Green Slide Into Town

This is it. Both statistically and emotionally today's game is more than crucial. After four weeks with an unsettled and unsettling quarterback situation, the position is still up in the air, but the Dartmouth game comes at a time when the Crimson must enter the Renaissance or champions have fallen a long way in a short time as last year's Big Green squad surprised everyone with a 6-1 record.

"This is a big game for us," Coach Joe Restic said before practice yesterday. "We've got to have this one."

Dartmouth will take Soldiers Field today with a 0-3-1 record overall and an 0-2 mark in the Ivy League. Last year's Ivy champions have fallen a long way in short time as last year's Big Green squad suprised everyone with a 6-1 record.

But that is what makes Harvard-Dartmouth games, not to mention Ivy League football, so interesting. When two Ivy teams square off on the gridiron, oddsmakers run for cover. A case in point is last year when Dartmouth's lone loss came at the hands of --you guessed it--Harvard, a team that finished the season at 2-4-1 in the League.

So disregard the combined overall record of 1-6-1 the teams drag on to the field. Disregard the fact that Dartmouth's offense has been putting up doughnuts on the scoreboard faster than a Dutch bake shop.

Disregard the Crimson's lack of a sure starter at quarterback. When asked about the quarterback situation, Restic said, "I wish I could give you some positive information about that."

Burke St. John, who opened the season as the Crimson's signal caller but was sidelined in the second game of the season with a knee injury, has been working out with the team all week. Miraculous, considering he was expected to miss up to 6 weeks. All of the swelling is down, but the knee is still not 100 per cent, according to Restic.

"We're going to give him a chance to go," Restic said, "but Jack Fadden (the Harvard trainer) will have to give him the okay first. If he can play, that will give us a chance to use some things we worked on back in early training camp." Joe Lahti will be in reserve.

The strength of the Big Green lies with the defense which Coach Joe Yukica credits for keeping all of their games within reach. But Restic does not underestimate the famous sons' passing threat--Jeff Kemp to Dave Shula--and the running of All-Ivy back Jeff Dufresne.

If history means anything, the game should be a good one.