Sophomores Keep Injury-Riddled Crimson Afloat

A quick look at the Harvard football roster will tell you that there are quite a few sophomores on the squad this year.

A glance at the starting lineup for last Saturday's tussle with Columbia will inform you that an unusually high number of these second-year men are playing regularly, in crucial positions, for the Crimson.

The fact is that a relatively young, inexperienced team takes the field each week for Harvard, and it is only some talented sophomores and a handful of juniors and seniors that are keeping an injury-ridden Crimson squad above water this season.

Typical of this situation is the play of sophomore linebacker Tom Joyce, who two weeks ago, as a replacement, led the Crimson defense in tackles against Rutgers.

Joyce has also intercepted two passes this year and has filled an immense hole at linebacker in the Crimson defense.

Instrumental in the victory at Columbia this past weekend was the play of defensive back Bill Emper, who intercepted two Lion aerials. Both plays by the sophomore led to subsequent Crimson touchdowns in the decisive late stages of the game.

It is on offense, however, that the Crimson squad has been most seriously damaged by injuries to key players. And it is here that some excellent play by sophomore replacements has helped maintain Harvard's winning edge.

Halfbacks Tom Winn and Mark Taylor have shown a great deal of promise in the past two contests. Winn scampered for a team-high 51 yards in 13 carries against Rutgers and added 35 yards in eight tries against the Lions last Saturday.

In the first extended action he has seen this year, Taylor bulled for an impressive 58 yards and one touchdown in just nine carries against Columbia, for an average of 6.4 per shot.

A severe jolt to the Crimson title hopes was the hand injury sustained by tight end Pete Curtin which will sideline him for a few more weeks. In the meantime, the play of 18 year-old Bob McDermott has helped to ease the situation.

The 6 ft., 2in. sophomore snared the goahead touchdown against Columbia and grabbed four the previous week against Rutgers. His ability to catch passes helps take the pressure off the other facets of the Crimson attack.

Another hope for Harvard's football present and future is defensive tackle Charlie Kaye, who measures about 77 inches upward and weighs 240 lbs. Kaye represents the size which has been sorely lacking in the Crimson defense recently.

Though the vast number of sophomores on the current squad may not inusre victory against its lvy League opponents this season, there can already be hope for future teams.

As for now, Crimson coach Joe Restic can only be pleased with the development of his back-up players, and must hope that his talented regulars like Neal Miller and. Curtin can get back into action soon.