Evening star., 1951-11-30
Service Classic
Matching Two
Hungry Teams
Navy in Strange Role
As Fovorite;; Army
Depending on Meyers
BY the Associated Press,

|
PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 30. -
Two football teams hungry for
victory meet in Municipal Stadi-
um tomorrow in an annual Army
Navy classic.
The West Pointers. who have
a record of two wins in eight
starts, are a lean lot. Due to the
cribbing scandal. only two players
remain of the approximately 80
who saw action against Navy last
year.
Navy, in turn. has only a tri-
umph over Columbia and TT
tie with Yale to show on the credit
side for its eight games.
Coach Red Blaik believes his
young Army players have one pos
Sible chance-they are fired with
enthusiasm.
Strange Role For Navy.
Navy. upset victor over Army
last year. is in the unfamiliar role
Iof the favored. In the series
starting in 1890, Army has won
I27, Navy 20 and four games have
ended in ties.
Coach Lou Little, whose Colum-
bia Lions lost to Army. 14-9. and
to Navy. 21-7. said in New York:
Its my guess that the game will
go to the hungrier and the leaner
of the two" Many agreed With
him.
More Midshipmen than ever be-
fore turned out last night at An
napolis to exhort their football
squad to victory. Nearly $500
cheered as coaches and players
Joined academy braid in solemn
pledges of conduct becoming any
midshipmen at war with a cadet.
The entire brigade saw the team
of today. Coach Eddie Erdelatz
is having a workout at Franklin
Field on arrival in Philadelphia.
Erdelatz recalled what a hope
less underdog Navy was when it
defeated Army. 14-2, last year.
He said:
II never saw them play football
like that before. You can't tell
what those kids are going to do
in this game. Army may play
like they should never have lost a
game. Maybe we will.
Navy Defenses Modified.
Erdelatz has modified his de-
fenses to cope with what might
be expected from Army's assault
troops. He's afraid those tactics
may range from a straightforward
single wing to perplexing spread.
although the T-formation is basic
to Blaik's offense.
Erdelatz refuses to discuss the
possibility of anything more than
the offense Navy has exhibited to
date.
The Cadets will rely on the mil
Iitary principles of surprise and
strategy but discount reports of a
sweeping change in tactics. In
practice, the Cadets have expert
mented with a spread formation
but if Army uses 1t tomorrow, it
will do so sparingly.
when we have the ball. we
don't get too many chances.
IBlaik says. I'VE can't afford to
waste any"
Much Depends on Meyers.
To keep the Army attack click
ing. Blaik is largely dependent on
a 19-year-old plebe who has played
less than 80 minutes Of varsity
football - Quarterback Freddie
Meyers from Enid, Okla. Meyers
hurt his knee early in the season,
sat out one game entirely, and
has had trouble with the injury
since.
The game will be televised on a
coast-to-coast hookup. Kickoff
time Is 1880 pm.
The Cadets leave the Military
Academy by bus for Newark, N. J..
where they board a train for Phil
adelphia and a final workout at
the stadium.
Tonight they will be at Manu-
facturers' Golf and Country Club
In suburban Oreland. The Middies
will stay overnight at Pine Valley
Country Club, across the Delaware
River in New Jersey.