Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1903-10-26
NAVY'S FIRST DEFEAT.
THE NAVAL ACADEMY ELEVEN LOSE TO
LAFAYETTE.
81. Johns Team Victorious Over Delaware
COIIegs-The Shabby Treat
ment By Delaware
Eleven.

vet il sustained its first defeat Its
opponents were the stalwart eleven
from Lafayette College, and the score
by which they lost was 6 to.5 victory
having been thrown to their opponents
by the narrow difference between a
goal kicked and goal missed.
The midshipmen had the heart
breaking experience of outplaying
their rivals in the first half, but with
ont score, having the better of it
nearly all the second half and scoring
the. first touchdown of the game, but
missing difficult goal and at last
having victory snatched away from
them in the last three minutes of the
game ON account of q splendid run of
65 wards by Captain Ernst, of the Wis
iting team. The lusty captain of the
visitors completed his good work by
catching difficult punt out from in
touch and lifting the goal which cast
the balance of the victory to the
maroon and white.
The uncertainties of foot ball are
shown by the results of Saturdays
game and that of last season between
the same teams. Last year the navy
team. won by a score of IL to IL, and
the comment was generally made that
Lafayette had the better team. Sat
uriay the one point which gave vic
tory was on the side of Lafayette, yet
nobody who saw the game denied that
the honors were with the local team,
except for the splendid individual per-
formance of Captai Ernst. Although
Lafayette made gains at times pre-
vious to the last run, the Navy made
decidedly the more ground. Lafay-
ette's weakness, however, was inabil-
ity to hold the ball. Newberry and
Schammel were both offenders along
this line, but .Shuster, who received
most of the punts, hardly handled one
of them cleanly, and the Midshipmen
got the ball on his misplays time and
again. The Lafayette linemen, from
tackle, in to center, were a little too
strong for their local opponents in most
cases, and occasionally the Navy's
line plays would meet stone wall.
The steady Improvement of Halsey at
fullback, the showing OF Root and
Decker, who succeeded him, and the
determined and spirited work OF the
comparatively green line were the
most encouraging features Of the game
from the local standpoint. Halsey has
shown the greatest improvement of
any Navy player this year. His work
in helping his runner makes many a
yard for his side, and Sturday he car
ried the ball better than ever before.
Strassburger, in previous games the
best gamer for the locals, could not
get away successfully, and Needham,
the new quarter, does not seem to be
quite up TO the standard. Smith and
Farley opened up the line well for
their backs. The Navy has a mo
star" team this year. Captain Soule
comes nearer to the star class, perhaps,
but he is more of hard and spirited
player than q brilliant one, and to
win over West Point it must develop
team work to an extraordinary extent.
The players have their heart thor
oughly in the work, however, and are
getting little further on each game.
1t would be well for the Navy ii they
could meet teams that did not tumble,
so that they would get to rely solely
on their plunging to make yards. In
three of the hard teams that they have
met this year-the University OF Vir-
ginia. Dickinson, and Saturdays op-
ponents-the Midshipmen were con-
stantly aided by the inability of their
rivals to hold the ball. 1t will be only
the merest accident that will make
this the case when West Point is met,
and it would be better for the Navy
if they had to work harder for their
advantages now.
st. Johns defeated Delaware Col
lege Saturday in Wilmington by a
score of to 0. st. Johns outplayed
Delaware at every point, and but for
the unfairness of the Delaware official
and lineman the score would have
been thrice as large.
No attempt was made to give st.
Johns a fair game and the umpire
and lineman took unconceded pleasure
in taking advantage of every opportu-
nifty to give Delaware the benefit OF
each decision. Captain Halbert won
the toss and Delaware kicked off. Du-
vail, of st. Johns, ran thirty yards
before he was downed.
By a series of tackle plays, st.
Johns advanced the ball to Della
wares 1O-yard line, where Duvall S
attempt at a drop kick was prettily
blocked. Delawre advanced the ball
to the middle Of the field, where st.
Johns held for downs. BY short end
and tackle plays, st. Johns carried
the ball to Delaware's 10-yard line,
when Smith carried the ball over for
a touchdown. Green missed goal.
Delaware worked the ball down to
ST. Johhn's 30-yard line by end runs,
where they were held for downs. From
that time on till the end of the half,
the play was within Delaware's 30
ward line, Duval at one time missing
a drop kick for goal by two feet. In
the second half the play was entirely
within Delaware's 40-yard line, and
at no time during the whole game was
Delaware nearer to st. Johns goal
than the 30-yard line. 1t was in this
half that Delaware played the official
and her lineman to the fullest extent.
The ball swayed back and forth in
Delaware's territory for the first five
minutes of play, when Smith, by q
splendid run of 20 yards. crossed the
Delaware line. To the surprise of
everyone, the lineman declared holding
on st. Johns part and without con-
ferring with the st. Johns lineman or
asking evidence from the timekeeper,
the umpire brought the ball back and
gave Delaware 20 yards, refusing to
allow the touchdown. The ball was
gradually worked up to Delaware S
10-yard line by magnificent gains by
Marye, Duval and Halbert, from which