coaches would love to switch him to halfback. Foster isn't particularly wild about the idea.

Crone, who compares well with Kelly in size, is a good physical quarterback, but lacks the necessary poise to take over a starting spot at the moment. Guerra, who saw action as a reserve on the freshman squad last year, may need seasoning with the JV squad before he is ready to assume a varsity role.

So that leaves Blankenship as the most likely candidate to start early in the season. He is fairly well poised and has an adequate, though not awesome, arm. But he has little experience-49 minutes of varsity play-not enough to earn a letter last year. Yov-icsin may not make up his mind definitely until the opener with Northeastern on the last weekend of September, and he may not decide even then. And if the Crimson is forced to shuffle signal-callers again, as it had to last year, the offense may never achieve stability.

The backfield, however, is strong. Halfback Steven Harrison, who performed impressively as a sophomore last year, has been switched to flanker this year, and he'll be backed by sophomore Mike Murr, another speedster. Tom Miller, who handled the fullback spot last year after Gus Crim injured a kidney, returns, and sophomore Curt Humphreys is there as backup strength.

But the big change has been the move that sent Pete Varney, a tight end for two years, to a halfback slot. Varney, who was on the verge of becoming Harvard's all-time receiving leader before the switch, played there as a freshman, and gained almost 800 yards. At 6' 2", 235, he is probably the most mammoth athlete to play the position in Harvard history. Once he achieves momentum, he is not easily brought down. But given the inexperience of the offensive line this Fall, his teammates may not be able to give him the time he needs to pick up steam. Varney is, however, nearly unstoppable on a swing pass, and combined with Miller, can provide excellent protection on pass plays. He'll be backed by Scotty Guild, a quick, deceptive senior who will also be running back punts this Fall.

THE offensive line is the problem, however. Harvard was cleaned out from tackle to tackle by graduation, and has only two lettermen, John Ferullo and Tom Waldstein, with whom to fill the holes. Eric Honick, Paul Masaracchio, Arn Rossi, and sophomore Bill Jahsman will man the top two strings at tackle, but none have any real varsity experience. Junior Frank Veteran, who played on the JV squad last year, may team with Ferullo at guard, but behind them, there is precious little depth. Waldstein, a junior, will start at center, with Skip Starck as backup.

The prospects are a little brighter at end, however. Bruce Freeman, a starter at split end last year, will switch to fight end to replace Varney, and junior Denis Sullivan, a durable performer with fine speed and good hands, will replace Freeman. John Hagerty and Steve Zakula are the re serves.

The kicking game should not suffer appreciably. Brock Roben, if he can achieve more consistency, will be a fine replacement for All-Ivy punter Gary Singleterry, and Richie Szaro, the team's leading scorer last year, is back to handle placekicking duties.

On defense, the picture is one of mixed quality. The backfield, with four veterans returning, may be the best the Crimson has had in several seasons. But given the experience of the line, it may have to be. Harvard lost four of its top five men at defensive end, graduated both tackles, and lost two linebackers. There is some quality left, and the replacements, in time, should be effective. But there is no depth to speak of.

Starting end Chris Doyle, who logged more playing time than any man on the squad last year, is the sole experienced player at his position. Sophomore Phil Robinson quit the squad after a few days of practice. Fred Martcucci, who was being switched from safety to end, broke his arm on the first day of contact. Phil Peters and Howie Keenan are both injured. That leaves sophomores Mike McHugh and John Ambrozaitis to fight for the other starting spot, and no one behind them.

THE SITUATION is a little better at tackle. Mark Steiner, a starter as a sophomore last year, will hold down one slot, and there'll be a fight among sophomores Tom Mesereau, Bruce Wood and Ed Vena for the other. The position should be a strong one by mid-season, barring injuries.

For the first time in several years, however, Harvard will be thin at linebacker. In each of the last four years, the Crimson has placed one man from the position on the All-Ivy team, and the last one, Gary Earneti, is back again, this time as cap?? he can stay healthy, he could be the key to the defense. If he can't, people like Cornell's Ed Marinaro might have a field day running through the spot he vacates. Greg Koski, the only other man with experience, quit the squad, leaving Jack Neal, brother of last year's regular linebacker Dale, as the other starter. Three sophomores, Mark Ferguson, Andy Rose, and Jim Westra, will be the reserves.

So the backfield may have to cover a multitude of sins, and the pressure will be on seniors Brad Fenton and All-Ivy Rick Frisbie. Both are tough, gritty cornerbacks, talented at stopping the outside running game. Both are also seasoned veterans, and if theycan stay uninjured, they might be able to provide the Crimson's sophomore ends with a dependable cushion against a running attack. Junior Toby Harvey and sophomores Rick Bridich and Steve Golden should be quite dependable reserves.

At safety, the lineup is a little weaker, but adequate nonetheless. The graduation of Neal Hurley and the loss of Martucci leaves Harvard without an experienced starter, but senior Walter Johnson has proven that he can turn in an acceptable performance, and Dave Ignacio can play there as well. Tim Bilodeau, Ron Suduiko and sophomore Barry Malinowski are available as backup men.

So THE defense is faced with roughly the same problem that it had last Fall-to try to make up for an offense that might or might not get untracked at any given moment. The fact that the Crimson's opponents scored one point more than Harvard did last year would seem to indicate that the defense had almost accomplished its mission, but the 51-0 victory over Columbia distorts the reliability of that statistic as an accurate measure. Three times last season the offense put enough points on the scoreboard to insure a victory under normal circumstances, but the defense yielded 41, 51 and 24 points. At other times, the situation was reversed. Boston University only needed 13 points to win its game with the Crimson. Yale needed but seven. Inconsistency was the word, and there is no reason to believe that Harvard has stabilized out of nowhere this Fall.

And the need for a consistent offense and a solid defense will be even more marked this year. Yale, which survived a rebuilding season well enough to tie for its third League title in a row, has 15 lettermen returning on offense, 14 on defense. The Elis are two-deep at almost every position, have a good group of sophomores, and will face their two most dangerous opponents, Princeton and Dartmouth, in the comfortable surrounding of the Bowl. They appear to be the class of the League. Dartmouth, which appeared to be the class of the League last year for six of its seven games, retains 20 lettermen from an 8-1 team, and can fill graduation holes with talent from an undefeated freshman squad. And then there is Princeton, which laughed its way past Harvard, 51-20. Princeton, which blanked Penn 42-0 and took apart Dartmouth 35-7 on the final day of the season. Princeton, which took an awesome offense, a fine defense, and a three-game winning streak back home to lose to Yale, 17-14, and blow its chance for an unshared Ivy title. The Tiger is rebuilding this year after losing half of his 37 lettermen, but he'll be tough when Harvard plays him at Palmer Stadium.

Cornell may be the surprise this year. Twenty-nine of 42 lettermen return, including quarterback Rick Furbush and, more important, tailback Ed Marinaro, one of the greatest backs in Big Red history. Last Fall, he personally scored five touchdowns in the victory over Harvard, and unless the Crimson's line can jell by October 17, is capable of doing it over again. In any case, the Cornell game may well hold the key to Harvard's success again. If Harvard loses as badly as it did last year, it can forget a first-division finish, since the Ithacans are only the first of at least three more difficult games.

But this year, no game will be easy for the Crimson. Columbia, on the verge of a comeback for several years, may be able to start moving at last with material from a good freshman team and 20 holdovers.

BROWN, which has been talking about the Bear Rebellion for two years now, is finally ready to do something about it. The Bruins, with almost an entire junior roster, will not be able to make a serious impact on the League's final disposition, but they could hang one on the Crimson again, as they did in Providence last year.

Only Pennsylvania stands to be in poorer shape. The Quakers were all set for a run at the championship last year, but injuries in their first two games made them easy pickings for Dartmouth, 41-9, and for Princeton two weeks later. Harvard, Yale and Cornell enjoyed victories at their expense as well, and this year Penn may have passed its peak. Only 15 lettermen return.

Luckily for the Crimson, seven of its nine games will be played at Cambridge, including five of the first six. Cornell and Brown, both of whom victimized Harvard on their home fields last year, must both come to the Stadium this Fall, where neither team has won in over a decade. Princeton is the only team of consequence that Harvard must face away, and in light of the Crimson's performances against the Tigers in Cambridge recently, the game may be better off being played in New Jersey.

All in all, however, the prospects may not be quite as grim as they appear to be on paper. Much of the Crimson's problem lies in its abrupt shift to a new offensive system, and its need to use more sophomores in critical positions than it has ever used before. The talent is there, but it is inexperienced, and the depth is questionable. If the Crimson can avoid injuries, if Yovicsin can come up with a steady quarterback, and if the transition can be made to a system oriented toward passing, the relative ease of the Crimson's first three games may provide the offensive and defensive lines with time to make mistakes and be able to learn from them without jeopardizing the Crimson's chances of victory too seriously.

Northeastern and Rutgers, both undergoing rebuilding years, replace Holy Cross and Boston University as the non-Ivy teams on the schedule, and the downshift in quality should make the Crimson's initiation period a little less hectic. The game with Columbia at New York will be a nice test-one which Harvard should win, but not as easily as it did last year.

FROM THEN on, the road becomes increasingly more difficult. But with any luck at all, the Crimson should win five games-a significant improvement over last year's record. A triumph over Cornell, not entirely out of the question, would make six, and a 6-3 record during a rebuilding year would be quite a satisfactory accomplishment. It may gall some alumni to lose to Dartmouth, Princeton and Yale again, but seeing the Crimson in the first division again is enough for right now.