Next Saturday the New Britain team will play the Hillhouse High-School eleven on the Yale Field at New Haven. The game should be of interest not only because both teams are good ones, but because these two schools have not met since the championship game played in the fall of 1893, when New Britain succeeded in defeating the New Haven eleven for the championship of the League. At the time a protest was entered against a player named Wheeler, of the New Britain team, who was charged with being a professional athlete. There is little doubt that Wheeler was a professional, but the charges were not sustained at a later meeting, and the trophy went to the New Britain team.
The biggest score at football that the Harvard Varsity ever made against Exeter was 158 to 0. That was in 1886, I believe, and unless I am mistaken it is the record for big scores in a game between two regularly organized and trained elevens. Nevertheless, the P.E.A. team that was vanquished by this enormous score went down to Andover and defeated their rivals 26 to 0. This year Harvard's score against Exeter was 42 to 0, and yet there is little doubt that Andover could easily take Exeter into camp if the two schools should meet. This shows how little teams can be judged by comparing scores. The Exeter eleven this year is not a good one, and yet the figures of the Harvard game would seem to show that it is. When the play is analyzed, however, the truth is apparent. For instance, at no time during the game did Exeter succeed either in advancing the ball the necessary five yards on four downs, nor were her men able to hold Harvard for four downs, or to compel the Harvard back to punt.
The Play between each touch-down was almost identical. Exeter would kick off and the ball would be punted back by one of the 'varsity players. If the crimson forwards got down the field fast enough, as they frequently did, they secured the ball and proceeded with the play until they scored. If a P.E.A. man got the ball then Harvard would force the school-team to lose a few yards, and at the fourth down Williams would punt. Sometimes he would, and sometimes he would not, because the Exeter rush-line was seldom able to hold the college men. As soon as Harvard got the ball on a play of this kind a couple of runs around the end or dives through the centre would net a touch-down. It is surprising that the winning score was not twice as large. Two halves of fifteen minutes only were played. If I remember correctly the 158-0 game lasted two full-time halves, and in those days each half lasted three-quarters of an hour.