Saint Michaels College - Hilltop Yearbook (Colchester, VT)

Page 77 text:

Varsity Football N the evening of November 13, Head Coach Doc Jacobs and his aides, Bill Piscione and Barry Branon, a St. Michael's alumnus, could look back on a highly successful season. Their and rapidly rounded into shape. The victory over the University of Vermont in the initial game can, in a large measure, be attributed to the excellent physical condition of our boys. FOOTBALL TEAM 1st row-Coach Jacobs, Whitlock, Deignan, Daly, Ferris, Hart, West. Znd row-Coach Piscione, Brennan, Wojciechowski, Conley, Borzelleca, Knight. 3rd row-Fitzgibbons, Galerneau, Fioroni, Conboy, Tyl, Krupinsky. 4th row-Klaess, Suzio, Coleman, Yankowski, Savoit, Hermans, Zuchknieovich. Sth row-Mgrs. Fraser, Maiorano, Hanlon, Brennan. charges had just won five of seven games and had yielded a total of only 15 points all year. The season started for the players with a two weeks' sojourn at Camp Holy Cross on the shores of Lake Champlain. Here the boys under- went gruelling physical exercises, lost excess poundage accrued during the summer months, Groundwork in the fundamentals of the game was also stressed at the training camp and the out- look for the season was bright. With such estab- lished players as Clem Ferris, jack Daly, Marty Conley, Bob Knight, Len Tyl, jim Conboy, and Stan Yankowski returned from last year's squad, plus Billy Hart, john Wojciechowski, jack Hen-

Page 76 text:

Coaches ITH St. Michael's influence in athletics steadily on the increase, a far greater num- ber of candidates than ever before turned out for every sport. To cope with the problem of building teams out of this mass of material, Doc Jacobs surrounded himself with an experienced staff. Our hopes for future greatness in athletics rest with these men. First year material under the guidance of Branon and Guter turned in remarkably fine performances. Varsity teams under Coaches Jacobs, Borgmann and Piscione had highly successful seasons and we feel certain that we can look for- ward to great things. Cheer Leaders HEN the breaks are going against the boys and a despondent crowd of followers sits glumly in the stands, someone must, by vitality and spirit, show the team that faith and loyalty remain constant. Our cheer leaders did this job nobly during the past year and to them goes the lion's share of the credit for the ringing yells that filled the air at all athletic events. In a task which was at times extremely discouraging, they never faltered. Let us join in a cheer now for the never- say-die boys of S.M.C. COACHES Bill Piscione, Barry Branon Steve Guter, Bennie Borg mann, Doc Jacobs, seated. CHEERLEADERS jack Burke, Jean Paul Trotier and Sal Salerno.

Page 78 text:

nessy, Jim Whitlock and Joe Hermans from the freshman material of last year, Doc had the nucleus of a strong team. In addition to these men, Eddie Krupinsky, Ray Borzelleca, Dick Klaess and Ernie Despirito gave further insur- ance for a successful season. Using the T formation, Doc drilled the backs in all its intricacies and developed two fine quarterbacks in Ernie Despirito and Eddie Kru- pinsky. Jack Daly and Billy Hart were sure ground gainers in the broken field, while Len Tyl, Don Dennis and Carl Zucknieovich were to supply the power when a line plunge was called for. Marty Conley, Ronnie Coleman and Ray Borzelleca added depth, speed and power to the halfback posts. In the meanwhile, Bill Piscione and Barry Branon were whipping the line into shape, and we do mean whipping. They worked the boys hard but the work bore fruits which were sweet to the taste. CSt. Michael's taste, that is.j John Wojceichowski, John Suzio, john Hennessey and Bob Knight guaranteed strength on the ends of the line. The tackles, joe Hermans, Stan Yan- kowski and jim Conboy displayed plenty of drive and Clem Ferris and jim Whitlock were excellent guards, but it was in Dick Klaess, the center, that the surprise of the season was uncovered. His steady work on offense and his brilliant defensive game were climaxed by his selection for all-state honors. This was the situation on the eve of the all- important Hrst contest with our arch rivals from across the Winooski, the Catamounts of UVM. U.V.M. N OUTWEIGHED but never outfought team of Purple Knights tore the lid oft the 1948 football season on Saturday afternoon, September 25, by defeating the Catamounts of the University of Vermont. In accomplishing this 15-2 victory over their bitterest rivals, the pigskinners from the hilltop notched up the first win over Vermont in varsity competition since the baseball team turned the trick in 1947. It was also the first victory by a Varsity football squad from St. Mike's since 1933 when they won the state title. When the smoke cleared away the Knights found themselves on the short end of the statis- tics but on the long end of the score. Vermont had eleven first downs to our five, the Catamounts rushed the ball 164 yards to St. Mike's 36, only in the air did the Knights surpass the Catamounts, we had 65 yards gained to their 35. The game was a thriller from the opening kickoff to the final whistle. For the first ten minutes Vermont held a decided advantage but then the Knights started to roll. Krupinsky com- pleted a short pass to Bob Knight for a first down, then Eddie again hit the glue-fingered