The Waterbury Democrat., 1945-10-12
'Ox' DoGroso Of Holy Cross Coach Of Week
By CARL LUNDQUIST lIInitaa Press Shorts Write

New York, oct. l2.-(UP)-A firm belief that winning a football game is like winning war is pay- ing dividends for Q fellow who became e gridiron general" after an assistants career that he thought was going to last life- time.
 He writes football books on of- fense and defense, is Q renowned lecturer on gridiron strategy and conducts clinics for other coaches, but when 1t comes to explaining his philosophy of the game he borrows Q phrase from retired Marine Gen. Smedley Butler who said:
 'Football during peacetime is the closest thing to the science of war an it is 0 game we must know, because who wants to lose Q warp"
 Putting that principle to work, his boys are winning games with Q regularity that may land them into Q New Years day bowl game.
 He's the United Press coach of the week, John (The Ox) DaGrazo of the unbeaten Holy Gross Crusaders.
 Their biggest achievement to date came last Saturday when they moved into the Yale Bowl at New Haven and handed Howie Odell'S Blue boys their first defeat in two seasons, c 2l to o blanking.
 There was humiliation in that score for Odell. It was the first time in his 2e games aAlhead coach that Yale had failed to score and 1t was the only time Holy Cross had won in Q series that began in 1913.
 Strategy
 But 1t wasn't too big . surprise to Da0roza. That's the way he had planned it. Again reverting to the principles of war, he empha- sizes that whenever one side of a game becomes dominant, strategy must be devised to combat 1t. Be. cause the advent of the TT" forma- ton and extensive forward passing currently has made the offense dominant in football, Dadroza has worked out what he thinks Is solid defense against both.
 He put into effect "subterfuging defense" in which his players shift against the offensive team and vary their positions to offset tactics de- signed to score touchdowns, Often the Crusaders go with five man line on defense with secondary lines drawn to break up downfield running plays or passes.
 Offensively, he is "old fashioned" sticking to the single wing with what he describes as the flaw of adjustments" That means, he said, that the players aren't confined to any set lineup on oifense and the confusion of the opposition indI- cateS he knows what he is talking anout.
 The New Jersey-born strategiSt, who went to Atlantic City high | school and Colgate and Georgetown universities, finished lip with a law degree. But the bar lost Lo the grtdiron when he became line coach | ate Georgetown in 1928, taking over | the same job at Temple in 1880. | He went to the pro ranks for two | seasons as assistant to Heinie Mil- | Ter of the Philadelphia Eagles in | 1oS0, coming to Holy Gross last sea- son as right hand man to Ank Scanlon. He inherited the head | coaching job when Scanlon retired | for an industrial position.
 New "Grange"?
 Helping his hopes for an unbeaten season are two returning war vet- erans, Stan Kowslowski, Q versatile halfback, and Bob Conway, 8 young | right end. Dagrosa feels that KowS- lowsid, star before he left for the war, Is close facsimile of the old Illinois red-head, Harold | Grange. He backed up his senti- | inentS by assigning him purple fer. sNy "77", the number Grange made famous as the "GalIoping Ghost
 "If these returning veterans are | aJ1y criterion, we have no fears of | tAe boys returning from the aght- ing fronts" he said. They vii most definitely adjust theniselyes | without any difficulty to intercoi- legiate athletics"
 An assistant director of the sed.