Harvard Journeys to Hanover to Face Dartmouth in Crucial Football Contest

Dartmouth. The mere mention of that word is enough to make any Harvard loyalist over the last decade cringe. winner of six consecutive Ivy championships: A team Harvard has beaten only twice in the last 12 years. A team that always seems to play its best football of the season against Harvard.

"This is the biggest game of the year for us, "Big Green coach Jake Crouthamel said yesterday. "We can't afford to lose this one."

And Jake isn't too far wrong. Dartmouth is 1-1 in Ivy play, and a loss to the Crimson today would sound the death knell for any Green hopes of a sixth straight title.

Cantabs Sport

Needless to say, the game is also a big one for Harvard. The Cantabs sport a 2-0 Ivy record, but with Princeton and Yale barrelling along undefeated, the Crimson can't afford to lose. A loss today would mean an uphill struggle for the Ivy crown.

"I think it's about time their luck ran out against us," quarterback Milt Holt said yesterday.

"We're gonna be sky high for them," adjuster George Newhouse added. "We want them badly."

The contest shapes up as a battle between Harvard's high-powered offense and Dartmouth's tight defense. The Crimson has averaged 29 points per game, while the Big Green has allowed just five touchdowns all year.

The Dartmouth defense is a tough, poised unit, with on glaring weaknesses. The linebacking corps is the best in the Ivies, and should shut off plays of the sort that Tom Winn scored on against Cornell last week.

The only spot Harvard might be able to exploit is the secondary, where the Green lacks speed.

The Dartmouth offense is a totally different story--The Big Green "Machine" has scored a measly 17 points the whole year.

Dartmouth, lacking the kind of tearing running backs for which Big Green teams are noted, has only one capable ball-carrier in John Souba. Souba has gained 244 yards in 45 attempts, including the game-winning 51-yard jaunt against Brown last week.

Tom Snickenberger is the quarterback, but he's not playing up to expectations. "Tom just isn't doing as well as we had hoped," said Crouthamel. However, it wasn't until the Harvard game last year that Snickenberger blossomed, so he still poses a threat.

Snickenberger's forte is running the option, a play that killed Harvard last year. "Sure, we're going to run the option at them." Crouthamel said.

"I'm sure they've been working on it, but they still have to prove they can stop it," he added.

Wilds of Hanover

The game will be played in the wilds of Hanover, N.H., for the first time since 1955 and for only the fourth time in the 78-game history between the two schools. A big factor could be the 20,000 screaming Dartmouthians.

Harvard has on paper the far superior team. But to anyone who knows about these kinds of things, the Crimson will in all probability have the fight of its life on its hands today in Hanover.