Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1904-11-04
General Feeling on Camp.
US Is Of Confidence
That Colby Will Defeat Bates.
Saturday Afternoon.
Believed Team Has Hardest pronos,
ton of Season.


contest no one can foretell. as both
teams are in good condition and hoth
| are confident Of making a good show
ing; but rs 10 the side which will score
! the greater number of points there is
! nnthing but conjecture.
The general feeling on the Colby
campus is one OF confidence mingled
with the realization that. in fo,tbau
| as in everything else. conclusions can
| hot ALWAYS be safely draw from previ-
o'ls records. Yet the impression is pr..
v,ient that Bates has gained strength
| since the Lewiston boys defeated
Maine, and that the Colby team has
the hardest job of the season on its
| hsi IDS. With the same logged deter
mination which characterized the pre-
| IarationS for the Maine game after
the humiiiationg defeat at Brunswick
the Colby boys have gone to work
again to make ready for the meeting
with what they realize to be a formid-
aple rival.
The present season has brought Col
+ by face to face with a succession of I'M
| fortunate circumstances. The great
est loss felt at the beginning of the
}
which left Il big hole at fuIlback. Wat
kinS and Joy did not return to college.
which m lde additional weakness.
When Coach Harris looked over the
material in the freshman class at the
beginning of the present college year.
! he was gratified at the prospect. Great.
powerful fellows they WEI good per-
centage of them being siX-footers with
the muscle TO match. A team made up
If such timber might set hot pace for
the Lest OF them. But all of the straD-
| ing lads did not know football and
! only 4 few of them ever had really
| good coaching. And they had to be
taught. And right here a good part of
| the trouble has been found The prob
lem WAS the difficIlt one of assimilat-
ing the lot of heterogeneous material
into team, and the working out of
| the problem took time.
The first scheduled game was with
| Kicker Classical Institute of Houlton,
the fitting school Of several of the cam
! iidateS. At center for Colby was Sher-
bourne. ii man who had never PLAYED
the gam" displacing Cotton. who went
IN at left tackle between Newman ana
| Iii tilt SlSi OIL the line We're
Iethe.ington at guard. Lyons at tacklt.
| and Curtis at end. while Dwyer. recent
y Of Hebron, was later substituted for
| tine last-named position. Read of last
seasons kent's Hill team was at quar-
| terback, Oliver appeared in the role of
| fullback. while Smith and Loane took
turns at right hanback,. -Four positions
| IN the line and three behind it filled by
new men! OF last ycar's team, only
Pugslcy, Cotton and Newman in the
| line, McVant at left halfback and De-
Witt for short period at left end, ap-
peared in the lineup.
The Kicker fullback was Cowing and
he vas not only able to do about as he
| liked with the Colby right but Cotton
did not seem to be at home in his new
| position and, somehow or other, some
| pretty big vacancies We're opened up in
| TIE left when the ball came that way,
| nor We're they always at left tackle.
| Kicker would have scoreG in a couple
OF downs more. when time was called
| with the tally II to in favor of the
college team.
| The game with New Hampshire state
College was believed at the time to be
| a proof of the increased strength of the
Colby team, as it had been reported
| that the visitors were stronger than
| they had been for several seasons. but
| the suspicion has since arisen that it
was but a ghost that walked on that
| occasion and that the score of % to .
was rolled up against opposition that
was extremely weak. In this game Cot-
| ton was placed back at center. a de-
| ciSiOn that has not since been changed,
while behind the line was "Spud" Pal
mer. COlby's star quarterback of 1901.
Coombs OF baseball fame filled the va
cancy LETT by Cottons change and the
| left vas now composed of All-Maine
veterans. Read took the other end.
where he made a good showing. Right
halfback was still puzzle. and Os-
borne ana Dewitt were both given a
trying out in this position.
But the kent's Hill game proved a
rude awakening from the sense of
peaceful security that had fallen upon
everybody but the coaches 1t is the
general concensus Of opinion that never
before in the history of football in the
State of Maine has there been as strong
a fitting school team rs that which is
| now representing kent's HILL and only
| i'm the last second of play was Colby
able to score. after being outpayed at
every point. The game had other seri-
Gus results besides the clOseness of the
score. In the second half Coombs drop
ned back TO try drop-kick. The pass
was high and he was not quite sue
cessful. Quincy broke through and
tackled Coombs in his tracks. AS he
fell Coombs wrenched his knee and
straining several ligaments. from the
effects of which injury he has not yet
recovered. In this game Colhys de-
fense was weak and her offense worse
The backs We're frequently mixed on
the signals. and number OF plays
were thereby spoiled.
The score was to in Colbys Ia
vor.
But this game was but the foreshad-
owing of still greater catastrophe. Inc