The two most "potential" football teams in New England managed to keep their status intact last Saturday.

The only collective explosion in evidence was the unanimous guffaw in the press-box at the official crowd estimate of 35,000. (Most professional observers thought that there were less than 30,000 in the Stadium.)

While defeating Holy Cross, 20 to 13, and decisively winning their first game since the opener, the Harvards merely indicated that Cambridge would suffer an cruption a lot sooner than Worcester.

Moffie Shines

The one realized potential was the high point of the game. Finally--in his fourteenth varsity game--junior Hal Moffie did what he has threatened to do ever since he put on a crimson jersey. He returned a punt 89 yards for a touchdown.

With all due credit to the required downfield blocks and to the perfect hand off by Nick Athans, Moffie is probably the only Harvard back capable of swiveling so neatly past the two Holy Cross tacklers who had him and then didn't.

The only shadow over this run--as well as the entire Crimson showing--is that the 'Crusaders are, on the whole, one of the slowest teams in history. Their man-in-motion waddled out toward flank like the tired H.C. tackle, Tony Palmer, listed tongue-in-check at 254 pounds, came off the field at the end of the game.

The Crimson's improved ball-handling --one of the most promising aspects of the victory--may have looked better because the backs were less hurried than usual. At any rate, they made less mistakes and, although not using even one single-wing pitchout, appeared nearer the finesse for which Coach Art Valpey has been working.

Impossible as it may seem, Howle Houston gets better every week, and it was difficult to tell that guard Jerry Kanin" where the injured regulars ought ter and tackle Will Davis were "filling to have been.

But, despite the fact that the Crimson outplayed Holy Cross the entire game--excluding the beginning and end--the story mighty easily have been the same as against Dartmouth. That the offense frequently stalled--and even backed up--when inside the Crusader 20-yard line can be too blithely ignored in a victory.

A little "pay-dirt" punch would have upset the Hanoverians and would have hung a lop-sided score on the Cross