Stylish Hosts

WILLIAMSBURG, Va.--It was just a matter of pure and simple Southern hospitality. Or "Southern Comfort," as they like to say on the other side of the Mason-Dixon line

The College of William and Mary wasn't about to let its Harvard guests come away with a bad impression, especially after the Crimson's shoddy treatment during its most recent Southern excursion, a 47-0 shallacking at the hands of the University of Virginia in 1947. But that's not the true representation of the Southern way. Southerners like to treat their visitors right.

And so the Southern Comfort flowed free. An order was put in for extra-special nice weather. The sweet-dispositioned sorority sisters--the majority of whom are Virginia natives and the epitome of everything good about Southern belles--were jsut extra sweet. The Theta Delta Chi fraternity burned its Homecoming float in the middle of the parade just to keep things lively. And the beer was flowing just as smooth and fast as everything else.

Even the William and Mary football team decided that it should do whatever it could to make Harvard's stay a pleasant one.

This basically meant that the Tribe did everything in its power to hand Harvard a Southern-fried, 24-13 victory.

After cutting the Crimson's lead to 16-14 with 9:11 to go in the third quarter and apparently pulling the momentum over to their side of the field, the Tribe decided to be hosts first and a football team second. And so the next four times W and W got the ball, quarterback Chris Garrity threw two interceptions and the backs fumbled twice. On three of those semi-drives, the Green and Gold was marching along in Crimson territory, with the goal live and the lead in sight, but they like to treat their visitors right.

Of course, Harvard wasn't taking Southern grace easily, sprinkling two fumbles of its own among the William and Mary turnovers. Tribe coach Jimmye Laycock, the purest of Southern gentlemen, did his good deed for the day on his team's next possession. The turnover streak stopped at four, but Laycock's gift was just as pleasing for Harvard.

With 5:54 left in the game and his team still trailing by two, Laycock decided the Tribe should go for a first down with a fourth-and-one at their own 38. That's right, their own 38.

Now that's just not good football sense. I mean, the people sucking down beers at the Dirty (a Deli-Bar-Hangout) a few blocks away knew that halfback Kevin Powell was going to carry the ball up the middle. Nobody knew it better than the Harvard defensive line and linebackers, who smothered Powell for no gain--no easy feat, as Powell was spinning and sliding through tackles like a greased pig for most of the afternoon.

The Crimson took over with excellent field position, and seven running plays later, halfback Jim Acheson was trampolining into the end zone for the game-clinching touchdown. Laycock's decision to go for the first down was the turning point of the game.

Actually, the visitors treated themselves pretty well for much of the day, especially in the first half. The offense ground out more than 290 yards running and passing before intermission. Jim Callinan rushed for 88 yards (to stay on a 1000-yard pace) and scored two TD's. Ron Cuccia had his best day passing (5 of 7 for 114 yards) and ran as recklessly and as well as he has every Saturday. And on defense, sophomore linebacker Joe Azelby continued to be a swarm of tacklers all by himself, with 15 unassisted tackles and nine assists. He also caused a fumble and picked off his third pass of the season; since he entered the Harvard lineup after senior Brad Stinn was knocked unconscious on the third play of the season, Azelby has been a terror.

Even Joe Restic's quarterback-in-motion play had some shining moments in the Southern sun. Although it only worked for gains on one out of five tries, quarterback Allard completed a 15-yard pass to quarterback Cuccia, it went penalty-free for the first time this season.

The Crimson now carries a 4-0 record this season, and with three losses and a tie at Soldiers Field, has certainly put a damper on the age-old theory of home-field advantage. It seems like everybody else had tried their hardest to make Harvard feel right at home, but none did it with quite the style of the College of William and Mary.

In Williamsburg on Saturday, the Crimson felt quite at home.