The preseason is finally over! The Kerrmen will battle the Larries of St. Lawrence tomorrow on Whitnall Field. This promises to be an exciting and entertaining season opener. Colgate won the game last year by a score of 45-0, but the Larries are expected to turn out their best team yet this season. Coached by a Colgate alumni, "Silent" Tom Sullivan, the team has been practicing hard for 3 weeks now in the North Country. The team is small in numbers, with only 33 players on the roster this year, but they are large in size. Any team that has more than one player at 185 pounds in their backfield will be a worthy opponent. This is also a team with experience, with almost all of last years starting lineup remaining intact. The Maroon's will need to quickly get into the swing of things, because these Larries are eager to start the season. Sullivan has his team in very good physical shape.
SLU's offense is the teams strong point. Captain Gryson will start at one end position, with Evans playing at the other end. Tony Degironimo is in his third season on the varsity, he will be starting at quarterback. And lookout for SLU's fullback, George was trained by some of the best. In fact, he was a student at Colgate for a year, but then transfered to the North Country. Now in his junior year, he will be starting for the Larries. Look for some hard hits to be thrown in his direction, as well as coming from him.
And now, here is the starting lineup for the Colgate Maroons! At end, Winnie Anderson and Vern Lee. The starting tackles will be Bart Ellis and Ed Prondecki. At guard, the captian, Bob Smith. The other guard position will go to Joe Hill. The teams center will be Glen Peters. And in the backfield, after a tough preseason, the players to come out on top are; Bob Samuel, Whitey Ask, Charlie Soleau and Bob Rowe. There were enough letterwinners from last season to fill every position. However, there are a few injuries that could cause a change in the lineup come tomorrow. Bob Rowe still has an injured leg and a sore back. The captain for last years freshman team, Claire Lyon, will fill Rowe's spot if he cannot play. Vern Lee has been ill lately. Jack Le Messurier will fill in for him as needed. Ken Nield was also considered for Lee's end position, but he has been ill as well.
Practices have been tough this past week, with the team spending a lot of time playing the freshman. While the Varsity was able to score at will, the purpose was to allow them to smooth out some plays, and get ready for the game tomorrow. Bob Samuel looked especially good this week, he is at mid season form. Winnie Anderson also had a very good week as a reciever, and he will be expected to catch even more passes now that John Orsi has graduated. Wes Bacon showed a lot of promise, and will be used in reserve. While Rene Antolini did not get a starters spot, he is still playing like a first string player, and will see significant playing time. One of Colgate's biggest preseaon concerns was depth, but the second team is looking very capable at many positions.
As many of you are preparing to be at tomorrows game, you should be reminded of some of the new rules in affect at Colgate. The rules for entering the game are a lot stricter, so a ticket is now absolutly neccessary. Students are especially reminded to take good care not to lose their passbook, as lost tickets cannot be replaced, and the cost for a new book is twenty dollars, ten if it is lost after the football season. Students going to the game must bring their passbook, and they should enter at the gate on Broad Street, directly behind the student section. The students will once again be sitting in Section 3, and should use Section 2 once that is filled. The band should use the main gate in front of Huntington Gymnasium, this will also be the gate used by those with a press pass or sideline badge. The general public and faculty with season tickets may use either the memorial gate opposite the DKE house, or the gate at the junction of Broad Street and Eaton Hall Road.
The fans should once again be reminded, that if anything out of the ordinary occurs in the game, blame it on the new rules. The officials will have a rough time sorting everything out, as will the fans. So, try not to concern yourself with whether or not that was an illegal hit or play, and enjoy the game. We are standing on the brink of another season of Colgate football. The team and fans have spent 9 months working and preparing for this week, and all of that hardwork is about to pay off. The Maroons will have some questions to answer, and some challenges to rise to, but these first three games should be good practice for what will be a tough season.
Return to the INDEX page