Evening star., 1941-09-12
BackfieId Candidates
AT Vermont Avenue
School Fine Lot
Coach Augusterfer Must
Find Center; Outlook
For the Prep Fuir
By GEORGE HUBER.

A better football season than last
Is in prospect at St. Johns with
Coach Gene Augusterfer readylng
squad that includes an experienced
and tested backfield and a number
of returning stalwartS in the for
ward wall. The Johnnies Won only
two games and tied two more OF a
seven-game program in 1910, but
even against a tough schedule this
time the record should be improved.
Particularly pleasing to Auguster-
fer are Backs Buddy SpeiSs, Harold
Krug, Steve Burns and Bill Brogan.
Krug, biggest boy of the lot, is q
proved plunger and blocker. Spelss
is an al-around player and is noted
particularly for his speed and
broken-field running. Last season
this scatback accounted for 80 st.
Johns points. more than third OF
the total Brogan is another fast
ball carrier while Burns probably
will do the passing and quarter
backing again.
Must Build New Line.
Tom ChiSari, second only TO SpelSS
as a St. Johns scorer last year, now
is i'll but is expected to join the
team soon, and that should give
Augusterfer five good backs.
With most of the regulars grad
uated, building a line will be trouble
some, but several experienced play
ers have returned. Most experienced
are the two ends, Buddy Hughes, a
185-pound chap, and Ed Lucas, a
back last year who now is giving
the line trial. The only real prob
lem is at center.
The JohnnieS need a good team
for the eight-game schedule facing
them. They open with George
Washington High in night game
on September 26 and after that play
Washington-Lee, Dewitt, Calvert
Hall, Charlotte Hall, Roosevelt,
Gonzaga and Eastern-one more
than last year and hardly a breath
er in the lot. Central, usually
regular on the st. Johns program,
is missing for the first time in sew
eral years as the two could not get
together on date.
Little HoyaS Start Late.
Last to start football practice in
this section will be Georgetown Prep,
TO be called out next Thursday, the
day school opens. Nothing definite
will be known about Prep prospects
until then, but the team was hit
very hard by graduations. Partic-
ularly missed will be Bud Eckrich,
rated by Father Bernard Kirby,
director of athletics, as "one of our
greatest all-time backs" Lew Salb,
another Prep stalwart at center, also
Is gone.
Orrel Mitchell, Gonzaga coach last
year, will guide the Little Hoyas this
time. Seven games are listed, one
more than usual. Charlotte Hall
will be met in the first on October
II. The annual tilt at Iona High,
New Rochell, N. Y, on Thanksgiving
Day will close the schedule.
Only five letter men are expected
back, but all are solid, well-tested
players. Roger Godspeed, tackle,
and John Shovel, guard, are two
big boys who were outstanding last
year. Another good returning guard
will be Don Eckrich. while playing
either guard or blocking back will
be the 185-pound Jerry Kunkel.
Prospects Fairly Good.
Ray Schneider, another big boy
and kicking and blocking back last
year, completes the list of good letter
men. He is expected to do some of
the ball carrying this year.
Prospects should be fairly good
with a number of other experienced
players returning. A new crop of
students is expected to provide two
or three more of first-string caliber
From among the experienced play
ers. much is expected of Pete Crosby
and Litell Wilson, linemen, and
Steve Crowley, back. Among the
subs and junior players who now
will be given a chance at regular
positions are Bob Crowley, Billy
Christie, Dick Nicolaides and Bino
Scott, linemen, and Jack Lazy, q
standout runner, and Tony Boyer,
backs.
Charley Dillon, Art HeimenZ, Jim
Toomey, Vince Scullin, Bill Coakley,
John Kelly, Kirchhof, Jim Mundell,
Bill Roberts, Jim Crowley, Bill
Martin, Steve Julia and Kemp Dev-
ereaux also figure to be outstanding
candidates.