Gridders in Good Shape For Cornell, Marinaro

The Crimson football team will be leaving some wounded behind when it flies to Ithaca this afternoon. But the injuries shouldn't hurt Harvard too much in tomorrow's bid to stop--or at least outscore--Cornell's Ed Marinaro.

Quarterback Eric Crone will not make the trip; his hyperextended knee has yet to heal. Defensive backs Rich Bridich and Tim Bilodeau both have leg injuries and probably won't play tomorrow. End Bill Craven and reserve center Steve Snabeky are also on the disabled list.

Even though five players are out, the Crimson is in its best physical condition since the costly Holy Cross game three weeks ago.

Halfback Steve Harrison, who suffered a separated shoulder against the Crusaders, is back, along with defensive backs Steve Golden and Wes Shofner, who both played in spots last weekend.

Defense

The defensive line, which looked so strong against Columbia last weekend, is healthy. The only problem, spot there will be in the secondary.

"The loss of Bridich hurt," coach Joe Restic said yesterday. "He's a real hitter and just the kind of guy we need against a hard-running team like Cornell."

Restic indicated that he will use Golden, Shofner, Barry Malinowski, Toby Harvey, and Mike Murr in his secondary along with Rover back and captain Dave Ignacio.

"We're having the same difficulties in our defensive backfield as we had on offense a couple of weeks ago." Restic said. "We've had a few guys out and are having to switch people into different positions than they're used to playing."

Crimson Attack

Except for Crone's lingering knee ailment, the Crimson attack will be at peak strength against Cornell's reputedly weak defense. Fullback Steve Hall's ankle has improved since last Saturday's game, and Harrison's return will give the backfield added depth.

Rod Foster will start at quarterback, with Rich Gatto and Ted DeMars at the halfback positions. Hall will start at fullback.

Restic said that Chuck Krohn has been switched from halfback to fullback as backup man for Hall. "We don't want to have to move DeMars back to full," Restic said. "You saw that happened against Columbia when we were finally able to play him at halfback."