The Wilmington morning star., 1944-11-28
ACADEMIES CAST
RECORDS ASIDE
IN ANNUAL TILT
But Seasons Performances
Give Cadets Offensive
Edge
BY FRITZ HOWELL,

BALTIMORE, Nov. q. - R -
The usual thing, when Army and
Navy meet in their annual pigskin
duel, is to wrap up the record
books and statistics sheets and toss
EN- out the window.
Past performances mean little
when the Middies and Cadets clash
for the game is always a rugged
scrap between two rugged teams
each with they can't beat us"
conviction.
That's why most anything can
happen Saturday in Municipal
stadium when Army puts its ma
tional championship claims on the
line against the sturdy, fast-finish-
ing Annapolis aggregation
But look at the backfields. and
a furtive peek at the statistic
sheets summing up their perform
ances, would indicate the West
Pointers should have an offensive
edge.
You can't shove such outstand-
ing ball-toters as Felix Blanchard
OF Bishopville, S. c.; Glenn Davis
OF Los Angeles; Dale Hall of Par.
sons, KAN; Edgar Kenna of Jack
son, Miss; Capt. Tom Lonbardo
OF st. Louis; Johnny Minor of Ia
hoka, Tex; Dean Sensanbaugher
Of Uhrichsville, O.; and Bobby
Dobbs of Frederick, Okla, against
an opponent and fail to come ur
with flock of touchdowns.
At least that has been Army
experience, for the Cadets are
rolling along at so points an hour,
with a total of 481 for eight games.
And in several games the final
quarters were cut to seven or eight
minutes.
Against that array Navy will Of.
fer such luminaries as Bob Jen-
kins, recently-injured star from
Talladega, Ala; Hal Hamberg, the
mighty mite from Lonoke, Ark. ;
Clyde Scott from Smackover, Ark. /;
AL Walton of Pasadena, Calf. !;
Bill Barron of Lewisburg, Tenn,
and Fred Farley of Parkersburg,
W Va.
Jenkins and Scott, with five
touchdowns each, are the Navy
scoring leaders, while Army has
four players exceeding that total.
Davis, with 10 touchdowns Che has
scored three in each of give games
and hasn't been shut out yeti is
the nations No. l scorer, while
Blanchard has blasted enemy goal
lines eight times, Hall seven, and
Minor six.
The highscoring Cadets are 252
points ahead of Navy for the year,
481 to 229; have outgained the Mid
dies 1852 yards to 2O59 on the
ground, and 1885 to SO 5through
the air.
Against three common oppo-
nents - Duke, Penn and Notre
Dame-the Navy has rolled up
40 first downs to the opposition
%, while Army made only 80 first
downs and allowed % against the
same trio. However the Cadets,
shooting for distance, scored 148
points against the three and al
lowed only IA, while Navy permit
ted 10 and scored IS, a better than
two-to-one edge for the Cadets.
No team has been able to solve
Army's power-laden ''T'' offense,
but both North Carolina Pre-Flight
and Georgia Tech upset Nays
single wing attack in early-sea-
son trays.
One reason the statistics can
De tossed away for the coming
contest is the fact the Army hasn't
cun up against line as tough as
Nays, and Navy's line hasn't
been called upon to stop set OF
,ampaging backs like Army's.
The lines will have plenty to
say about the outcome, but the
Army backs have shown ability to
90 around, over or through every
hing put against them so far
and the pre-game offensive edge
must 60 to the West Point con-
tingent.
Hun.f.