The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1914-11-29
tBy WILLIAM II. HANNAH

in their yearly football joust and the
Army players fought the winning
fight. They conquered the midship-
men by the decisive score of 90 to 0.
Three times they conducted a success
full crusade which carried them to the
sought-for side of the lSavy goal line,
which invasions netted them eighteen
points, for each touchdown was goal
less. Their other two points were
sauce to the scoring dish in the form
of a safety by the Navy.
1t was a hard, grinding. swirling
( contest. each side putting its last
ounce Of ability and endeavor into
the melee. the Army winning, not be-
cause it fought any harder, but be-
cause the better execution of its plays
, counted heavily. A greater part of
the Army's victory was due to the
self-same football contra ptIon which
pinned the sailors to the gridiron mat
+ last year. the forward pass.
The Navy had an aggressive. ef
fective defense against line plays
when crowded ominously close to its
own goal line, and could have pre-
vented the toucadowns scoring had
the repelling OF line plays beet all 1t
had to do. but at such times in these
situations when the attack Of the
Army was blocked by the Navy as to
create an impasse the soldiers solved
( the dilemma by going overhead. Their
, forward shoots through the upper
realms were beautifully executed by
! Prichard, the shrewd and cool cap
tain. and by his receiving ends Mer-
rillat and Nyland. Prichard and Mer
rillat. who did so muS1 to beat the
Navy last year, came right back with
repetition handicraft this afternoon,
and the Navy was again wanting in
ways to stop the play.
Fumbiing Costly.
With a merger of daring end runs.
one excellent siege of humping the
! Navy line which swept the Army for
ward for seventy-six yards In sixteen
uninterrupted plays and costly
fumbling of punts by the Navy the
Army was able to knock often at the
door of the Navy goal line. and that
at least. two more touchdowns were
not made was because of Army
/ fumbles with the line only a few feet
away.
It was a game OF loose handling Of
the ball. neither side being up to the
college standard In that detail. of
hard knocks. OF play all over the field
and of sharp. fierce tackiing. ana
| slamming of men to the ground. Early
/ in the fray, soon after the opening,
V
( Intellectually. but this fault SO rare
| In either Army or Navy teams dis
appeared quickly and the rest of tae
time It was tit-for-tat in the vigor
and headlines with which tackles were
made. In the ardor OF the play men
were stretched out on several oc-
casions, and one man on each side was
assisted from the field with his mates
carrying him. Perry, the Navy center.
| 90 o. 81,
Among the crowd of 25,000 onlook-
ers, including many government dig
nitaries, there may have been a hun
dred or so who knew the different
men that were making the runs ana
plunges, and tackles, and kick -offs.
and all the other engrossing thinss
For most of the spectators The ident-
ity OF the different players who flashed
into prominence by various valorous
deeds WAS great mystery
Players Not Numbered
The players weren't numbered. and
in the turmoil OF strife and the almost
unceasing direction. caused by the
shouting cadet bodies. there was vast
opportunity for guess work on the
part OF the os1roniclers of the game
and the laity OF the packed stands.
Right in the midst of each length
wise the roofing battalions took their
accustomed places. following their
perfectly performed and pulse quick
enin9 evolutions on the field and.
once seated, with wheir flags of gold
and blue. and black and gray. these
martial youths became slanting fields
OF dancing color, and their cheering
and singing were as lusty as their
chromatics.
Before and after the gaI the
Army cheered for the Navy End the
Navy cheered for the Army. and be-
fore the game complimentary cheers
were snapped between the Army and
Navy and Pennsylvania. The In
evitable "Tipperary'' was rendered by
both bands. and the Army band and
cadet chorus. with correct foresight.
rendered. Good Night Navy, We're
Going To Leave You Now" In all
the stir and commotion the only
spectator not stirred was the brown
navy goat. That phlegmatic beast
was more interested In nibbllng grass
than In football.
Army Better Drilled.
The Army team was better drilled
in football than the Navy. played
more like a seasoned campaigner.
and suffered less from errors than
the Navy. Had the Navy had a for
ward pass which was in the same
class with the Armys, the game would
have been much closer, for of a
copious rain Of forward passes by the
sailors all but two were futile The
Army was Immensely superior In MAX
ing the forward pass. was better In
defending against 1t, and in addition
the Navy team play between thrower
and receiver was out of joint.
Botsn troupes had a strong and
rugged defense for running plays. and
except the Army's ONE long expedition
by this means. little sustained pro-
gress was made by rushing The
variety OF plays was rather limited,
too. but all things combined. tho
Army was easily the more proficient
on the offense and grabbed big ad-
vantages from Navy msrffs of punted
balls. The Navy was in reasonable
scoring distance twice inside the
Armys twenty hve-yard line. but was
without the cogent punch to continue,
and then failed with the forward pass.
Army Back Excel.
Line play was pretty nearly stand
Off in scrimmage work. and there was
splendid -the-feld play by both
teams. the best by both sides in
combat seen this year The Army
backs excelled their rival backs as
offensive agents. and made that
superiority tell. Benedict and Pr.ch-
ard were 1.-TWO of the best workmen
for the Army and in the line Nc