St John High School - Aquila Yearbook (Concord, NH)

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AQUILA PAGE 61 -lalnlolulnlolvlllvlll'IMI'ffl'lvll.I I l'I .l .l'.l'.I .l'.l .l'.l' Football OACH Toll called his candidates out for spring practice as there was so much to be done. He got acquainted with the boys and recognized their capabilities. This practice was to be clinched by a spring game with Dover High. The game was played in a field layered with six inches of mud, and the inexperienced football gladiators were blanked by a crushing 19 to 0 defeat. The critics and grandstand quarterbacks lost no time in censuring the gridders and prophesied that the great Saint john teams were a dream of the past. The following September, however, when Coach Toll brought out his forces again, the boys were ready to go, completely dis- regarding their biting defeat of the previous spring. The fol- lowing gridiron encounters soon made people sit up and take notice of the never-say-die green-clad warriors. The season was a triumphant one for the boys and their fol- lowers and the season's most encouraging outcome was the 6 to 6 tie with Dover which the forces of St. john considered a moral victory. The records revealed five wins, three ties, and one or two defeats. A very satisfying note was sounded when the announcement was made that Pat Lapointe, hard-working center for the Irish had been named to the second string All-State team. Next fall should be another bright spot in the brilliant record of the Little Green with the return of seevnteen lettermen. Lost from the squad by graduation are Co-Captains john Nemiccolo and Dick Merrill, Bob Longchamp, Bob Sweeney, Frankie Sulli- van, Pat Lapointe, Don Wessen, jack Ahearn, Danny Donovan, Basil French, and Leo Landry. Donald Everett Wessen '48

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2?-i '51 22 S 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 3 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 S 5 5 5 Sa. 50 55 SS SQUAD OTBALL FO 1 4 .E

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PAGE 62 AQUILA IPIL!'IlI'I'l'If,111II'IMI'IWIWIIl'l'l'I'l'l I I I .l'l'I l Coach William Haller HEN we stop at a service garage for gas, oil, or car inspec- tion we find that all of the labor is provided with gracious- ness and a smile. Both are paid for by the workman's salary. In our school our basketball squad is trained in a first-class fashion with graciousness and a smile by a self-sacrificing man whose love for youth causes him to sacrifice evenings at home to work up teams of boys to play a good, decent, clean game. Frequently when the going is hard and the boys are about down and out, Coach Haller makes a speech that gives pep and vigor to go out and fight harder than ever. To him winning is not all-important. Good sportsmen must do their very best and if they lose they must lose manfully and then begin all over again. A season of defeat is only the cloud that conceals the silver lining of a succeeding year of victory. The example of Coach Haller does us as much good as his training and teaching. He is a real man and an excellent Catho- lic. We want to be like him in later years. We cannot express ample gratitude for all that Coach Haller has done for our school over a period of years and is still doing with boundless generosity and kindness. May our dear Lord love and bless him and his good family for many future years. Francis Sullivan '48