St Sebastians School - Arrow Yearbook (Newton, MA)

Page 77 text:

4 GALLOPING GHOST Gibbons skirts the end in the Red-Blue game of 1944, While Ellard and McGrath race to cut him oi? in to help line the field or erect the back- stop. It was a prime consideration of his that we should always be good sports in defeat as well as in victory, and his was no small share in building up the St. Sebastian spirit. We owed him much and it was with genuine sorrow that we parted company from him. That we were gathering momentum with each game was clearly demonstrated in our next two appearances. St. Charles of Wal- tham was subdued 28-O and Cambridge School of Weston was overwhelmed in a 53-7 Orgy. The Waltham game was memo- rable not so much on account of Bob Baker's two scores or Anzuoni's and Picard's single tallies, but rather because it marked the first occasion that we had successfully converted every chance at the extra point. November 3rd was the day we ran riot over the Cam- bridge School representatives, Baker and Gibbons registering twice while Anzuoni, Picard, Phelan and Lehane tied with one apiece. Our reserves were given ample opportunity to show their wares, nor did they fail to glory in it. In addition to the scorers, stellar performances were turned in by Lydon, Shaun and Leon Kelley, Dick Shea and Carroll. While it was not planned that way, it turned out that the Portsmouth Priory game was to be our last. A climax contest had been arranged with Cranwell Prep, but the premature arrival of King Winter in the Berkshires forced a cancellation. We jour- neyed to Rhode Island to meet the one defeat that kept us from establishing a perfect record, and that by the meager margin of a single point. The home team was the first to push across a touchdown and it had the foresight to add the extra marker. Back we roared to the battle and Bob proved that he was there in the clutch by travelling 40 yards on a quarterback sneak that terminated be-

Page 76 text:

that still remained, we received a terse sum- mons to return to the campus for pre-school practice. The more profound brethren saw in this an indication of the seriousness with which the football wars were to be waged in our graduation year. When we responded to the call we were gratified to find the familiar figure of Coach Murphy dominating the scene and welcoming us back to St. Sebastian's. September 8th was devoted to limbering-up exercises, after which the tempo of conditioning was accelerated day by day so that by the time school formally opened we were practically in the pink . When the routine of class work began, our work- outs were curtailed in length but not in intensity. The squad this year was the largest in our history, although this was to be expected, now that we were a full-fledged school with four complete classes. As we watched the coach grading his material, it became evident to us that many of the new students would figure prominently in the season's campaign. Our calculations soon were verified when Don Gibbons, John Picard, Ken Lehane, Joe Phelan and Tony Anzuoni saw frequent service in the backfield, and Tom Dewire, Dan Sullivan and Dick Tonner became powers in the line. We were handicapped, however, by the loss of Jimmy Collins, last year's captain, and George Baker, the pivot man of a year ago-both of whom had joined a more important team-the Navy. With a month's preliminary drill under our belts and with the formidable Weapon of the T formation at our disposal, we were ready to face a difficult schedule. Our first opponent was Roxbury Latin and we sent out the following worthies to defend our goal: Mulhern and Ellard, ends, Courtney and Ed Murphy, tackles, Sullivan and Phillips, guards, McGrath, center. The starting backs were Captain Bob Baker at quarter, Gibbons and Picard at the half back posts and Anzuoni in the full back slot. For three quarters of the game the battle raged between the two 30 yard stripes, and it was not until the final period that we received a break that spelled victory. It was then that our omnipresent Captain intercepted a Rox- bury pass at midfield and fought his way to the enemy 20 yard line. Three successive plays gave us a first down on the live, and three more plays saw Bob taking it across to decide the contest 6-O. A stand-out of the day was Anzuoni's 35 yard run in the second stanza-although some of the lads would give the honor to the mosquitoes that made repeated and incisive attacks upon us. October 13th pitted us against Browne and Nichols on our home grounds, with the sting of last year's defeat to stimulate us. An exceptionally hard fought game resulted, with Anzuoni starring for the Saints and Lyons for the visitors. Big Tony made both our touchdowns before being injured and forced to retire late in the game. An un- usual note was injected into the fray when each team had a safety scored against it. Our verdict was 15-2. Rivers School was the next barrier that lay in our path, and for a second successive year we emerged the victor, this time by an 18-0 edge. Anzuoni, Baker and Gibbons were the ball toters on the scoring plays, while giant Ed Murphy, Mulhern, Picard, Ellard and Lehane deserved citations for their defensive play. The boys appropriately dedicated this game to Fr. Collins, the Faculty Director of Athletics, who had acted in that capacity from the beginning of organized sport at St. Sebastian's and who had been assigned that day to pursue higher studies at Catholic University. We all felt that we had lost a close, personal friend for no member of the Faculty was with us as often as Fr. Collins, and he had labored tirelessly for our athletic happiness, planning schedules, arranging transportation and superintending personally even the most minute details. We could not help but admire his willingness to pitch

Page 78 text:

hind the Priory goal. We missed the try that would have evened the score, and thereby found ourselves on the loser's side of the ledger, 7-6. It could have been otherwise for once we marched to the five yard stripe only to have the ball wrested from us on the final down, after we had, as we thought, made the necessary distance hands down . That decision, together with the recollection of turkeys strutting across the gridiron, will always be numbered among the memories of our trip to Portsmouth. We threw off the dejection that was a natural consequence of the above, and took part in what was to be our last Red-Blue struggle. The by-this-time traditional muddy field greeted us and Don Gibbons and Bob Shea were the rival leaders. It did not seem quite fair that the Senior should bow in defeat, but Bob Shea and his fellow Blues were far from obliging and they won the day 13-6. Don did his part by putting on one of his galloping ghost exhibitions, but Bob Baker's two scores nullified the Red lad's effort. Thus we come to the end of the football narrative, and looking back at St. Sebastian's record from the pioneer days to the present, we feel that one fact is obvious-Qthe lean years are over and our Alma Mater is ready to assume an enviable place in the scholastic gridiron world. We feel sure that time and time again, as St. Sebastian's glory increases and the school's athletes gain more and more renown, we shall glow with pride at the recollection that we were privileged to lay the foundation of the structure that has reared itself so high. l MAKING IT Baker churns through the traditional Red-Blue game mud to register a first down