"I'll always remember this year's seniors," Coach John Yoviscin said recently, "as the class that wouldn't quit."

"Many experts predicted this would be Harvard's first losing season in eight years. The team rose to the occasion because everyone was willing to push themselves to the limit. Everyone was willing to pay the price of plain hard work."

"Take Bobby Leo, for example, He came to us as a highly publicized schoolboy athlete sought by every college. We had every reason to expect he'd be spoiled.

"Instead, with hard work, he has developed into one of the best backs in the country. He is also one of the humblest.

"Steve Diamond is a similar example. He'd been publicized in Florida just as much as Leo had been in Massachusets. Any college in the country would welcome him, but he considers a Harvard education more important. The mark he leaves will never be forgotten -- he's the finest lineman Harvard has ever had.

"Tom Choquette, on the other hand, had to work his way up to greatness. He was not very successful his first two years because we kept shuffling him around the backfield. Finally I told him, 'You're our fullback -- that's where you belong.' He's been the team's unsung hero ever since.

"Choquette's a great blocker, and at Harvard that's what a fullback must do best. His humor adds relaxing moments to our practices, something I encourage.

Established Stars

"Dave Davis came to us from Exeter as an established star and has developed into an even better tackle here. I've never coached a defensive lineman who gave better pursuit, or made more of an effort to get the ball.

"Justin Hughes was good as a freshman, and started out first game last year, in which he was injured and out for five games. Hughes, the captain, is not a holler guy. He leads by example, by his personal dedication to hard work and self-improvement.

"Buzz Baker came to see me in the spring of his freshman year and asked to play. It took a year of work on the JV for him to prove himself. It the last two seasons, he has been our most consistently good player.

"Skip Sviokla and Bob Norton were ends in high school. Neither was good enough at that position to be of any use to us.

"Sviokla said flatly that he didn't care where he played. After undergoing a crash weight-training program, he became a real first class tackle. Norton agreed to play cornerback, and he has been our swing man in that position.

"Though neither big nor fast, Vic Petzy also had the determination to stay with football. After two years on the JV's, he finally became our starting defensive end, and has done a fine job despite injuries.

'Punter Jim Gahan left college for a couple of years, and we were really worried until we knew he was coming back. He's a consistent kicked, and filled some mighty big shoes for us.