The University football team suffered their first defeat of the season, the fifth in nine years, when Tufts secured a 7 to 3 victory in the Stadium Saturday afternoon. An effective combination of the forward and lateral passes, which the University team could not solve, a smoothness and perfection in running plays, as well as unusually good team work, were responsible for the outcome. Only once did the University team show any real form or power, and that was in the third period when they stopped the drive of the Tufts eleven, and held them for four downs inside their own 5-yard line. During the rest of the game, the University team was out-guessed, out-generated and out-played.
University Scored First.
W. F. Robinson '18 made the only score for the University, the first in the game, on a drop kick from the 27-yard line in the first period. At the start of the game, Tufts gave the University two opportunities to score. Keefe, who received the kick-off, fumbled, the University team recovering on the 29-yard line. But attempts to make the distance through the line were unsuccessful, and on the fourth down Robinson tried a field goal which failed. Again, a few minutes later, C. A. Coolidge, Jr., '17, recovered Drummy's fumbled punt on the Tufts 27-yard line. Two line plays netted only five yards, so Robinson dropped back for a kick, which this time went squarely between the bars. Frequent fumbles during the remainder of the quarter re- sulted in constantly changing possession of the ball, but neither side could gain consistently.
Both teams were off form during the second quarter. Tufts tried five forward passes, all of them unsuccessful; the University backs could not make their distance on line plays, while penalties were frequent, both sides suffering.
New Formation a Surprise.
In the second half the Medford team opened up some new formations and plays which took the University eleven entirely by surprise. Keefe receiving the kick-off on his 5-yard line, carried it 15 yards up the field before he was downed by Coolidge. Then in eleven rushes, eight of them by Doane, Tufts marched down the field to the Harvard 5-yard line, toward what seemed a certain touchdown. But the University line strengthened. Mitchell was thrown by Coolidge before he could cross the line; in three rushes Doane could secure only three yards, an I Harvard received the ball on their 1-feet line. R. Horween '18, who was substituted at this point for T. C. Thacher, Jr., '18, punted from behind his goal line, Mitchell receiving the ball on the 50-yard line. A series of forward passes and shifty line plays, however, brought the Tufts eleven to the 20-yard line before the close of the period.
In the opening of the last quarter, the big pass of the game was made, Drummy passing the ball to Sanborn, who passed it laterally to Wescott, the Tufts leader carrying it to the 1-yard line, from which position Doane dove over the line for the touchdown. Mitchell received the ball on the punt out, and Morrison kicked the goal, making the score 7 to 3. Although the University had the ball during the greater part of the remainder of the game, intercepted forward passes and the failure of others prevented a score, the whistle ending the game with the ball in the University's possession on the Tufts 38-yard line.
The summary follows:
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