Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1902-11-14
NEITHER SIDE SCORED.
But Brattleboro Gave the Redoubtable
Visitors surprise-Home Team
Had a Stone Wall Line.

The redoutable Shelburne Falls Athletic
clubs foot ball team came to Brattle-
boro Saturday. expecting an easy victory,
but the players went home feeling that
their accomplishment was something like
that of the king of France, who marched
up the hill and then marched down again,
there being no scoring by either side, and
honors were pretty even all around, af-
ter the hardest struggle ever seen on
the local gridiron. The wiseacres had
been predicting scores of II to o. Is TO 0,
u to 5. etc, in favor of Shelburne Falls,
and the result was a surprise to nearly
everybody. The contest proved to GER
tainty that the foot ball eleven is the
best as a team which has ever represent
ed the town. There may have been indi-
vidual stars on some previous teams who
excel any of the present players, but the
town has never had such an evenly
balanced such an aggressive team as
the one playing this season.
Brattleboro would probably have scored
in the first half but for the penalties i'm
posed by the Shelburne Falls official
who three times gave his townsmen ten
yards for offside play He could not see
his own men get offsde although they
were viOlatOrs in this respect repeatedly.
Early in the first half March tore around
right end for 50 yards and II was Brat
tleboro's ball about the 30 yard line.
After short gain the ten yards We're
given and the distance was then so great
that Brattleboro failed to make it
through the line The ball changed
hands several times and once Shelburne
Falls seemed to be sweeping up the field
but at the 90 yard line the Brattleboro
line held like adamant.
Early in the second half things looked
blue, when Brattleboro, soon after TAX
ing the ball on a punt, fumbled and
Shelburne Falls had the ball on the %
yard line The visitors made first down
hui traf GN~ pr1G on
the next four downs and when the ball
came back to Bratteboro Williamson at
once punted 1t out of danger Both
sides were forced to rely to some extent
upon the kicking game. McCarty of
Shelburne Falls iuggled the pass for
kick almost on his own goal line but
rallied. ran forward two or three steps.
side stepped to avoid a tackler and then
kicked quickly. When the game was
over the ball was near the centre of the
field in the possession of Shelburne Falls,
the good playing of the line men is
often oVershadowed by the more snowy
but no more useful work of the men who
run with the ball but those who have
followed foot ball had warmer praise
for Mellen. in this game. than for any
other player Although light in weight
for a centre rush, he held like a hitching
post passed the ball Clearly. broke
through and nailed the runner several
times and got down the field on punts
as fast as the end men. Lynch at guard
was also very strong. Williamson
tackled iercely and surely and Cooleys
general work was excellent. Stolte gath
cred difficult twisting punts, and once
saved the day when McCarty had prac-
tically a clear field and good interference
by throwing the runner. Noonan and
w. Morrissey broke up the game of the
Brattleboro team to some extent. They
seemed to get the jump with the signal
and frequently stopped the runners for
no gain. The Shelburne Falls back field
was fast without an exception.