Crimson coach Joe Restic called last week's Penn game "our worst game injury-wise by far this season." But the Harvard gridders have recovered from numerous aches and pains picked up against Penn and are relatively healthy going into Saturday's Princeton game.
Tight end Howard Keenan, who suffered a leg injury against Dartmouth, is the only player still not able to practice. Keenan will probably not play Saturday.
During last weekend's game, it appeared that the Crimson might lose more of its offensive line than just Keenan. At one time in the game, first-team linemen Keenan, Jerry Hevern, Monte Bowens, and John Ferullo were all out with injuries.
Bowens had a tender shoulder from the Dartmouth game and Ferullo wound up with a banged-up knee. Hevern's injury was probably the most gruesome. He got a finger jammed into his eye early in the game, and was unable to see out of one eye.
Blindness
When I opened my eyes and noticed a big blind spot on one side, I knew it was going to be a unique experience," Hevern said. "I guess I'm lucky the guy didn't have dirty fingernails and give me some kind of infection."
Restic attributed the fact that the Crimson still picked up 370 total yards against Penn to his "no-definite-starting-lineup" method during the first weeks of the season.
"In the first three games, especially, we kept shuffling in and out two lines," Restic said. "That way everybody gets experience and can do the job when they're called on later. Last Saturday the strategy finally paid off."
More Pains
Fullback Steve Hall's ankle is still bothering him, but he will probably play this weekend. Otherwise, Harvard's offensive backfield is in peak condition.
Restic, not wanting to discourage any of his four quarterbacks, has so far declined to name his starting signal-caller. Odds are it will be Jim Stoekel, who has had two fine games in a row.
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