STAHLEY FIRST Aaron

When last spring it was announced that Dick Harlow of Western Maryland was coming to Cambridge to be Harvard's football Moses, it was also noised about that he had received fall permission from Bill Bingham to bring a whole flock of hand-pieced. Across to aid him in the trip to the Promised Land, Prominent among these was one J. Neil Stanley former head coach at Delaware, who took over control of the second most important part of the machine, the Freshman squad.

Now that the season has been under way for some time and the yearlings have played three games with score of one win, one tie, and one defeat, it is possible to take a bird's eye view of the result of Stahley's administration, both in its immediate results on the Freshman record and in its more far-reaching effects on the caliber of future Varsity teams.

The mere fact that Stahley and Harlow are working in harmony bids fair to speed the Varsity work in future years. Amazing as it may seem, under Eddie Casoy the Varsity and the Freshmen were taught two completely different styles of play, while the Jayvees had their own pet little systems on another lot. This ridiculous system led to the existence of a supreme confusion at Soldiers Field and necessitated complete drill is new systems of play with every promotion. But now this mess has been cleared away and for the first time since the days of Percy Haughton unity of purpose and method prevails in Harvard football.

MATERIAL AVERAGE Coach Stahley has not been over-blessed with material this year but neither has he had exceptional bad luck. From an average batch of players he has moulded teams which if not world beaters, at least know which end of the line is called the left end, and not something quite different.

In his first game, our heroes edged out an Exeter eleven that had beaten the Yale Freshmen and in the process used two complete teams with no individual substituting. This expedient, designed to season more men for Harlow's mill, has since been abandoned, and the unit system no longer prevails. In addition four men have climbed up to the A team from the depths, and at present writing seem to have early fairly secure berths there.

Most sensational of these changes was that by which Larry Johnson, one-time Milton Academy fullback and captain, has ousted the highly touted Clarence (Butch) Boston from his post at full. Boston, once hailed as the answer to a coach's prayer who could kick, run and pass with equal facility, has not been able to stay ahead of the hard driving Johnson although he outweighs him by ten pounds. Both men are able-players, however, and will probably see service on the Varsity squad next fall.

SPIRIT ENCOURAGING Varsity prospects are exciting, but behind the scenes one of the most important aspects for cheer, and one which isn't seen always by the casual spectator, is the spirit of the squad as a whole. If the second and third stringers are always on the ball, and under Stahley there is a little doubt about that, the A team men are kept looking carefully after their laurels, else they wake up one day and find themselves crowding the bench while someone from West Podunk Academy is disporting in their place on the field. One such pusher, is a guard called Cheever, a converted centre, who though weighing but 155 pounds, has scratched his way up from the lower shelves to a B team ranking in a position he had never played before. Were it not for his weight he would surely be in the front rank, for he is fast and quick on his feet and pulls out of the line as well as anyone on the field.

PROSPECT HEALTHY On the whole the prospect is a healthy one. The new regime has taken quick hold, and although we lost to Worcester and only tied Andover, the season seems to be on the profit rather than on the loss side. The main results will not be seen for a year or so, until some of the Stahley merry men reach Varsity rating, and demonstrate the Value of coordination-and there are few who will deny the value of this characteristic whether in ornithology or on the gridiron.