New-York tribune., 1911-11-30
GEAR FOR AUTO RACEIB0YS READY FOR FRAY
Championship Gridiron Games
To Be Played To-day.
CLINTON SLIGHT FAVORITE
injuries TO Commerce Men Gives
Rivals an Advantage in
Contest.

Iaps Will be sounded on the interscholas-
TIC football season when the last games
are played on local gridirons this after
noon. The contest will definitely settle the
championship of Brooklyn and greater New
York. For the first time IN the history Of
interscholastic football 1.-TWO Manhattan
schools will battle for the supremacy Of
the greater city, while the boys across the
bridge will have to content themselves with
local honors. De Witt Clinton and the
High School of Commerce will ffht for the
championship of greater New ork at
American League Park this afternoon. The
game will begin at O'Clock. Erasmus Hall
High Scholo and Poly. Prep" will clash
in Washington Park at 2:SO o'clock. while
Manual Training High School and the
Boys High School vii Inject at Saratoga
lyn Prep. will battle at Comemrcial Field
at 1880 o'clock this morning.
Commerce and Clinton have met on the
grdiron seven times in the past. Com
mercial has won four times. Clinton once,
while twice the elevens battled to a tie
The first game, played in 1904, resulted in
a tie at TO 6. while last year the elevens
fought each other TO a scoreless tie Clin-
ton scored its only victory over Commerce
in 1907 by a score of to g.
Both teams are ready to play for the
championship. but Clinton has slight ad-
vantage The Red and Black has a squad
OF perfectly conditioned athletes TO start
the game, while there are several cripples
on the Commerce squad who have been
nursed carefully along for the contest to-
day. Waldman. Kear and Blenio the ends
and fullback of the Commerce team. are
limping from heavy bruises. In substitutes,
too. the Red and Black is betetr prepared,
while Commerce has only three, none OF
whom compare with the regulars Both
sides are confident Of winning. but each
looks for a bitter fight.
Clinton is slightly heavier than Commerce
from end to end, but the backfield Of Com
merce outweighs the Red and Black. Clin-
ton, however. has an average weight of 161
pounds, while Commerce averages 1b9. One
week ago Commerce was the logical favor
ite The team ran WELL appeared to be bet
ter balanced than CLIFTON and faster. Eras-
mus, which outplayod and defeated the Red
and Black. was showed under by Commerce
and beaten Is TO 0. Boys High School,
which defeated Commerce early in the sea
son by a goal from the field, was beaten by
Clinton to 0 on Election Day. That start
ed the onward march Of Clinton, and since
then they have improved rapidly and are
undefeated. while Commerce went down be-
fore St Peters Preparatory and Yonkers
High School in the last week
A pretty battle is sure TO follow the meet
ing Of Teller and Kear. Both are strong on
defence. follow the ball closely cover kicks
swiftly and with great certainty, while 1t
is seldom that d forward pass escapes
either Teller has been out Of the game all
season. due 10 his studies. but became eliGi-
BILE in the last examinations Commerce
looks to have a slight advantage at tackles,
with Kelleher and Cohan pitted against
Davis and the ponderous White. The latter
Is a giant. but lacks speed The guards are
evenly matched, and there is little TO choose
at centre.
II is in the backfeld that Commerce has
the best of It, Blodgett is a great plunger.
q reliable punter and capable at either place
or drop kicking Freer is a good man.
while Blenio has few, if any equals as
line breaking back or open field runner.
The brilliant Tow. perhaps the best quarter
back Of recent years al Commerce, Is a cool
general. keen in directing an attack and
capable as running back. He is sure
drop kicker, and the Clinton goal will be in
danger any place inside the 40-yard line.
In Fultz Clinton has a good quarterback,
who Is almost the equal OF Tow. and IN
Moore they have a line plunger and punter
who is second 10 very few. Halasz IS fast
runner and good in an open field, but he Is
& marked boy, and 1t is improbable that he
will have much chance TO break loose from
the Commerce forwards:
The lineup and weights OF both teams