Yale Defeats Crimson, 21-7

It is trite to describe a football game in the subjunctive. "If this" and "if that" are as common in football stories as they are unrealistic. But speculation as to what might have been is always comforting, especially if what might have been was a Harvard victory over Yale.

Start, if it softens the blow, with the first play of Saturday's 7-21 loss. The varsity's powerful fullback, Tony Gianelly, returned the Yale kickoff 14 yards to the Crimson 32 before he was hit. Literally hit, that is--in the face by Phil Tarasovic's clbow.

The Yale tackle and captain denied that the blow was intentional as some claimed. Be that as it may, Gianelly was carried off with a mild concussion and although not seriously injured, he was out for the rest of the game.

His loss proved an exceptionally severe one, for power fullback plays have always been an important element in Lloyd Jordan's single-wing attack. Recall the 1953 Yale game and John Culver.

How much the team missed Gianelly was most graphically illustrated at the end of the second quarter. After Yale had taken a 7-0 lead, the varsity began to retaliate, and with about three minutes left, had reached the Yale one.

The situation screamed for a fullback power play. But while Gianelly's substitute, Dick Oehmler, is dextrous, he weighs only 160 pounds, and his attempt to buck the stubborn Yale line was repulsed. If . . .

Another instance: a few plays earlier, Jim Joslin pitched a 30-yard pass to John Simourian, waiting in the end zone. The Yale pass defenders were caught off guard, as, indeed, they were throughout the game. One, nevertheless, succeeded in interrupting Simourian's over-the-shoulder vision, and the junior wingback dropped the ball. Again, if . . .

Joslin Hurt

You could argue on the basis of "What if" until the next Yale game: what if Jim Joslin hadn't been decommissioned in the third quarter with a groin injury; what if Dean Loucks' touchdown pass to Vern Loucks had been deflected just a little bit more; etc.

But such dialectic should be recognized for what it is--comforting rationalization. None of it detracts from the inspired victory of a powerful Yale team.

The Yale line held its own, and perhaps more with the vaunted Harvard forward wall, especially Tarasovic, playing in his first victory against the Crimson.

Currency was given to the belief before the game that "Yale played its Harvard game against Army," and that after the Elis' 14-12 upset victory over the Cadets, they couldn't get back "up" for the Crimson.

Scatbacks Al Ward and Dennis McGill disregarded both the Harvard offense and the snow-clogged truf in piling up yard-age, and sophomore fullback Gene Coker alone pounded out 110 of Yale's 225 yards gained rushing.

The Crimson, lacking the fullback keystone in its ground attack--all the more so after Oehmler was hurt--capitalized on passing, especially the latent serial talent of Walt Stahura. His in-spite-of-the-snow pitches to quarterback Joe Crehore, one of the most improved players on the team, provided at least a small boost to Harvard pride, already dampened by cold, snow, and the Yale team.

Harvard's occasional effectiveness in the air, in fact, might be symbolic of the whole season: a 3-4-1 record compiled by a good team which never quite lived up to its potential. With spirit and ability such as that displayed Saturday by linemen Bill Meigs and Orville Tice, it could have done far better.

*Standings are final except for the Cornell-Penn game to be played this Thursday, Thanksgiving Day.

Final Ivy League Standings*IVY GAMES  ALL GAMES  W  L  T  W  L  TPrinceton  6  1  0  7  2  0Yale  5  1  0  7  2  0Cornell  3  3  0  4  4  0Dartmouth  3  3  0  3  6  0Harvard  2  4  0  3  4  1Brown  2  4  0  2  6  0Columbia  1  5  0  1  8  0Penn  0  1  0  0  8