St Sebastians School - Arrow Yearbook (Newton, MA)

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SPORTS HISTORY W fm 2 ,ef ' Krew? N the afternoon of Monday, September 8th, Coach Vin Murphy's whistle shrilly proclaimed the opening of the 1947 Football season, and forty eager candidates responded to its summons. Only two weeks remained before the opening of the School year and there was no time to be lost if the Arrows were to be whittled into shape for their first game on the 28th. To four of the enthusiasts, Captain jack Boyle, Vin Greene, Bob Murphy and Bill Gibbons, the rigors of the condi- tioning exercises must have seemed a rather mild anti-climax after their epic battle with the Atlantic, but to the rest they were the usual agony and torture that had to be en- dured as a recipe for getting into shape . Grass drills and push-ups proved their worth, however, and, by the time that the scholastic year began on the 22nd, scrim- mages could be engaged in without fear of injuries. Never over-optimistic about a prospective season, Vin had good reason to exude gloom as he strove to find replacements for the six regulars he had lost in the course of a year. The fact that Bill Harwood, jim Caulfield, Pete Pitts and jack Darwin, who had played shoulder to shoulder in the line all during the '46 campaign, were missing from the frontier, did not make his task any easier, but, Fr. George Kerr, of B.C. Sugar Bowl fame, -l 811 made a few visits to the Hill to help screen the candidates who would fill their shoes. In the backfield the familiar faces of Johnny Ellard and Richie Doyle were absent, al- though the presence of seasoned veterans like jack Boyle and Andy McAuliffe did much to brighten the picture considerably. By the afternoon of September 28th, how- ever, the difficulties had been resolved to the extent that St. Sebastian's could field a well-conditioned, sturdy eleven that promised to make up in spirit what it lacked in ex- perience. Stepping into regular berths, Tom Green and Larry McAuliffe joined Jack Boyle and Andy McAuliffe to round out an impressive backfield quartet that took full advantage of the deceptiveness of the T formation. With Vin Greene at the pivot post, flanked by George Hayes and Bob Joyce as guards, Bill Morrissey and Gene Pierotti as tackles, and Bob Murphy and Jim Ryan as wings, the line had size enough to compare favorably with the reliable frontiers of other years. Furthermore, capable reserves like Harold Field, Joe Deignan, Bob Sullivan, Tom Hartnett, Ralph Donnelly, Dave Connor and Ed Ryan gave the shock troops the com- fort of knowing that they would not have to bear the brunt of the siege alone. Auspiciously enough, Captain Jack Boyle won the toss from Bob Boudreau when he

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and the Cambridge High and Latin leader met on the center stripe of Russell Field to inaugurate our grid season. Recalling the tight battle that resulted in a one point verdict for us in '46, each team sparred cautiously through a series of downs before the Cantabs elected to test out their double reverses in three consecutive plays that gained only two yards. At that point, Boudreau got off a 40 yard boot that was taken by jack Boyle on his own 35 and returned to our 43. Wasting no time, the captain and Larry McAuliffe hammered out a first down in three smashes through the right side of our line, and then, just to vary the attack, a 20 yard pass from Boyle to Tom Green permitted the blond ball-handler to carry as far as the enemy 19, before he was downed. On the very next play, the Arrow leader swung wide on a right sweep and, aided by beautiful blocking, cut back sharply through tackle to go all the way for our first Touchdown. Boy joyce's placement attempt took off beautifully but veered to the right of the post to deprive us of a seventh tally. Two plays thereafter the quarter ended and Joe Deignan and Bob Sullivan were sent in to relieve jim Ryan and George Hayes, while Bill Gibbons replaced jack Boyle at fullback. Failing to make the necessary dis- tance in its first four attempts, the home team was forced to kick to St. Sebastian's, but any chance that we had to advance was nullified by a 15 yard penalty that made Andy punt to the C. L. 35. The return, however, was carried to the Arrow 35 and the Cantabs had pos- session of the ball in our territory for the first time. Three plays later they had racked up a first down on plunges to our 25, but when they took to the air route, Bill Gibbons, Joe Deignan and George Hayes batted down their efforts. Once again, a penalty impeded our advance and when Andy arched a kick to midfield, we seemed to be in no danger. The clever Boudreau, however, eluded all tacklers until he was spilled on our 27 and then, without warning, Tom Hartnett's pal, jack Igo, broke through left tackle and raced the remaining distance to tie the score. On the conversion, however, Gene Pierotti roared in to block the oval and prevent any further damage. Passing attempts by both sides closed out the half. When hostilities were resumed, our hosts punched out two quick scores that seemed to sew up the decision. For the second time, a lengthy punt return was a factor that gave them possession near mid-field instead of deep in their own zone, and they swept from their own 42 to a tally in five plays. The T.D. came on the wings of a short Boudreau- Cotter pass that was completed on our 25 and carried into pay dirt, but they were denied the extra point when a Sabatino- Frisoli pass failed to click. Finding them- selves on the short end of a 12-6 score, the FAMILIAR SIGNAL Vin winds up to give his hand whistle -I 83 1-