Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1942-11-18
Mentor Forms Smart
Eleven From Green
Tiger Material
Shifts Players to Make
Team Title Contender
In High School Roce
BY GEORGE HUBER.


Credit for one of the best COACH
Ing jobs around the high schools
this year should be given Carl
Heintel at Woodrow Wilson. It
certainly isn't case of good ma
terial making q good team. It was
. bunch Of light, skinny boys prac-
tically without talent that turned
out on September when practice
opened. Only three lettermen were
on hand and one OF those was in
Jured, but today the Tigers could
80 against any team In the high
school series and ask no quarter.
1t was case OF shifting what few
good players he could ind into
spots where their work would be
valuable and then building an Of
fensive to suit them. Phil Funk
was shifted from end to fullback
after the first few games. 1t proved
an excellent move. Bob Crowell, a
sub back last year, could pass q
little and Heintel worked on him
until now he's one Of the city's bet
ter tossers.
To make up for lack Of experience
and weight, Heintel evolved a COM
bination attack that includes about
every recognized system. The Tigers
use the straight T, the Notre Dame
box and single wing with both a
balanced and unbalanced line. They
even dust of the old Statue Of Lib
erty now and then. 1t may sound
complicated, but it works, one of it's
principal virtues being that the ep-
position never knows what the
Tigers will do next. Wilson prob
ably has more different plays than
any other team in town and scout
Ing the team does little good.
Tackles Dewitt Tomorrow.
Because of the various handicaps
under which it started, Wilson prob
ably won't get chance at the title.
It lost couple of games at the
start before its various makeshift
combinations began clicking, one of
Its defeats being that 60 heart
breaker by Central. It's chance of
getting in the playoffs involves a
Western victory over Central on
Friday, which hardly is in the
books, although, OF course, not an
impossibility Should Western win
there will have to be playoff be-
tween Central and Wilson and Will
son Is much better now than 1t
was six weeks ago when it lost to
Central.
Barring the long chance of that
playo1, Wilson will wind up its
schedule tomorrow by playing Dewitt
at Wilson Stadium at 3:45 and the
Tigers are expected to have little
trouble racking up their fifth
straight win. That would give them
six victories and only two defeats
this year, 1t having topped Western,
Roosevelt and Anacostia, all tough
clubs, In Its other series engage
ments.
1t was much the same last year
when Heintel also had bunch OF
green and compromising material
He taught some football to such
lads as Dick HUMPHREYS, John Mudd
and Jim Crane in the line and to
Charley Saline and Dick Schwab in
the backf1eld, and these lads, with
practically no reserves, held togeth-
er long enough to win four games,
lose only one and tie three others.
Develops Specialists.
Both last year and this year the
Tigers could have finished down
near the bottom without complaint,
such were the unpromising pros
poets when practices opened.
Heintel is a quiet man, not given
to bawling out his players when
things 60 wrong. He leads them,
doesn't push them, and is stickler
for precision and timing. Every
movement, shift and step must be
just so and he'll spend much time
repeating every step Of play or a
block or tackle.
With no triple threaters on the
team, he's tried to develop several
players for specialized jobs. He
had a place-kicker last year who
did nothing else but boot points
after touchdown. He missed only
three of II attempts, one Of those
misses, unfortunately, coming at a
time when it would have meant
victory In the important Western
game.
This year he has player who
does nothing but punt and who
wears no hip or leg pads. He goes in
at crucial moments to do the job,
and it again was one of those UNI
fortunate breaks that at a time in
the central game when really long
kick was needed this player couldn't
be sent in because it was within two
minutes Of the half and Wilson had
no time outs left.