Dr. James Carberry

Dr. James Carberry is

Intra-College Football

PROFESSOR NAPOLITANO has deftly guided interhall football at N.D. for a number of years. This enterprise is rather unique, in that virtually any student can participate. Even I participated in it some years ago. This, too, supports the democratic character of the system as I weighed in at a roaring 135 pounds in the late forties. At that time Coach Leahy would not even consider me as a manager candidate. The benefits of Professor Napolitano's charitable standards were many and there was even a share of humor which characterized interhall football competition. Some of the old alumni, with nothing better to grace their memories, might recall the occasion in which, just prior to the kickoff in a crucial Morrissey-Lyons game, my coach shouted to me, "Carberry, put on your shoulder pads." "Sir," I answered boldly, "I'm wearing them."

Local historians inform me that the early days of interhall football competition were marked by wide participation, and that in Rockne's day it was possible to lure several thousand paying fans to witness a championship match. Indeed, interhall proceedings were not unnoticed by the varsity mentors of those days. Whatever the physical and/or metaphysical nature of the N. D. spirit might be, it is certain that in earlier decades, no sharp professional distinction existed between the various levels of football competition. While it may border upon the absurd to make the observation, it would appear that a vast de-emphasis has plagued interhall football competition. For in spite of Professor Napolitano's intense efforts to keep this wonderful institution alive, student participation has certainly declined in the last decade or so. There are a number of reasons for this situation, not the least of which, in my opinion, is symbolized by the practice inaugurated after World War II in which the varsity proceedings at Cartier Field were closed to student observers. Some relief has been realized in the past few years; however, the gulf between inter-and intracollege football remains too wide to hope for some healthy synergistic effects.

This year intracollege competition, while hardly marked by a cast of thousands, did produce a spirited season. While several freshmen teams were fielded, only four upperclass organizations could be assembled. A unique difference existed between the two leagues; one (freshman) scored lots of touchdowns, the other didn't. The eleven-man line appeared to mark the contests among the four upperclassmen teams. This novel defense was perhaps inspired by the knowledge that while all were aware of the forward pass, a certain lack of practice limited its telling use. By contrast, the freshman clubs passed and ran through and about each other with an alacrity suggesting that the one-man line was being employed in that league.

In any event, Breen-Phillips and Zahm emerged the superior organizations in the freshman league. B-P actually captured the freshman championship, scoring freely and with great skill in each of their contests.

The upperclassmen, being older fellows, were without doubt inspired by the famous Pitt-Fordham games of the thirties, as four scoreless ties typified the competition. These games were noted for their experienced line play, and heated goal-line stands were frequent, not to mention impromptu dialogue. Varsity halfback Dick Barber coached a potent off-campus squad; varsity quarterback Tom Longo tutored a fine Morrissey group; Dillon-Alumni was coached by John Cerutti; while Howard-Lyons was directed by Bob Metzger and nonvarsity me. Professor O'Malley provided spiritual guidance for the Howard-Lyons warriors. O'Malley denies that Lyons will de-emphasize.

Following a controversial playoff game with Morrissey, the Howard-Lyons team was awarded the upperclass championship, thus setting the stage for the campus championship contest with B-P.

This decisive game established a new record for an overtime, sudden-death football game, in that the issue was not decided until the sixth quarter. Quarterback Brueckner of B-P played a magnificent game, however, the H-L, Metzger-coached line led by Russell, Knipper, and their colleagues held B-P to about 50 yards net. Linebacker Dick Bell confounded the B-P Oklahoma-type offense with a series of well-called and executed defensive stunts. Offensively the H-L team gained some 170 yards rushing and Quarterback Tom Borders passed for a total of 60 yards to ends Lynyak and Byrne. In spite of this impressive yardage, some fine defensive play by B-P at crucial moments and an H-L propensity towards donating the ball by fumbles, prevented a score in the contest until the second overtime period. The H-L final drive began when a fake kick-pass play by B-P failed to yield a first down. Having previously set up the B-P defense by a series of pass plays, Borders executed the draw play and fullback Bell gained some twenty yards. Following substantial gains through guard and tackle, H-L's Jim Grace carried the ball to the B-P one-yard line, from which point Borders sneaked over for the winning TD. A social hour followed at the Carberry household. I'd like to conclude this report by asserting categorically that I do not intend to resign as coach of Howard-Lyons in order to accept a position as head coach at the Staley College of the Spoken Word. While we did not score as much as we would have liked this season, H-L's talented team did the best that could be done with the available coaching.

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