Evening capital and Maryland gazette., 1912-11-01
NAVY NOT TO PLAY
WESTERN RESERVES
Game Tomorrow Called Off in Re-
spect to Late Vice-President.
ST. JOHNS AND HAVERFORD.
cOlIegians Again Go Away From Home
aud Are in Fine Shape for En-
gagement.

Although the Navy football team
pulled itself out of the defeat column
last Saturday when it triumphed over
the University IF Pittsburg eleven,
little, If any, additional encourage
mem, has been given followers of
the team as a result of the practice
thac followed this week.
Tomorrow the Middies were booked
to go against the eleven of Western
Reserve, of Ohio, but the game has
been called off out of respect to the
late VICE President.
The team has been driven quite
hard this week, and as formerly, the
players are being constantly shifted
about. In fact the situation is such
that the staff of coaches is somewhat
at sea as to fixing upon the right kind
of combination, either for the back
field or line men. There is a multi
tude of candidates for positions be-
hind the line. None has shown with
especial hrilliancy, however, with the
result that it is a question of trying
out this man and that. And, or top
of it all. in yesterdays practice, two
of the men who early in the season
had been regarded as fixtures on the
team, were shifted to the scrub.
These are big "Babe" Brown, who
PLAYED tackle last year and was slated
for guard this season. and Overesch,
a husky candidate ior one of the end
positions. At no time this season has
Brown played the game of which he
is capable. la fact his work could
easily be called poor, as we'll as that of
Overesch too. Time and again op-
posing teams have made substantial
gains through them, and in addition
they have missed tackles in the open.
In practice this week, the coaches
have been giving a great deal of at
ention to perfecting a strong inter-
ference for the runner. hitherto the
weakest point in the teams work
The playing of both Lehigh and
Swarthmore in this particular made
the Middies look more like school
boy eleven. somehow there is an ut
ter lack of concerted team ac ton,
and the coaches are bending every
effort to determine exactly where the
fault lies.
The light but plucky team of St.
Johns College showed the Middies a
thing or two on Wednesday, when the
two teams engaged in a practice
scrimmage. The Collegians by splen-
didy executed forward passes, scored
two touchdowns on the sailors, and in
addition frequently threw the Middies
for loss, though the latter, by using
their weight with great effect, man
aged to score three times. The prac-
tice, however, was beneficial to both
teams. The Middies are now being
drilled in a line-shift formation, a
play that is being used by the ma
jority of the teams this season. 1t
enables the formation of a good line
of interference.
With the overwhelming defeat of
Maryland Agricultural College, still
fresh in their minds. as we'll as other
successes previously achieved this
season, st. Johns will again journey
away from home for their usual week
ly game Their opponent of tomor-
row will be the strong Haverford Col
lege, of Pennsylvania. None of the
Collegiaus received any bad hurts
when they went up against the heavy
Midshipmen on Wednesday, and will,
therefore, be in fine trim for the
setto with the Pennsylvahians.