The Washington herald., 1922-11-26
YALE UNABLE
WGAIN MUCH
ON OLD STUFF
Roper Thinks Ell Players
Awoke Too Late Before Civ.
ing Passes a Chance.

W0NO tVo 6dt6 OCtVtS wv
ing Passes a Chance.
Continued from First Pagey
distance the team fen back ON the
line plunges for q score. and theee
again failed, as they did at Prince
ton . week ago. OHearn, missed
An easy field goal when Yale had
been held, but he could not be
blamed Tor that. II was q me-
chanical error.
Harvard Is IMPROVED.
To me. Yale showed no improve
ment over the Princeton game and
Harvard did. The Blue machine
was q powerful COMPUTATION. with
no smart player to direct Its ef-
forts. ! don't want to recite its
mistakes for it's easy for a neutral
coach to sit on the side lines and
pun q game to pieces after its all
over. However. the tactics I'm the
first quarter did not seem to me
sound, for. with the strong North
wind against them, the Yale eleven
consistently kicked. With each ex-
change Of kicks the Blue lost from
ten to fifteen yards. It seemed to
me that good football would have
been TO hold on to the ball as long
as possible and keep away from
that head wind.
Harvard did not show much i'm.
provement in its running plays in
midfield. but 1t played smarter foot
ball than it did against the Prince
ton eleven. The Crimson men fol.
lowed the hall well. as shown by
Owens alertness in picking the
loose ball which resulted In the
long and spectacular run that de
cided the game. II he had fallen
on that ball the score might have
ended In a tie or q Yale victory.
1t would have changed the whole
complexion Of the contest.
Were More Alert. -
Defensively, Harvard was q
greatly improved eleven. more on
its toes. more alert. I believe In
teaching a team to pick up q loose
ball whenever there is a chance
rather than falling on. 1t. 1t will
win a lot OF football games. It
will lose very few.
I should say that Buell. and Owen
were the steadying forces of the
Harvard combination. Buell. played
most Of the game crippled. My
praise of him is not a criticism Of
Lee But when Buell. went into
the game, even in the stands there
seemed to be a feeling of increased
confidence among the Harvard
rooters.
That Is strange psychology of
football. but in my experience I
have seen 1t happen over and over
again. There may be two men on
a squad for the same position who
are almost equally good, but one
be captain. The confidence when
he Is in the game seems to- be
contagious. The stands feel It and
30 do the players.
Buell.. limping slightly, stood up
there and called his plays as il he
knew just what the prescription
should be. and the plays were run
off with more snap and assurance
when he was directing the team
Owen was the bright. particular star
of the Harvard eleven. not only be-
cause of his long run. but also be-
cause he was a giant at carving
the ball and stopped many a Yale
play on the defense.
Jordan PLAYS Well.
Captain Jordan played fine game
for the blue. He is a great line
plunger. Neale's substitution toward
the end Of the game seemed to put
new life and dash into the Yale
eleven. but 1t came too late. re-
gard Neale as one of the best run
ming backs in the East
II the forward passes of the last
period had been mixed up with the
line plunges of the earlier periods,
the Blue might have caught Har-
ward off its balance. In the modern
game, you've got to surprise your
opponents and you've got to take
chances.
Another demonstration Of smart
ness. combined with iron nerve and
Karl Pfaffman into the game for
one play-to kick the final field
goal for Harvard. Here Us a man
who went into the battle in the cold
with a great responsibility on his
shoulders. This was his one op-
portunity to do something for his
college, to put it in a position where
q touchdown by Yale would not
beat it. He delivered the goods.
That showed rare courage He had
been built up for this one oppor-
tunity, and he made the most of 1t.
1t also reflected smart coaching.
Deserved to Win.
To sum up, think Harvard de-
served TO win the game. Neither
team showed much on attack. I
had been told before the contest
that Yale had realized the neces.
sity of an overhead game and scor.
ing plays when within reach of a
touchdown.
looked for a different sort of
an attack from that shown against
Princeton. but excepting the last
few minutes the Blue stuck to the
same old game.
While Harvard showed little in
the way of a running game, the
Crimson took advantage of its op-
portunities and played smart foot.
ball. That was the deciding factor.
The game itself was cleanly played.
Both teams deserve credit for the
spirit displayed. While the result
IL somewhat of a surprise, / feel
that the Yale team has been over.
rated by its critics. 1t has shown