Gridders Battle Brown in Face-Saver

So far, the Crimson football team's first year under coach Joe Restic can be viewed as a series of close games, with Harvard getting some bad breaks. A loss at the hands of lowly Brown in this afternoon's game in Providence would change all of that. It would turn an unlucky season into a down-right awful one.

Today's game pits a team which could have been still playing for the Ivy title against a squad which should have at least won a game or two.

In pre-season ratings, Brown was picked as high as fifth in the Ivy League. The Bruins were supposed to have had their best team in years. The Crimson was picked to finish anywhere from first to fourth. Neither team has lived up to expectations.

In an Ivy season filled with close games, Harvard (3-4) and Brown (0-7) have both had their share of tough luck. The Crimson has lost only one of its games by more than a touch-down--to Princeton 21-10, after Harvard had led, 10-0.

Brown hasn't fared quite as well, but the Bruins only lost to Dartmouth, 10-7, and gave Cornell a good game last weekend while losing, 21-7. A Brown receiver dropped a fourth-quarter conversion pass against Penn to give the Quakers a 17-16 victory.

With Jimmy Stoeckel out for the season after a leg operation. Restic is once again looking for a quarterback who can run his offense without tossing three interceptions per game.

The same old faces--Eric Crone, Rod Foster, and Frank Guerra--all have a shot at starting today's game. And, lo and behold, Restic has pulled another quarterback, sophomore Bob Sims, out of his hat.

Brown also has a choice of quarterbacks, Bob Zink and Nino Moscardi. Both are capable, neither is outstanding. Although the two have combined for 800 yards in seven games, they have also totalled nine interceptions.

The Bruins' prime receiver is split end Chip Regine, who has pulled in 21 passes for 320 yards so far this season.

Brown's attack centers around a fine set of running backs, headed by halfback Gary Bonner, who picked up 100 yards against Cornell last Saturday, and fullback Tom Spotts.

Brown can move the ball at times, but they haven't shown consistency on offense this season. "They get bogged down with their running game, then try to pass. That's when they get in big trouble," Restic said.

The Crimson's offensive problems involve injured linemen. Tight end Howard Keenan is sidelined with a knee injury. Three other Crimson linemen--guard Jerry Hevern, and tackles John Ferullo and Monte Bowens--are troubled with injuries.

"They've all been working in practice this week," Restic said. "But none of them will be 100 per cent."

The Crimson's pass protection was attrocious last week, as Stoeckel and Crone were dropped for over 70 yards worth of losses--not to mention the resulting hurried passes and five interceptions.

If the three first-string linemen don't see much action, odds are it will be a long afternoon for whoever Restic picks to quarterback his team.

The possible return of fullback Steve Hall to the Crimson backfield this afternoon should bolster the Crimson rushing attack, which picked up only 44 yards in 43 attempts last week against the Tigers. Hall has been suffering from chronic ankle injury since pre-season practice.